Director, Search Engine Optimization (Temp)

Horizon Media; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Horizon Media seeks a Director to lead multiple SEO and AEO teams, managing client portfolios and developing traditional and AI-driven search strategies. The role includes mentoring staff, guiding POV development for partners, and fostering a test/learn innovation culture.

Key duties include steering client relationships, optimizing campaigns across engines, and driving new business from strategy to transition. Strong leadership and analytics are essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in a SEO-heavy environment or with SEO.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• Expert knowledge of SEO and AI search fundamentals.
• Strong analytics and familiarity with key tools.
• Experience with local search and CRO is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead client relationships for the Search team.
• Manage cross-client teams and optimize search campaigns across engines.
• Mentor junior staff and drive performance improvements.
• Drive new business engagements from RFPs to transitions.
• Evaluate new technologies and test ideas within client work.

Skills

SEO

AI search

Team leadership

Client relations

Mentoring

Communication

Analytics

Project management

Cross-functional work

On-site collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Screaming Frog

MOZ

SEMRush

Brightedge

Conductor

Profound

Scrunch

Adobe LLM Optimizer

HTML

PHP

Javascript

CSS

Job description

Job Summary

We are currently seeking highly motivated Director to manage multiple teams and client portfolios across our rapidly growing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) practice. Key tasks will include team leadership, establishing and maintaining relationships with internal teams and external clients, developing and administering traditional organic and AI search account strategy, development of POVs for internal/external partners, mentoring of junior staff and championing a test/learn innovation culture.

Job Description

We are currently seeking highly motivated Director to manage multiple teams and client portfolios across our rapidly growing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) practice. Key tasks will include team leadership, establishing and maintaining relationships with internal teams and external clients, developing and administering traditional organic and AI search account strategy, development of POVs for internal/external partners, mentoring of junior staff and championing a test/learn innovation culture.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• 30% - Lead applicable Client relationship(s) on behalf of Search team.
• 30% - Manage subset of Search team across multiple clients, establishing/refining processes for creating, implementing, tracking, analyzing and optimizing Search campaigns in Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Bing, and other search engines.
• 25% - Motivate and inspire cross-section of team members from junior analysts through associate directors to drive continual performance improvements in client business.
• 15% - Drive new business engagements from RFP completion, strategy development, and prospective client pitch through transition to Horizon management.
• 5% - Evaluate new technologies / strategies / techniques across the search landscape and gauge potential for experimentation within existing / new client engagements.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Director of Search Engine Optimization is responsible for the direct management of the Associate Directors, Supervisors and Analysts on the team, as well as for overall team management.

Knowledge And Skills Required

• 8+ years’ experience directly related to a SEO-heavy environment and/or specifically with SEO
• Bachelor’s degree
• Expert knowledge of all aspects of SEO
• Thorough understanding of AI search fundamentals and how brands appear in LLMs and AI responses
• Expert knowledge of Google Analytics and Microsoft Office Applications
• Familiarity and experience with Screaming Frog, MOZ, SEMRush, Brightedge, Conductor, and/or other industry tools
• Experience working with AI Visibility platforms like Profound, Scrunch, Adobe LLM Optimizer and/or other industry tools
• Ability to utilize AI tools to streamline workflows and assess data outputs
• Ability to manage processes & projects across several clients at a time
• A thorough understanding of key search engine ranking factors and information retrieval
• Ability to conduct relevant keyword research and make recommendations
• A thorough understanding of and the ability to conduct detailed on-site optimization
• Ability to interpret analytics data and identify actionable opportunities
• Proven ability to autonomously manage an ongoing organic search campaign
• A solid understanding of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization / A/B Testing) a plus
• Working knowledge of HTML, PHP, Javascript, and/or CSS a huge plus
• Knowledge of the inner workings of local search & local rankings
• Experience with local listings management (LLM) and local SEO
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal; ability to communicate effectively with developers & technical team as well as clients & account team
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail

Certificates, licenses and registrations

• Brightedge Certification is a big plus.
• Google Analytics Certification is helpful.

Base Pay

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

Horizon Media is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.