Overview
Video Lead Jobs in Manchester, UK at Soar With Us
Function: Creative Direction | Production Leadership | Performance Storytelling
Responsibility: Own creative vision and execution for high-production performance ad campaigns
Reports to: Producer (day-to-day operations) | Creative Director (creative standards & development)
Location: Full-time | Hambi Media MCR Studio, Central Manchester (1 day in studio / 3 days on set per week)
Compensation: £35,000 – £40,000 + Benefit Scheme + 27 Days Paid Holiday + Private Healthcare
Overview
The Soar Group is one of the UK’s fastest-growing performance agency groups, home to three specialist agencies. On the inside, we work as one:
- Hambi Media:
Performance creative agency for Meta, delivering High Production, UGC, and Static ads. The UK’s largest performance creative division in the UK. - For You Advertising:
The UK’s #1 independent Tik Tok agency, specialising in Tik Tok paid media, Tik Tok Shop, and creator-led content at scale. - Soar With Us:
Paid social and paid search, managing media buying and growth strategy across the group’s client portfolio.
Together, the group manages over £100M in ad spend, works with category-leading D2C brands, and operates the UK’s largest Creative Strategy department with design, production, strategy, and UGC all under one roof.
What Sets Us Apart
- Nominated for Meta’s Creative Diversity Award 2025, the only independent agency recognised.
- Highest independent agency spend on Meta in 2025.
- Official Tik Tok Agency Partner, Creative Partner, and one of the only Tik Tok Shop Partners across UK and US.
- Two production studios (London and Manchester)
- Creators of D2C Diaries, one of the UK’s leading eCommerce podcasts
- Partnered with Meta, Tik Tok, Foreplay, and Triple Whale.
The Role
You’ll own creative execution across our high-production shoots – directing talent, leading treatments, and ensuring every frame serves a commercial purpose. You’ll work hand-in-hand with Creative Strategists who bring performance data and audience insight to every brief. From there, your job is to translate that into a detailed shot list before shoot day – arriving with creative intent fully formed, not figuring it out on arrival – and execute it on set with confidence.
You’ll know within days whether your work is performing, and you’ll use that feedback to get sharper.
- 3–4+ years directing commercial, branded or performance content — agency or D2C experience strongly preferred
- Demonstrable understanding of what makes paid social content convert: hooks, pacing, scene variety, calls-to-action
- Proven experience directing a range of talent on set (actors, founders, real customers)
- Ability to present and defend creative decisions to internal stakeholders and clients
- Strong knowledge of Meta and Tik Tok ad formats, styles and best practices
- Experience working alongside a Producer to manage shoot budgets and timelines
- Excellent on-set leadership and communication skills
- A showreel or portfolio of commercial/branded work is required to be considered for this role
Preferred but not essential: - Direct experience in D2C or performance advertising
- Familiarity with tracking creative performance metrics (hook rate, CTR, ROAS)
- Experience with post-production workflows for social-first content
- Ability to operate camera, lighting and audio equipment where required
Responsibilities
- Lead creative direction from treatment through delivery across UGC, VSL, testimonial, product, lifestyle and brand film formats
- Direct actors, models, founders and real customers to capture authentic, performance-driven moments on set
- Provide clear creative direction to the Videographer on framing, movement and capture priorities throughout every shoot
- Partner with Creative Strategists to translate performance data and audience insights into visual creative decisions
- Maintain accurate on-set logging, footage organisation and metadata for post-production handover
- Track the performance of your work (hook rate, CTR, watch time) and apply learnings to future shoots
- Stay ahead of Meta and Tik Tok creative trends and experiment with new formats and approaches
- Contribute to raising the creative bar across the production team
What Success Looks Like
Title: Video Lead
Company: Soar With Us
Location: Manchester, UK
Category: