Hybrid Freelance Creative Strategist – Meta, TikTok

at Up World

• Job title: Freelance Creative Strategist – Meta, TikTok
• Job type: Contract
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: £38,000 - £50,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, London, United Kingdom

About the role

• Freelance Paid Ads Creative Strategist at Brand Hackers scaling Meta and TikTok ad accounts for dynamic brands. Driving performance through creative direction and performance data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Developing and refreshing paid creative strategies for our brand partners through a structured framework, aligned to budget, funnel stage and growth targets.
• Analysing current ad performance in partnership with our performance marketing team (e.g. CTR, CPC, CPA, Conversion Rate, Hook Rate) to identify what’s working, what’s not, and where to test next.
• Conducting competitor and category research to understand how others are showing up in paid and where our brands can stand out.
• Leading idea generation: running regular paid creative brainstorms with performance marketing managers, social managers and internal brand teams to build a backlog of testable concepts.
• Translating ideas into clear, actionable creative plans: what to make now vs later, what sits best in paid vs organic, and how each piece supports key funnel messages.
• Writing detailed creative briefs for content creators (UGC, BH creators, in-house teams, designers, editors) that include hooks, messaging, formats and performance goals.
• Owning content creator sourcing and management for paid ads: identifying relevant creators, briefing, negotiating rates and timelines, and managing delivery.
• Planning the volume and mix of creative (video vs static, UGC vs in-house) required for each platform, based on budget and performance data.
• Collaborating closely with paid media managers so new creative is aligned with campaign structures, audiences and testing plans.
• Maintaining an “always-on” bank of inspiration and ideas (e.g. TikTok links, ad examples, competitor activity) and turning that into structured tests.
• Ensuring clarity over creative production costs (UGC creator budgets, graphic design, BH creator time/video editing) and working within agreed budgets.
• Sharing key creative learnings, insights and recommendations back to stakeholders in a clear and actionable way.

Requirements

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in performance creative for paid social (Meta, TikTok, etc.), ideally with D2C or FMCG brands.
• A strong understanding of paid ad performance metrics (CTR, CPC, CPA, Conversion Rate, Hook Rate) and how creative impacts each.
• Demonstrable experience turning data and insights into testable creative concepts and structured testing roadmaps.
• Experience working with or briefing UGC creators, content creators and/or design teams for performance-focused content.
• A solid grasp of the differences between organic and conversion-focused paid creative, and how to adapt ideas across channels.
• Excellent skills in creative briefing and storytelling, you can clearly communicate hooks, angles and desired outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills, comfortable interpreting performance dashboards and drawing clear next steps.
• Proactive, self-motivated and confident working independently across multiple brands and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent project and time management skills; you can juggle multiple brands, creators and deadlines without dropping the ball.
• An eye for what “good” looks like in feed.
• Agency or multi-brand experience is a plus!

Benefits

• Freelance contract with autonomy and support
• Membership to Up World while you work with us
• Support from a Lead Brand Hacker who’s got your back
• Tools, templates and a wider crew of Brand Hackers to connect with
• Flexible remote working with occasional London meet-ups