6 free templates across agency, digital, in-house, coordinator, small-business, and director roles, with the disambiguation and FLSA exempt-classification guidance the template farms skip. Download as DOCX.
An advertising manager job description has one disambiguation problem and one compliance area the generic templates skip. The problem: the title spans several different jobs, an agency campaign manager, a digital paid-media manager, an in-house brand manager, a junior coordinator, and a senior director, that share a vocabulary but differ in seniority, duties, and even legal classification. The compliance area: which FLSA exemption actually applies, since that turns on duties, not the title.
At FirstHR, we build templates that name these distinctions instead of blurring them, including an honest small-business version for the rare case where a lean company makes this hire, and we add the FLSA exempt-classification guidance no competitor explains. The six below cover agency, digital, in-house, coordinator, small-business, and director versions. The guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
TL;DR
An advertising manager plans, directs, and coordinates advertising campaigns: strategy, budget and media buying, creative, and performance reporting. The title spans several roles (agency, digital/paid media, in-house, coordinator, director), so define which you mean. Most managers are exempt (usually the administrative exemption, which the DOL applies to advertising and marketing); coordinators are often non-exempt. The federal median is $126,960 (May 2024), and the role sits mostly at agencies and larger companies. Download six versions as DOCX.
What an Advertising Manager Does
An advertising manager plans, directs, and coordinates advertising campaigns to generate interest in a product, service, or brand. They own campaign strategy, manage budgets and media buys, coordinate creative, and report on performance, whether for an agency's clients or a company's own brand.
The role maps to the federal occupation advertising and promotions managers (distinct from marketing managers). Most work at advertising agencies or are self-employed, with a smaller share in-house at corporations, which shapes who is usually hiring.
Five Kinds of Advertising Manager
The single search term covers several genuinely different jobs. Naming which one you are hiring is the first and most important step, because it changes the duties, the seniority, and the pay band.
Agency advertising manager
The most common
Manages advertising campaigns for an agency's clients, from strategy through media buying to reporting. This is where most of these roles sit, since agencies employ the largest share.
Digital / paid media manager
Performance-focused
Runs paid campaigns across search, social, and display, optimizing toward measurable return on ad spend. A fast-growing slice of the broad advertising-manager search.
In-house / corporate manager
Inside one company
Owns advertising for a single company's own brand rather than client accounts. A smaller share of the role, usually at larger companies with marketing departments.
Advertising coordinator
Entry level
Supports the advertising team with campaign execution and administration. The early-career rung below a manager, and often non-exempt and hourly.
Advertising director
Senior, management
Leads the whole advertising function, sets strategy, and supervises managers. The senior step above the manager role.
The takeaway: do not post a generic blur. An agency campaign manager, a performance-focused paid media manager, and a junior coordinator are different hires, and the description should say which one you mean.
Advertising Manager Duties and Responsibilities
An advertising manager's duties cluster into four areas: strategy and planning, budget and media, creative and execution, and measure and report. The emphasis shifts by setting (a digital manager leans on optimization and analytics, an agency manager on client management), but these four areas hold.
Pick the template by setting and seniority: agency for client campaign work, digital for paid media, in-house for a company's own brand, coordinator for the entry-level rung, small business for a lean first hire, and director for the senior step. Use this guide to choose.
Agency
Client campaigns
The baseline version for an advertising agency managing campaigns for clients, with the FLSA exempt-classification note built in.
Digital / Paid Media
Search, social, display
For a performance-focused paid media role: managing ad budgets and optimizing toward ROAS across digital channels.
In-House / Corporate
One company's brand
For a company running advertising in-house for its own brand rather than at an agency, reporting to marketing leadership.
Advertising Coordinator
Entry level
For the early-career support role below a manager, with the non-exempt classification caution built in.
Small Business
First marketing hire
The honest version for a small business making its first advertising or marketing hire, where the role wears several hats on a real budget.
Advertising Director
Senior, management
The senior step above a manager: strategy, budget ownership, and supervising the advertising team.
Match the Template to the Role
Agency client campaigns: Agency. Paid search and social: Digital / Paid Media. One company's brand in-house: In-House / Corporate. Entry-level support: Advertising Coordinator. Lean first marketing hire: Small Business. Senior strategy and team: Advertising Director. Whichever you pick, classify by duties, not the title.
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, a compliance note, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets, set the reporting line, and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
Agency, digital, in-house, coordinator, small business, and director. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Agency Advertising Manager
The baseline version for an advertising agency managing campaigns for clients, with the FLSA exempt-classification note built in.
Agency Advertising Manager Job Description
AGENCY ADVERTISING MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Account Director / Agency Principal]
Leads: [account team, creatives, media buyers]
Employment type: Full-time, W-2
FLSA status: Exempt (salaried) in most cases; see compliance note
Compensation: $_____ per year
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] is an advertising agency in [City, State] serving [client
types]. We are hiring an Advertising Manager to lead campaigns for our
clients from strategy through execution and reporting.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Advertising Manager plans, directs, and coordinates advertising campaigns
for agency clients. You own campaign strategy, manage budgets and media buys,
coordinate creative, and serve as the day-to-day point of contact for client
accounts.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Plan and direct advertising campaigns for client accounts
•Develop campaign strategy, messaging, and media plans
•Manage advertising budgets and negotiate media buys
•Coordinate creative, copy, and production teams
•Serve as the client point of contact and present results
•Track campaign performance and report on ROI
•Manage timelines across multiple accounts
•Stay current on channels, platforms, and trends
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or related
•Several years of advertising or campaign management experience
•Strong budget, media-planning, and client-management skills
•Experience leading creative and media teams
•Excellent communication and presentation skills
COMPLIANCE NOTE (read before posting)
Advertising managers are typically exempt (salaried), often under the
administrative exemption (work directly related to management or business
operations) or, for senior creative roles, the creative professional
exemption. Exempt status requires meeting both the salary threshold ($684 a
week federally, higher in some states) and the relevant duties test. Classify
by actual duties, not title. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_____ per year
To apply, email __ with your resume and portfolio.
Template 2: Digital / Paid Media Advertising Manager
For a performance-focused paid media role: managing ad budgets and optimizing toward ROAS across digital channels.
Digital / Paid Media Advertising Manager Job Description
DIGITAL / PAID MEDIA ADVERTISING MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Marketing Director / Head of Growth]
Employment type: Full-time, W-2
FLSA status: Exempt (salaried) in most cases; see compliance note
Compensation: $_____ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
A digital or paid media advertising manager plans, runs, and optimizes paid
campaigns across digital channels such as search, social, and display,
focused on measurable performance and return on ad spend.
POSITION SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Digital Advertising Manager to own our paid media
across channels. You will build and manage campaigns on platforms like paid
search, paid social, and display, manage the ad budget, and optimize toward
performance targets.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Plan and run paid campaigns across search, social, and display
•Manage the paid media budget and bidding strategy
•Build, test, and optimize ads, audiences, and landing pages
•Track performance: ROAS, CPA, conversions, and attribution
•Report results and recommend reallocation across channels
•Coordinate creative and copy for paid placements
•Manage platform accounts, tags, and tracking
•Stay current on platform changes and best practices
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Experience managing paid digital campaigns and budgets
•Hands-on with major ad platforms and analytics
•Strong analytical and optimization skills
•Comfortable owning performance targets
•Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
COMPLIANCE NOTE
Usually exempt (salaried) under the administrative exemption when the primary
duty is managing campaigns and budgets with independent judgment. Exempt
status requires the salary threshold ($684 a week federally, higher in some
states) and the duties test. Classify by duties, not title. This is general
information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_____ per year
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
This is where the template farms fall short: advertising roles sit right at the center of the FLSA white-collar exemptions, and getting the classification right depends on which version of the role you are hiring. Four points belong in the decision.
Administrative exemption: the usual basis
Most advertising managers are exempt under the administrative exemption. The Department of Labor's guidance explicitly lists advertising and marketing among the functional areas that count as work directly related to the management or general business operations of an employer or its clients. To qualify, the primary duty must be that office or non-manual work, and it must include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance, such as setting campaign strategy and allocating budget. A manager who genuinely owns campaigns and spend typically meets this; someone who only executes tasks set by others may not. This is general information, not legal advice.
Creative professional exemption: for senior creative roles
Senior creative advertising roles can qualify under the creative professional exemption instead. The DOL regulations specifically point to the more responsible writing positions in advertising agencies as examples of work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized creative field. This route fits a manager whose primary duty is genuinely creative conception rather than routine production or execution. As with the other exemptions, it still requires meeting the salary basis. Which exemption applies depends on what the person actually does day to day. This is general information, not legal advice.
Salary threshold: $684 a week
Every white-collar exemption also requires meeting the salary level, not just the duties test. The federal threshold is $684 a week, which is $35,568 a year, after a 2024 increase was vacated by the courts and the Department of Labor restored the 2019 framework. The highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432 a year. Several states set higher thresholds: California, for example, ties its exempt minimum to twice the state minimum wage, which is well above the federal figure. For most advertising manager salaries this threshold is easily cleared, so the duties test does the real work, but it still has to be met. This is general information, not legal advice.
Coordinators are often non-exempt
The classification flips at the coordinator level. An advertising coordinator whose primary duty is supporting and executing campaigns, rather than managing operations with independent judgment, is frequently non-exempt, meaning hourly and entitled to overtime over 40 hours in a workweek. Do not assume exempt status just because the title sits in a marketing department or because the person is paid a salary; the duties test still governs. Misclassifying a junior, execution-focused role as exempt to avoid overtime is a common and costly mistake. Classify by what the person actually does. This is general information, not legal advice.
A marketing-sounding title and a salary do not make a role exempt. A real manager who owns strategy and budget usually is exempt, but a coordinator or junior, execution-focused hire is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime. Classify by the actual duties against the salary threshold and the duties test. This is general information, not legal advice.
Requirements and Qualifications
The role typically asks for a bachelor's degree plus related experience, but the skill mix matters more than the credential, and it shifts by version. Calibrate to the role you are hiring.
Requirement
What to know
Education
Bachelor's in marketing, advertising, or related, common
Experience
Several years in advertising, marketing, or related (less for coordinators)
Core skills
Campaign strategy, media planning, budget management
Digital roles
Ad-platform and analytics fluency; performance focus
Agency roles
Client management and juggling multiple accounts
Classification
Usually exempt for managers; often non-exempt for coordinators
Keep the posting neutral and inclusive, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
How to Write an Advertising Manager Job Description
A strong advertising manager posting starts by deciding which version of the role you mean, then describes the setting and classifies by duties. Here is the process the templates are built around.
1
Decide which role you mean
Agency, digital/paid media, in-house, coordinator, small business, or director. The title spans several jobs, so pick the matching template first.
2
Describe the setting
Agency client work, in-house brand, or a small-business multi-hat role. Describe the company and scope plainly.
3
List the real responsibilities
Strategy and planning, budget and media, creative and execution, and measure and report, calibrated to your version of the role.
4
Classify by duties
A true manager is usually exempt (administrative or creative professional); a coordinator is often non-exempt. Confirm against the $684-a-week salary threshold and the duties test, not the title.
5
Set qualifications and pay
List must-have skills separately from nice-to-haves, and benchmark pay to your market and the specific version of the role.
For the classification rules that decide exempt status, the DOL administrative exemption fact sheet is the authoritative reference for advertising and marketing roles.
Advertising Manager Pay
Advertising managers are paid at a management level, and the figure varies widely by setting and seniority.
A Management-Level Band
The federal median wage for advertising and promotions managers was $126,960 a year as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under about $63,000 and the highest 10 percent over $239,200 (BLS).
Agency and large-market roles tend to pay more, and digital or paid media managers with strong performance records can command premiums. The related marketing manager role pays higher still (a median around $161,030), a director sits above the manager level, and a coordinator sits below it and is often hourly. Because the role is usually exempt and salaried, you generally post an annual salary, except for coordinator and some small-business roles that may be hourly and non-exempt. For a posting, benchmark to your market and the specific version of the role, and include a good-faith range where your state or city requires pay transparency. National compensation surveys are a useful reference for regional detail.
Hiring an Advertising Manager
The advertising manager hire turns on three things the template farms get wrong: the title spans several different jobs, the role mostly sits at agencies and larger companies rather than small businesses, and classification depends on duties rather than the title. Here is what actually matters.
The title spans several different jobs, so pick which one you mean
The biggest source of confusion in an advertising manager search is that the title covers several genuinely different jobs, and the generic templates blur them together. An agency advertising manager runs campaigns for client accounts and is where most of these roles actually sit, since agencies and self-employed practitioners employ the large majority of advertising and promotions managers. A digital or paid media manager is a performance role focused on running and optimizing paid campaigns across search, social, and display toward measurable return. An in-house or corporate advertising manager owns advertising for one company's own brand, usually at a larger employer with a marketing department. An advertising coordinator is the entry-level support rung below all of these, and a director is the senior step above. They share a vocabulary but differ in seniority, day-to-day work, and even legal classification, so the first job in writing the description is deciding which of these you are actually hiring. The templates on this page are split out so you can pick the right one rather than posting a generic blur.
This is usually an agency or larger-company role, and the small-business version is different
It is worth being honest about who employs advertising managers, because it shapes what your posting should say. The federal data is clear that this is largely an agency and enterprise role: the advertising, public relations, and related services industry employs the largest share, a significant portion are self-employed, and only a small slice work in-house at non-agency corporations. Pay sits at a management level, with a median around $127,000 a year and the top decile well above $239,000, which is enterprise-scale compensation. So the classic small business making its first marketing hire is not the typical employer of a formal advertising manager, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. That does not mean a small business cannot hire one; it means the role looks different there. At a small company the hire usually wears several hats, owns advertising on a real and limited budget, and is as much hands-on executor as strategist, which is exactly what the small-business template on this page is written for. Match the description to your reality rather than copying an agency-scale role into a small shop.
Classify by what the person does, not by the title or the salary
Advertising roles are a textbook case of classification turning on duties rather than titles, and the templates build that in. A real advertising manager who sets strategy, manages budgets, and exercises independent judgment is almost always exempt, usually under the administrative exemption, since the Department of Labor explicitly lists advertising and marketing as work directly related to management or general business operations; senior creative leads can instead qualify under the creative professional exemption that the regulations describe for responsible advertising-agency writing roles. But every white-collar exemption also requires meeting the salary basis, which is $684 a week federally and higher in states like California, and the duties test still has to be satisfied. The flip side matters just as much: an advertising coordinator or a junior, execution-focused hire is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime, and assuming exempt status from a marketing-sounding title or a salary is a common and costly mistake. The honest rule is to classify by what the person actually does day to day, and none of the competitor templates explain this. This is general information, not legal advice.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and a structured onboarding gets the new manager driving campaigns quickly. Start with the employment basics: get the offer signed with the classification (usually exempt and salaried) and pay clearly stated, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms.
Then orient them to the business, the brand, the budget, the channels and tools already in use, past performance, and the goals they own, the kind of structured start the employee onboarding guide describes. Give them access to ad accounts, analytics, and agency or vendor relationships, and agree early on the metrics and reporting cadence since advertising is measured. Store the signed offer and policy acknowledgments with the rest of the onboarding documents centrally.
FirstHR supports the people side of this: an AI onboarding wizard and task workflows so each step is tracked, e-signature for the offer and policy acknowledgments, training modules for internal orientation, document management for signed forms, and a simple HRIS with an org chart as the team grows. Because pricing is flat rather than per employee, a small company pays one rate. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with a payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
The advertising manager title spans several different jobs: agency, digital/paid media, in-house, coordinator, and director. Decide which you mean before posting.
Most advertising managers are exempt, usually under the administrative exemption, which the DOL applies to advertising and marketing work; senior creative leads may use the creative professional exemption.
Classification depends on duties, not the title: a coordinator or junior execution-focused hire is often non-exempt and owed overtime.
Every exemption also requires meeting the salary threshold ($684 a week federally, higher in states like California) plus the duties test.
The role sits mostly at agencies and larger companies; the federal median is $126,960, so the small-business version is a different, multi-hat job.
A small business may be better served by a broader marketing hire or a marketing coordinator than a formal advertising manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an advertising manager do?
An advertising manager plans, directs, and coordinates advertising campaigns to generate interest in a product, service, or brand. The duties cluster into four areas: strategy and planning (developing campaign strategy, messaging, and media plans, setting goals), budget and media (managing the advertising budget, negotiating and placing media buys, allocating spend), creative and execution (coordinating creative, copy, and production, launching and managing campaigns, maintaining brand consistency), and measure and report (tracking performance and ROI, reporting to clients or leadership, optimizing spend). The specifics shift by setting: an agency advertising manager runs campaigns for client accounts, a digital or paid media manager optimizes paid campaigns toward return on ad spend, and an in-house manager owns advertising for one company's own brand. Most advertising managers work at advertising agencies or are self-employed, with a smaller share working in-house at corporations. This page includes agency, digital, in-house, coordinator, small-business, and director templates so you can match the one to your situation.
What is the difference between an advertising manager and a marketing manager?
An advertising manager focuses specifically on advertising campaigns, the paid promotion of a product, service, or brand, while a marketing manager owns a broader remit that includes advertising along with market research, product positioning, pricing input, and overall demand generation. In federal occupational data they are even separate classifications: advertising and promotions managers are one occupation with about 27,000 jobs, and marketing managers are a much larger separate occupation with around 407,000 jobs. Pay differs too, with marketing managers generally higher (a median around $161,000 a year versus about $127,000 for advertising and promotions managers). In practice, the line blurs at smaller companies, where one person may handle both advertising and the wider marketing function. The advertising manager title is more common at agencies and in dedicated advertising roles, while marketing manager is the more common in-house title. If you are a smaller company making a first marketing hire, you may actually want a broader marketing role rather than a pure advertising manager, so decide which scope you really need before posting.
Is an advertising manager exempt or non-exempt from overtime?
An advertising manager is almost always exempt, meaning salaried and not entitled to overtime, but the basis depends on the actual duties. The most common route is the administrative exemption: the Department of Labor explicitly lists advertising and marketing among the functional areas that count as work directly related to the management or general business operations of an employer or its clients, and a manager who sets campaign strategy and allocates budget exercises the required discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. Senior creative roles can instead qualify under the creative professional exemption, which the regulations describe for the more responsible writing positions in advertising agencies. In either case, the role must also meet the salary basis, which is $684 a week federally and higher in some states. The flip side is the coordinator level: an advertising coordinator whose primary duty is execution and support rather than managing with independent judgment is often non-exempt and owed overtime. The rule is to classify by what the person actually does, not by the title or the fact that they are paid a salary. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which FLSA exemption applies to an advertising manager?
It depends on the primary duty, and there are three possibilities. Most often it is the administrative exemption, because the Department of Labor's guidance specifically names advertising and marketing as work directly related to management or general business operations, and a manager who owns strategy and budget exercises discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. For a manager who genuinely supervises a team of two or more and has authority over hiring and personnel decisions, the executive exemption can apply instead. For a senior creative lead whose primary duty is original creative conception, the creative professional exemption fits, since the regulations point to responsible advertising-agency writing roles as examples of work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent. All three also require meeting the salary basis of $684 a week federally, higher in states like California. Which one applies is a facts-and-duties question, and a single role can plausibly fit more than one; what matters is that at least one is satisfied along with the salary test. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do small businesses hire advertising managers?
Some do, but it is less common than for many other roles, and the job looks different when they do. The federal employment data shows that advertising and promotions managers work overwhelmingly at advertising agencies or as self-employed practitioners, with only a small share in-house at non-agency corporations, and the pay sits at a management level with a median around $127,000 a year. That profile points to agencies and larger companies rather than the typical small business making its first marketing hire. When a small business does hire in this area, the role usually wears several hats, owns advertising on a limited budget, and is as much hands-on executor as strategist. Many small businesses are actually better served by a broader marketing hire or a marketing coordinator than by a formal advertising manager, or by an agency or freelancer for specific campaigns. If you are a small business hiring here, use the small-business template on this page, which is written honestly for a lean, multi-hat role rather than an agency-scale position, and be realistic about budget and scope.
What qualifications should an advertising manager have?
Advertising managers typically need a bachelor's degree, often in advertising, marketing, communications, journalism, or business, plus several years of experience in a related role such as advertising, marketing, promotions, sales, or public relations. Beyond credentials, the role rewards a specific skill set: campaign strategy and media planning, budget management, the ability to coordinate creative and media teams, strong communication and client or stakeholder presentation skills, and increasingly hands-on fluency with digital ad platforms and analytics for performance-focused roles. For a digital or paid media manager, platform and analytics experience matters more than formal credentials. For an agency role, client management and the ability to juggle multiple accounts are central. For a coordinator, organization and attention to detail outweigh experience, since it is an entry point. Calibrate the requirements to the specific version you are hiring rather than listing everything, and keep must-haves separate from nice-to-haves so you do not screen out good candidates. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does an advertising manager make?
Advertising managers are paid at a management level. The federal data puts the median wage for advertising and promotions managers at about $126,960 a year as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent earning under about $63,000 and the highest 10 percent earning over about $239,200. Pay varies widely by setting, seniority, and market: agency and large-market roles tend to pay more, and digital or paid media managers with strong performance track records can command premiums. The closely related marketing manager role pays higher still, with a median around $161,030. A director of advertising sits above the manager level and higher in pay, while an advertising coordinator sits below it and is often hourly. Because the role is usually exempt and salaried, you generally post an annual salary rather than an hourly rate, except for coordinator and some small-business roles that may be hourly and non-exempt. For a posting, benchmark to your market and the specific version of the role, and include a good-faith range where your state or city requires pay transparency. National compensation surveys are a useful reference for regional and sector detail.
What happens after I hire an advertising manager?
Run a structured onboarding so the new manager can start driving campaigns quickly. Begin with the employment basics: get the offer signed with the classification (usually exempt and salaried) and pay clearly stated, complete Form I-9 within the first days, and gather tax forms. Then orient them to the business, the brand, the budget, the channels and tools already in use, past campaign performance, and the goals they own, and make clear what they decide versus what needs sign-off. Give them access to ad accounts, analytics, and any agency or vendor relationships, and introduce the people they will coordinate with across creative, sales, and leadership. Because advertising is measured, agree early on the metrics and reporting cadence so expectations are shared from the start. Store the signed offer and policy acknowledgments centrally. FirstHR supports the people side of this: an AI onboarding wizard and task workflows for a consistent checklist, e-signature for the offer and policy acknowledgments, training modules for internal orientation, document management for signed forms, and a simple HRIS with an org chart as the team grows. Because pricing is flat rather than per employee, a small company pays one rate. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, and applicant tracking is coming soon.
