SEM Associate Director, Paid Search Activation

Citi; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

AI-driven search capabilities

Learning & development opportunities

Cross-functional collaboration

Competitive benefits

Wellbeing resources

Job summary

Citi's U.S. Consumer Cards Paid Media team seeks an experienced SEM Associate Director to lead enterprise-scale paid search across multiple lines of business.

You will own end-to-end campaign activation, drive optimization, and mentor the Paid Search Activation team, leveraging AI-driven capabilities and cross-functional collaboration. In this senior role, you will partner with Analytics, Risk, Legal, and Finance to ensure compliant, high-performing programs while advancing platform innovations

Qualifications

• 6-10 years of paid search experience
• Hands-on experience building, launching, optimizing, troubleshooting paid search campaigns in Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360
• Experience managing large-scale paid search programs and budgets
• Deep expertise in search campaign structure, keyword strategy, match types, and conversion tracking
• Advanced proficiency with tCPA, tROAS, portfolio bidding, shared budgets, and AI-driven optimization
• Experience operating in regulated environments with Risk, Compliance, and Legal stakeholders
• Familiarity with tagging, tracking implementation, and marketing tech solutions with Data/Engineering teams
• Experience with enterprise-scale campaign automation and first-party data activation

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end paid search activation across multiple lines of business
• Serve as subject matter expert for paid search activation and platform optimization
• Manage and develop the Paid Search Activation team
• Establish activation standards across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360
• Design and refine standardized workflows, playbooks, and operating procedures
• Coordinate with Risk, Legal, and Compliance on regulatory requirements
• Operationalize AI-powered and automated search capabilities
• Partner with Analytics to build reporting frameworks and dashboards
• Collaborate with Marketing, Technology, Product, Risk, Legal, and Finance to align priorities
• Partner with Analytics, Technology, and Operations to enhance measurement and activation capabilities

Skills

Paid search

Google Ads

Microsoft Ads

SA360

AI-driven optimization

Bidding strategies

Campaign management

Digital analytics

Attribution

Risk/compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Google Ads

Microsoft Ads

SA360

Job description

The U.S. Consumer Cards organization delivers a wide array of credit card products and services to individual consumers, small businesses, and our co-branded and retail partners. As one of Citi's largest and most dynamic businesses, U.S. Consumer Cards provides a comprehensive suite of payment and lending solutions designed to meet a broad range of customer needs.

As a key driver of customer acquisition and business growth, the U.S. Consumer Cards Paid Media team is responsible for advancing Citi's digital marketing capabilities while delivering performance across key acquisition channels. This includes acquiring new customers, bringing new and refreshed products to market, partnering on cross-functional marketing campaigns, and driving innovation across the marketing organization.

We are seeking a highly experienced SEM Associate Director to lead enterprise-scale paid search activation across multiple lines of business. The successful candidate will bring substantial hands-on experience building, launching, managing, and optimizing paid search campaigns, along with a deep understanding of campaign architecture, keyword strategy, bidding methodologies, audience targeting, conversion tracking, and performance optimization across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360.

In this role, you will own and drive the end-to-end management of Citi's paid search programs, translating business objectives into scalable, compliant, and high-performing campaigns. You will serve as a trusted subject matter expert, establishing best practices, driving operational excellence, optimizing performance, and accelerating the adoption of automation and AI-driven capabilities across the search marketing program.

This role will manage and develop Citi's Paid Search Activation team, partner closely with SEM Strategy leads, and serve as the primary owner of SEM operational transformation, platform innovation, and day-to-day paid search operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end paid search campaign activation across multiple lines of business, overseeing campaign builds, keyword development, bid strategy implementation, audience deployment, launch readiness, optimization, and in-flight management to ensure consistent, high-quality performance.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for paid search activation, bringing deep platform knowledge and hands-on experience across campaign architecture, keyword strategy, bidding, audience targeting, ad development, budget management, and performance optimization.
• Manage and develop the Paid Search Activation team responsible for campaign builds, trafficking, quality assurance, budget pacing, optimization, and performance reporting, establishing clear operating standards and operational excellence across all accounts.
• Establish and maintain activation standards across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360, leveraging practical experience to guide campaign setup, optimization methodologies, troubleshooting, and QA processes.
• Design and continuously refine standardized workflows, playbooks, and operating procedures that improve campaign activation efficiency, scalability, and consistency at enterprise scale.
• Coordinate with Risk, Legal, and Compliance teams to ensure all paid search activities meet regulatory requirements and internal advertising standards, minimizing operational and compliance risk.
• Operationalize AI-powered and automated search capabilities, including AI Max, automated bidding strategies (tCPA, tROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value), portfolio bidding, and shared budget management to improve campaign performance, drive efficiency, and enhance scalability.
• Partner with Analytics teams to build reporting frameworks and dashboards that track campaign performance against key metrics including ROAS, CPA, conversion rate, and incremental business outcomes, enabling informed decision-making and reliable attribution.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across Marketing, Technology, Product, Risk, Legal, and Finance to align priorities, communicate performance updates, and manage strategic platform and vendor relationships with Google, Microsoft, and SA360.
• Partner with Analytics, Technology, and Operations teams to continuously enhance campaign measurement, tracking, automation, and activation capabilities across the paid search ecosystem.

Qualifications

• 6-10 years of paid search experience, including direct leadership of paid search activation or campaign management teams in complex, high-volume environments.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience personally building, launching, optimizing, and troubleshooting paid search campaigns within Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360, including campaign architecture, keyword strategy, ad creation, audience implementation, bidding strategy configuration, budget management, and performance optimization.
• Proven experience managing large-scale paid search programs and budgets, with a strong understanding of account-level campaign structure, optimization strategies, and performance drivers.
• Deep expertise in search campaign structure, keyword strategy, match type management, search query analysis, negative keyword development, audience targeting, and conversion tracking.
• Advanced proficiency with Google Ads and SA360 bidding solutions, including tCPA, tROAS, portfolio bidding, shared budgets, seasonality adjustments, and AI-driven optimization strategies.
• Solid grounding in digital analytics, attribution methodologies, A/B testing, incrementality measurement, and performance optimization best practices.
• Experience operating within regulated environments, including collaboration with Risk, Compliance, and Legal stakeholders.
• Familiarity with tagging, tracking implementation, and scalable marketing technology solutions developed in partnership with Data and Engineering teams.
• Experience working with enterprise-scale campaign automation, audience strategies, and first-party data activation.

Education

Bachelor’s/University degree required

This job description provides a high-level review of the types of work performed. Other job-related duties may be assigned as required.

What We Offer

Joining Citi's U.S. Consumer Cards Paid Media team means working at the centre of one of the largest card businesses in the United States, where your decisions directly influence how millions of customers discover and engage with Citi's products. This is a senior role with real ownership, cross-functional reach, and the opportunity to shape how paid search evolves at enterprise scale.

• A hybrid working arrangement with 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely, giving you flexibility alongside meaningful in-person collaboration.
• Ownership of a high-impact paid search program that operates at significant scale across multiple products and business lines.
• Direct involvement in the adoption of AI-driven search capabilities and automation, keeping you at the forefront of how the discipline is evolving.
• Access to learning and development opportunities that support your continued growth as a senior practitioner and people leader.
• Collaboration with cross-functional teams spanning Marketing, Technology, Product, Risk, Legal, and Finance, giving you broad exposure and influence across the organization.
• Competitive financial wellbeing and benefits package, including support for long-term financial planning.
• Wellbeing support and work-life balance resources designed to help you perform at your best.

Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi. View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.