Social Strategy & Planning Manager (UAE National)

About the role

The Performance Marketing Lead will drive Etihad's digital performance strategy across all paid channels, delivering measurable business growth and efficiency. Acting as a bridge between data, creative, and media, the role combines analytical rigor with creative problem‑solving to maximise ROI and long‑term customer value.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, planning and execution of always‑on paid digital channels to drive revenue growth and cost efficiency.
• Manage and mentor a team of channel leads and specialists, fostering a high‑performance, data‑driven culture.
• Define annual and quarterly performance‑marketing targets aligned with commercial goals and global campaign plans.
• Oversee multi‑million‑dollar digital budgets, ensuring optimal allocation and pacing for maximum ROI.
• Collaborate with analytics, data and finance teams to build accurate forecasting, attribution and reporting models.
• Partner with brand, marketing, CRM and e‑commerce teams to ensure consistent messaging and seamless customer journeys.
• Evaluate and onboard new tools, technologies and partners to advance automation, audience targeting and creative optimisation.
• Establish a rigorous A/B testing and experimentation roadmap to continuously improve acquisition efficiency.
• Analyse performance data and present actionable insights to senior leadership.
• Ensure campaigns adhere to data‑privacy regulations, brand standards and internal governance.
• Maintain a close working relationship with media buying agencies and digital vendors, creating joint business plans and reporting on effectiveness.

Required profile

• Minimum 7 years of experience in digital or performance marketing, with at least 3 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Proven track record managing multi‑channel campaigns and large digital media budgets (USD 20M+ annually).
• Experience in airline, travel or e‑commerce sectors preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business or related field; master’s degree is an advantage.
• Strong commercial understanding of Paid Social, Programmatic, PPC, SEO and Affiliate ecosystems.
• Exceptional leadership, collaboration and communication skills.
• Highly analytical mindset with a passion for testing and continuous improvement.

Required skills

• Paid Social
• Programmatic
• PPC
• SEO
• Affiliate marketing
• Adobe Analytics
• GA4
• SA360
• Meta Ads Manager
• DV360
• BigQuery
• LookerStudio
• Power BI