Director of SEM Location: Barcelona

Preply Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Preply Inc. is looking for a Director of SEM to lead the global SEM strategy and drive performance at a significant scale. This role requires director-level experience in SEM or Performance Marketing, with expertise in Google Search and PMax. The ideal candidate will oversee a growing team, design strategies that balance automation with human insights, and collaborate cross-functionally to maximize SEM effectiveness. This is a unique opportunity to make a substantial impact in an innovative Ed-Tech company based in New York.

Qualifications

• Track record of channel ownership at significant scale
• Experience designing SEM automation at scale
• Comfortable stepping into an existing team

Responsibilities

• Own the global SEM strategy across various platforms
• Drive performance while maintaining or improving ROI
• Lead a team of specialists and set their direction

Skills

Director-level experience in SEM or Performance Marketing

Hands-on understanding of Google Search and PMax

Experience in high-growth e-commerce environments

Ability to operate with data science teams

Strategic thinker

Experience in multi-language, multi-market environments

Job description

Director of SEM

Location

Barcelona; London; New York

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Marketing

We power people’s progress.

At Preply, we’re all about creating life‑changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human‑led, tech‑enabled – and it’s creating real impact.

We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human‑led, AI‑enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries – and we’re only getting started. As a category‑defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale.

Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day.

Meet the team!

As we scale globally, performance marketing has become the primary engine of that growth. Search is at the core of how learners find us – and SEM is our largest and highest‑impact acquisition channel, with a nine‑figure annual spend, and growing significantly YoY. To continue outperforming, we need a world‑class leader to own it.

We’re now looking for a Director of SEM to own strategy, performance, and the future of our search acquisition channel. This is a senior, strategic role for a performance marketing leader who has operated SEM at scale inside a high‑growth consumer tech or marketplace/e‑commerce business.

You’ll lead a growing team of specialists and partner with Data Science, MarTech, Brand, and a dedicated double‑digit team at Google to push the boundaries of what’s possible in search. You’ll also be among a select group of advertisers piloting a new ad offering with a leading AI platform, shaping how SEM evolves at a global scale.

This role is not about managing day‑to‑day execution. It’s about designing the best system, setting the strategy, and making sure Preply keeps winning in search – at scale, across markets globally, and at the cutting edge of automation and AI.

What you’ll be doing:

Own the channel strategy

• Define and own Preply’s global SEM strategy across Google Search, PMax, and emerging AI‑powered ad formats
• Set the vision for how we grow the channel – expanding keyword coverage, improving bidding sophistication, and deploying budget with increasing efficiency
• Decide how to balance automation with human judgment, and where to invest in new capabilities vs. doubling down on what works
• Stay at the frontier: shape how Preply thinks about the future of search as AI reshapes user behaviour and ad formats

Drive performance and scale

• Own the channel KPIs while maintaining or improving ROI
• Oversee keyword architecture and automation across keywords, languages, and markets
• Lead LTV‑based bidding strategy in partnership with the Data Science team, pushing the state of the art in how we value and bid for users
• Expand SEM coverage into non‑language subjects as Preply grows beyond its core vertical

Build and lead the team

• Lead a team of specialists, setting direction, developing capability, and creating clear accountability
• Define how the team operates: priorities, org structure, and collaboration model with enabling functions

Shape how we use AI

• Define and embed an AI vision for the SEM team: from how individual team members leverage AI tools to increase personal productivity, to designing agentic systems for campaign management workflows.
• You’ll set the standard for what AI‑enabled SEM looks like at Preply, and continuously push the team's ambition for what’s possible.

Lead through influence

• Partner cross‑functionally with teams in the business, to build infrastructure that enables scale, not just campaigns
• Align Brand and Growth teams around how SEM and PMax work together for maximum impact
• Translate channel performance into clear business impact for the VP of Performance Marketing & Growth and senior leadership, and build data‑driven cases for investment.

What you need to succeed:

• Director‑level experience in SEM or Performance Marketing, with a track record of channel ownership at significant scale & double‑digit million budget
• Deep, hands‑on understanding of Google Search, Smart Bidding, and PMax – including how to structure, feed, and govern PMax campaigns at scale.
• Experience designing or overseeing SEM automation at scale – you understand how the system works, not just what it produces
• Proven ability to operate in a high‑growth e‑commerce or consumer tech environment, where targets are ambitious and the pace is fast
• Experience working with data science or engineering teams on performance systems – LTV bidding, prediction models, or automation pipelines
• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect long‑term vision to day‑to‑day execution and remove blockers
• Comfortable stepping into an existing team and earning credibility – leading through expertise and direction, not task ownership
• Experience working in or across multi‑language, multi‑market environments

Our Principles

• Care to change the world – We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing.
• We do it for learners – For both Preply and tutors, learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience.
• Keep perfecting – To create an outstanding customer experience, we focus on simplicity, smoothness, and enjoyment, continually perfecting it as every detail matters.
• Now is the time – In a fast‑paced world, it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen.
• Disciplined execution – What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals, focus on what matters, and utilize our resources efficiently.
• Dive deep – We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories, unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions.
• Growth mindset – We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe today's best performance becomes tomorrow's starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks.
• Raise the bar – We raise our performance standards continuously, alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high‑performing teams that can make a real difference.
• Challenge, disagree and commit – We value open and candid communication, even when we don’t fully agree. We speak our minds, challenge when necessary, and fully commit to decisions once made.
• One Preply – We prioritize collaboration, inclusion, and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together, we support and celebrate each other's progress.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Preply.com is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe that the presence of different opinions and viewpoints is a key ingredient for our success as a multicultural Ed‑Tech company. That means that Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or veteran status.