Every day, thousands of small business owners open an advertising account, launch a campaign, and then get stuck. A card payment fails, an ad is rejected without a clear reason, or a budget disappears in two days with nothing to show for it. Somebody has to pick up that chat, read the account and explain what happened in plain English. That somebody is the advisor behind SMB ads support jobs in Lisbon. This guide explains what the role actually involves hour by hour, which tools and KPIs you work with, how the rotating shifts and the pay are organised, and where the job leads after a year or two.
What an SMB ads support advisor actually does
SMB stands for small and medium sized businesses: a bakery in Manchester, a yoga studio in Dublin, an online shop selling handmade jewellery, a plumber who wants more calls in his area. On the advertising platforms of a global social media group, these advertisers have no dedicated account manager. When they need help, they contact the support team by chat, email or phone, and you are the person who answers.
Your job is to help them launch, pay for and fix their campaigns. It is not a sales role: nobody asks you to push a bigger budget. The goal is that the advertiser leaves the conversation with a working campaign and a clear understanding of what to do next. Every customer rates the help you gave, so satisfaction is the main thing you are measured on. The work covers both pre-sales questions, such as which objective to choose for a first campaign, and post-sales questions, such as why an ad stopped delivering on day three.
The three families of requests you handle
After a few weeks on the floor, almost every ticket fits into one of three families. Knowing them in advance makes the training far less abstract.
| Request family | Typical example | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Launch and setup | The advertiser cannot choose between objectives, audiences and placements | A short recommendation, one objective, a realistic budget and a check of the tracking |
| Billing and payments | A card is declined, an invoice looks wrong, the account is blocked for an unpaid balance | Identify the exact cause, explain the steps to settle it and confirm the account is active again |
| Delivery and policy | An ad is rejected, spends nothing, or spends fast with no results | Read the review decision, point to the rule involved, suggest a compliant edit or a fix in the setup |
| Performance questions | Cost per result doubled since last week | Compare periods, spot the change in audience or creative, propose one test to run |
| Account access | The owner lost access to the business account after a staff change | Follow the verification process step by step and explain how long it takes |
Most of these cases are solved in one contact. The harder ones, such as a suspected compromised account or a disputed charge, follow a documented escalation path to specialist teams, so you are never left alone with a problem outside your scope.
The tools on your screen
Your workstation usually runs four things side by side. The first is the case management tool, where each chat, email or call arrives as a ticket with the customer history attached. The second is an internal view of the advertiser’s account: campaigns, ad sets, spend, billing status and review decisions. The third is the knowledge base, a searchable library of procedures and policy explanations that is updated almost every week. The fourth is the team chat, where you can ask a subject matter expert or your team lead for a second opinion in real time.
You do not need to know any of these before you start. What helps is being comfortable reading a simple dashboard: if you have ever looked at a spreadsheet and noticed that one column did not add up, you have the right reflex. You will also learn the vocabulary of online advertising quickly, words like impressions, reach, cost per click, conversion and learning phase, because you will use them dozens of times a day.
The KPIs you are measured on
Support desks are transparent about numbers, and that is a good thing: you always know where you stand. The exact targets vary by team and are shared during training, but the indicators themselves are standard.
| Indicator | What it measures | How to improve it |
|---|---|---|
| Customer satisfaction (CSAT) | The rating each advertiser gives after the contact | Clear answers, a confident tone, a summary of the next steps |
| Resolution rate | Share of cases solved without the customer coming back | Check the whole account, not only the question asked |
| Quality score | Internal review of a sample of your cases against a checklist | Follow the procedure, document the case properly |
| Handling time | Average time spent per case | Use the knowledge base shortcuts, avoid unnecessary back and forth |
| Performance bonus | Up to 200 euros per month | Linked to your results on the indicators above |
A tip from people who have done the job: satisfaction comes first, speed second. Advisors who rush to lower their handling time often lose more on satisfaction and quality than they gain.
Rotating shifts, training and pay in Lisbon
The brief runs on rotating shifts: 8 hours a day plus a one hour lunch break, 40 hours a week. Advertisers are spread across time zones, so the team covers mornings, afternoons and evenings, and your recruiter shares the exact patterns during the process. The office is in central Lisbon, close to Entrecampos station, with metro, train and bus connections, so commuting from most neighbourhoods is easy. The role is fully on site, with no remote option.
Before you take a live case, you follow a paid training programme of about three weeks, roughly 15 to 17 working days, in English, covering the platforms, the tools, the policies and the tone of voice. Your employment contract is signed at the end of training.
| Element | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Gross monthly package | 1 248 euros, base salary plus holiday and Christmas allowances paid monthly and a meal card |
| Performance bonus | Up to 200 euros per month |
| Paid training | About three weeks, 15 to 17 working days, in English |
| Contract | 12 months, renewable |
| Holiday | 22 working days plus 13 Portuguese public holidays |
| Schedule | Rotating shifts, 40 hours per week |
| Location | Office near Entrecampos, on site only |
| Positions open | Around 50 on this brief |
Your social security contributions are declared monthly in your name, and you can check your record and what it entitles you to on the official Seguranca Social website.
Where the job leads after one or two years
Ads support is one of the best entry points into the digital advertising industry, because you see hundreds of real accounts and real campaigns in your first year. Advisors with strong satisfaction and quality scores usually move in one of three directions. Team lead, if you enjoy coaching others and managing a shift. Quality analyst or trainer, if you like procedures, detail and helping new joiners ramp up. Account management, if you discover that you enjoy the strategic side of campaigns and want to look after a portfolio of advertisers over time.
The skills also travel well outside the building. Reading campaign data, explaining a technical issue simply, handling an unhappy customer and working with KPIs are exactly what digital agencies, ecommerce brands and marketing teams look for. Many people who leave after a few years go on to roles in paid social, customer success or marketing operations, with a line on their CV that recruiters recognise instantly.
Who can apply, and how
This brief is for people already living in Lisbon or nearby. You need the right to work in Portugal: EU citizenship, a valid Portuguese residence permit that allows professional activity, or a Portuguese work permit. A residence card issued by another EU country is not enough on its own. Your English must be native or fully bilingual, at C2 level, because you write to advertisers on behalf of a global brand all day. No advertising background is required: curiosity, patience and a taste for solving problems count more than a marketing degree.
Expat-U handles the pre-selection: we test your English, explain the brief honestly and present your file, while the interview and the contract are handled directly with the employer. If you want to compare similar roles across Europe first, the official EURES job mobility portal is a useful benchmark. Then read the full advertising support brief for small and medium businesses, look at the 24/7 ads support brief if you prefer a different rotation, browse all six roles on the Lisbon job offers page, and send your application through the Lisbon application form. It takes a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need experience in digital marketing to get an SMB ads support job?
No. The paid training covers the advertising tools, the policies and the vocabulary. What the selection checks is your written and spoken English, your ability to explain something clearly and your reaction to a realistic customer scenario. Experience in customer service, hospitality or retail is a real advantage.
Is this a sales job?
No. You help advertisers launch, pay for and fix their campaigns, and you are measured mainly on customer satisfaction and quality. If you are looking for a commission based role, the business to business advertising sales brief in Lisbon is the one to read instead.
Can I work from home on this brief?
No, the role is entirely on site in the office near Entrecampos. The rotating shifts are planned in advance, which makes it easier to organise your life in Lisbon around them.
