Senior Director- SEO

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; Mumbai; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 9,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Publicismedia, part of PublicisGroupe, seeks a Director - SEO to lead and scale our organic search practice across B2C clients globally. This senior role blends strategy, P&L ownership, and people leadership to drive growth and profitability.

You will own the strategy, delivery, and profitability of your portfolio across domestic India and international markets, shaping AI search capabilities (GEO/AEO) and guiding cross-functional teams toward measurable organic growth.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant SEO experience and leadership track record.
• Proven ability to lead SEO strategy across multiple regions.
• Strong understanding of SEO fundamentals and analytics.
• Experience guiding AI search initiatives (GEO/AEO) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Set the SEO vision and roadmap across the portfolio for measurable growth.
• Architect end-to-end SEO programs including technical, content, on-page, off-page, and CRO.
• Translate regional nuances into localized, high-impact strategies.
• Serve as senior counsel for key client relationships.

Skills

SEO leadership

Strategic planning

Team leadership

AI search (GEO/AEO)

P&L management

Client relationship management

Tools

Analytics tools

Job description

Company description

About Publicismedia

Publicismedia, a part of the PublicisGroupe, is a full service Media agency. We have been providing quality Digital & Media Mandates across industries & clients in the field of Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Online Reputation Management services , Media Mandates I TV, Print, Radio Out of Home across the globe. With the help of our experience, constant research in technologies that drive the internet today and an eye for perfection, we ensure you have maximum visibility online and help you seamlessly integrate internet marketing into the overall marketing strategy of your organization. The fact that we offer almost all services that fall under the umbrella term gives us a holistic view of what helps businesses online & offline. We have evolved our strategies over time and we understand that that generating meaningful sales leads from the internet, mobile, TV, Print, Radio, Out of Home , involves seamless interworking of various avenues of marketing. This integrated approach marketing helps our clients business ranking higher, generate more sales by advertising on popular platforms

Overview

Director - SEO
Leadership | P&L | Client Servicing | New Business Location
Mumbai, India (on-site) Department
SEO / GEO (AI Search) Reports To
[VP / SVP – Search / Business Head] Experience
12+ years of relevant SEO experience
About the Role
We are looking for a Director - SEO to lead and scale our organic search practice across a diverse, predominantly B2C client portfolio spanning all major industries. This is a senior leadership mandate that blends deep SEO/GEO craft with commercial ownership, new-business growth, and people leadership.
You will own the strategy, delivery, and profitability of your portfolio while serving clients across domestic (India) and international (APAC, EU & MEA) markets. Equally important, you will be at the forefront of the shift toward AI-driven search - building our capability in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) so our clients win visibility across both traditional and AI search surfaces.
This role is ideal for someone currently leading an SEO department (brand side) or a major portfolio (agency side) who is ready to operate at the intersection of strategy, P&L, growth, and team building.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Delivery Leadership

• Set the SEO vision and roadmap across the portfolio, ensuring measurable organic growth for B2C clients across multiple industries and geographies (India, APAC, EU, MEA).
• Architect end-to-end SEO programs spanning technical SEO, content, on-page, off-page, digital PR, and CRO-aligned organic strategy.
• Translate market and search-behavior nuances across regions (domestic vs. APAC/EU/MEA) into localized, high-impact strategies.
• Serve as the senior point of escalation and strategic counsel for key client relationships.

AI Search - GEO / AEO

• Build, own, and evangelize the practice’s capability in AI search, including Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
• Develop frameworks to grow client visibility across AI search experiences (AI Overviews, generative answer engines, LLM-driven assistants) alongside traditional SERPs.
• Stay ahead of the evolving search landscape and translate emerging shifts into actionable client strategy and internal capability building.

P&L & Commercial Ownership

• Own the P&L for your portfolio - revenue, profitability, resourcing, utilization, and margin health.
• Drive account growth through retention, upselling, and cross-selling across the existing book of business.
• Ensure delivery is scoped, staffed, and priced to protect both client outcomes and commercial performance.

New Business & Growth

• Lead new-business pitches as a senior voice - shaping the strategic narrative, owning the SEO/organic story, and presenting to prospective clients.
• Partner with growth, strategy, and leadership teams to build winning proposals and credentials.
• Represent the practice externally, contributing to thought leadership that strengthens our market position.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow a multi-tiered SEO team.
• Actively develop your immediate reportees, equipping them to grow within the system and to cascade the same coaching and growth culture down to their own teams.
• Build career pathways, capability frameworks, and a strong performance culture across the practice.
• Foster a collaborative, high-accountability environment that attracts and retains top SEO talent.

What We’re Looking For

Experience & Background

• 12+ years of relevant SEO experience, with a clear track record of progression into leadership.
• Currently leading an SEO department (brand side) and/or a major portfolio (agency side).
• Demonstrated success delivering SEO outcomes for B2C brands across multiple industries.
• Experience managing organic strategy across domestic (India) and international (APAC, EU, MEA) markets.

Commercial & Growth

• Proven P&L management experience - owning revenue, profitability, and resourcing for a portfolio.
• Strong record in new-business pitching and growth, with the ability to win and expand accounts.

Technical & Strategic Depth

• Deep, hands‑on understanding of technical SEO, content strategy, link building/digital PR, and analytics.
• Demonstrable expertise (or strong, current capability‑building) in AI search - GEO / AEO.
• Fluency with leading SEO and analytics tools, and the ability to turn data into commercial decisions.

Leadership

• Proven people-leadership experience managing managers and multi-layered teams.
• A coaching mindset - someone who measurably grows the people they lead.
• Excellent communication and executive presence, comfortable presenting to senior client stakeholders.

Why Join Us

• Lead a high-visibility, high-impact SEO practice serving marquee B2C brands.
• Shape our point of view on the future of search in the AI era.
• Operate across global markets with real commercial ownership.
• Build and grow a team - and a culture - that you’re proud of.