Digital Media Buyer, Public Affairs

Position Title                  Digital Media Buyer, Public Affairs

Location                           777 6th Street, NW, 10th Floor

Reports To                      Executive Vice President, Head of Digital Intelligence & Strategy, Public Affairs

Status                              Permanent Full-time, Exempt

Work Arrangement        Hybrid

Salary Grade/Range      $110,503.00 - $130,000.00

About Us

FTP is a full-service bipartisan government and public affairs advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C. FTP provides a combination of creative thinking and established expertise in the core services of government relations, public affairs, digital services, and strategic consulting. We work closely with government officials, C-Suite executives from Fortune 100 companies, and leaders to some of America’s most dynamic organizations and have developed working relationships with local, state, national, and international policymakers. At FTP, everyone is hands-on “doer”—whether jobs are big or small, all team members are expected roll up their sleeves and contribute as needed.

FTP is also one of the founding member companies of Public Policy Holding Company, Inc., providing us with the unique ability to collaborate with both domestic and international leading government relations and public affairs firms to best serve client needs, and to provide employees with the benefits that come from working in a publicly traded company (LSE/NYSE).

How To Apply

Interested parties should send their resume, cover letter, and one writing sample (three pages or less) to careers@forbes-tate.com with the subject line of the position and departments (i.e. Analyst, Public Affairs). Please save each attachment with your full name (first and last name) and document title. For example: John Smith Resume, John Smith Cover Letter, John Smith Writing Sample.

No calls, emails, or faxes please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Position Overview

The Digital Media Buyer is a hands-on execution role on the Digital team, a department within the Public Affairs division at FTP. You will plan, build, traffic, and optimize paid media campaigns across programmatic, paid social, and paid search for the firm’s advocacy and public affairs clients. The work moves fast. Requests often land with same-day turnarounds, and you will own campaigns from setup through pacing, optimization, and reporting. You will operate across both managed-service and self-serve buying platforms, partner closely with Public Affairs account teams to turn client goals into media plans, and work alongside junior analysts on reporting and data pulls during active campaigns. This is a build moment for FTP. As the firm grows its digital practice, you will help shape how paid media is run, measured, and delivered, with real room to show what you can do.

As a Digital Media Buyer, you will:

·      Plan, build, and traffic paid media campaigns across a wide variety of paid media platforms and services on time and on budget.

·      Manage day-to-day campaign execution including pacing, bid and budget management, audience targeting, creative trafficking, and mid-flight optimization.

·      Operate fluently across managed-service and self-serve buying platforms, and bring a point of view on which channels and tactics fit each client’s goals.

·      Turn Public Affairs account team objectives into concrete media plans, flighting, and budget recommendations.

·      Build and manage campaign reporting, turning performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables that account teams and clients can act on.

·      Hold fast turnaround times without sacrificing accuracy. Accelerated timelines, including same-day projects, are common in the public affairs and advocacy space.

·      Partner with and help develop junior analysts on reporting, data pulls, and campaign support, so coverage never depends on a single person.

·      Collaborate with Public Affairs account teams across sectors to align paid media with broader client strategy.

·      Manage media and data vendor relationships, and flag where the current stack helps or limits what FTP can deliver.

·      Track platform changes, ad policy shifts, and emerging formats including creator and influencer, connected TV, and retail media, and bring recommendations back to the team.

·      Help define how FTP runs paid media as the practice grows, including process, documentation, and operating standards.

·      Perform other duties as necessary to achieve departmental goals. 

To be successful, you will need:

·      Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or equivalent experience

·      3-5 years of hands-on paid media buying experience, ideally including advocacy, public affairs, political, or issue campaigns

·      Hands-on experience with programmatic DSPs, paid social ad managers (Meta, LinkedIn, X, TikTok), and paid search platforms

·      Strong command of audience targeting, pixel and conversion tracking, UTM discipline, and campaign measurement

·      Comfort building campaign reports and translating performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables

·      Fluency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel for budget pacing and reconciliation

·      Demonstrated ability to effectively and independently manage multiple projects

·      Effective interpersonal skills

·      Genuine interest in how paid media drives public policy and advocacy outcomes, not just clicks and impressions

·      Independent, strategic thinking, and creative problem-solving skills

·      Demonstrated capacity for teamwork, including the ability to effectively engage supervisors and subordinates under quick, tight deadlines within and across teams

·      Proven ability to operate with integrity and ethics, and maintain the highest standards of confidentiality

·      High level of detail and demonstrated work output with little/no errors

·      Sense of urgency; willingness and ability to meet and exceed established deadlines

·      Organizational agility

We prefer that you have:

·      Experience working with managed-service media partners alongside self-serve programmatic platforms

·      Experience with connected TV, online video, or creator and influencer campaigns

What We Offer:

·      Generous PTO policy of 4 weeks per year

·      Competitive coverage for employees and families Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

·      3 months paid Maternity/Paternity

·      401K plan with traditional and Roth options

·      $80 monthly phone stipend

·      Opportunities to enroll in Flexible Spending accounts and Commuting accounts

·      Company paid basic life insurance of $50,000, long-term disability, and short-term disability coverage

·      Company paid access to a wide range of health and well-being resources and services including telephonic counseling, legal advice, and other services

Additional Information

While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk, and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to handle, feel, or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; and lift up to 25 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

FTP is an equal-opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. FTP does not discriminate based on disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected under federal, state, or local laws.