Social Strategy & Planning Manager (UAE National )

Role Overview

Social Strategy & Planning Manager (UAE National) at Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi.

Company Overview

Etihad Airways is the UAE's national airline, connecting people across continents and cultures from its hub in Abu Dhabi. The organization is executing "Journey 2030," an ambition to double its fleet, expand its network, and grow its people for a new era of excellence.

Role Purpose

Lead Etihad's digital performance strategy across all paid channels to drive measurable business growth and efficiency. Develop integrated acquisition and conversion strategy across always-on Paid Social, Display, Programmatic, and Affiliate channels, combining analytical rigor with creative problem-solving to maximize ROI, revenue, and long-term customer value. Act as a bridge between data, creative, and media functions.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning

• Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of always-on paid digital channels to drive revenue growth and cost efficiency.
• Define annual and quarterly performance marketing targets in alignment with commercial goals and global campaign plans.
• Develop an integrated acquisition and conversion strategy across Paid Social, Display, Programmatic, and Affiliate channels, ensuring all activities align with commercial priorities and brand objectives.
• Establish a rigorous A/B testing and experimentation roadmap to continuously improve performance metrics and customer acquisition efficiency.

Budget & Finance

• Oversee multi-million-dollar digital budgets, ensuring optimal allocation and pacing to deliver maximum ROI.
• Work with the agency to create annual joint business plans for each channel and report on their effectiveness on a quarterly basis.

Team Leadership

• Manage and mentor a team of channel leads and specialists, fostering a high-performance, data-driven culture.
• Empower a cross-functional team to deliver excellence at scale.

Analytics & Reporting

• Collaborate closely with analytics, data, and finance teams to build accurate forecasting, attribution, and reporting models.
• Analyze performance data and present actionable insights to senior leadership, influencing future strategy and investment.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with brand, Marketing, CRM, and e-commerce teams to ensure consistent messaging and seamless customer journeys across channels.
• Foster and maintain a close and collaborative working relationship with the media buying agency and digital vendors such as Google and TikTok.

Governance & Compliance

• Ensure all campaigns adhere to data privacy regulations, brand standards, and internal governance processes.

Technology & Innovation

• Evaluate and onboard new tools, technologies, and partners to advance automation, audience targeting, and creative optimization.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 7 years of experience in digital or performance marketing.
• At least 3 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Proven track record of 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 a related field; master's degree is an advantage.
• Commercial understanding of Paid Social, Programmatic, PPC, SEO, and Affiliate ecosystems, with hands-on experience in at least two channels.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong command of analytics and data tools such as Adobe Analytics, GA4, SA360, Meta Ads Manager, DV360, BigQuery, and LookerStudio/Power BI.
• Exceptional leadership, collaboration, and communication skills—able to align teams around a shared vision and deliver results under pressure.
• Highly analytical mindset with a passion for innovation, testing, and continuous improvement.
• Strategist and operator comfortable defining vision, managing budgets, and empowering cross-functional teams.

Additional Information

• UAE National candidates only.