Performance Marketing Manager

Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users worldwide and 1.4 million educators every year. Learn more at commonsense.org.

Job Overview:

We are seeking a results-driven Performance Marketing Manager to own and scale up our consumer mobile app acquisition efforts across paid digital channels. This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone with app performance marketing expertise, strong analytical instincts, and a track record of turning insights into action. You'll be responsible for driving efficient user growth for our mobile app and membership subscription, optimizing for customer acquisition cost (CAC) while maintaining a high bar for campaign quality and execution.

You'll collaborate across Marketing, Product, Data, and Creative teams—and will be the day-to-day contact managing a boutique ad agency to support media and creative execution. We're looking for someone who thrives in dynamic environments, brings strong ownership to their work, and can independently steer projects from strategy to results.

Location: San Francisco, CA
Reports To: Senior Director of Product Marketing & Growth
Salary: $85,600–$101,650
Type: Full-time, exempt

What You'll Do:

• Own full-funnel paid acquisition strategy for Common Sense Media's mobile app and membership subscription, leading execution across Meta, Google, TikTok, and App Store platforms.
• Direct external agency partner priorities including creative and media strategies, review and feedback of ad assets, and a high velocity of test-and-learn experiments.
• Establish customer acquisition cost (CAC) baseline and advertising ROI goals with input from supervisor.
• Develop and manage performance budgets, forecasting spend and user growth across multiple channels. You will structure experiments, track ROI rigorously, and reallocate budget to optimize for CAC and LTV.
• Apply problem-solving to campaign optimization, proactively identifying gaps, formulating hypotheses, and using data to prioritize and test new levers for growth.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Data on tracking, mobile measurement partners, and Creative partners to inform strategy, share insights, and support end-to-end campaign execution—from concept to reporting.
• Lead app store optimization efforts (ASO) for iOS and Android, including testing metadata, screenshots, and creative elements to improve visibility and conversion in the app stores.
• Translate insights into clear narratives, presenting findings and recommendations to stakeholders and helping ensure shared understanding of growth goals and performance trends.
• Acquisition marketing to drive attendance for in-person events.

What We're Looking For:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in performance marketing with demonstrated ownership of mobile app acquisition strategy, execution, and budget optimization.
• Highly self-directed: You anticipate what's needed, take initiative without being asked, and consistently deliver with minimal oversight.
• Strong team player who contributes to a high-performance, inclusive culture by being generous with your expertise, giving thoughtful feedback, and modeling curiosity and rigor.
• Excellent communicator, able to build agreements, support ideas, and explain rationale.
• Hands-on experience with running performance ads on Meta as primary channel, bonus for App search ads, Google and TikTok ideally, including CAC optimization for app- and subscription-based products.
• Experience with the creative process, from drafting creative briefs to giving feedback and leading brainstorming sessions.
• Strong examples and learnings from past experiences managing agencies or contractors, with the ability to provide clear direction, drive alignment, and hold teams accountable to goals.
• Analytical skills and comfort using tools like Amplitude, Google Analytics, and spreadsheets. You can identify KPIs to measure and why.
• Ability to manage budgets with clear documentation.

Our Benefits:

• The chance to work with talented, passionate professionals.
• A great health and welfare benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and a matching 401(k).
• An organization that offers work/life balance.
• The opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of kids and families!
  

Common Sense Media provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected classification or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Common Sense Media will also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. However, job offers are made on the condition that the applicant subsequently passes a criminal background check. If the background check indicates a prior criminal conviction, we will conduct an individualized assessment to determine whether the conviction should result in denial of employment. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

What We're Looking For:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in performance marketing with demonstrated ownership of mobile app acquisition strategy, execution, and budget optimization.
• Highly self-directed: You anticipate what's needed, take initiative without being asked, and consistently deliver with minimal oversight.
• Strong team player who contributes to a high-performance, inclusive culture by being generous with your expertise, giving thoughtful feedback, and modeling curiosity and rigor.
• Excellent communicator, able to build agreements, support ideas, and explain rationale.
• Hands-on experience with running performance ads on Meta as primary channel, bonus for App search ads, Google and TikTok ideally, including CAC optimization for app- and subscription-based products.
• Experience with the creative process, from drafting creative briefs to giving feedback and leading brainstorming sessions.
• Strong examples and learnings from past experiences managing agencies or contractors, with the ability to provide clear direction, drive alignment, and hold teams accountable to goals.
• Analytical skills and comfort using tools like Amplitude, Google Analytics, and spreadsheets. You can identify KPIs to measure and why.
• Ability to manage budgets with clear documentation.