Senior Manager, Paid Search

Grainger; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

PTO and holidays

401(k) match

Tuition reimbursement

Financial counseling

Job summary

Grainger is seeking a Senior Manager, Paid Search to lead end-to-end governance of Grainger's paid search programs. The role drives strategy, budget allocation, forecasting, bidding, and optimization to maximize ROAS while controlling costs.

The candidate will partner with cross-functional teams and external platform partners to align investments with business goals, deliver scalable processes, and mentor managers and senior professionals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• 7+ years of paid search experience.
• Experience managing budgets, forecasting, pacing, and optimization.
• Proficiency with analytics platforms to measure campaign performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end governance and execution of paid search programs and strategy.
• Develop managers and senior professionals through coaching and performance reviews.
• Oversee budget allocation, forecasting, pacing, and bidding strategy.
• Manage partner relationships with Google, Microsoft, and other platforms.
• Collaborate with Analytics, Sales, Pricing, and Marketing to align investments.
• Drive optimization across campaign structure, keywords, audience targeting, and ads.

Skills

Paid search management

Forecasting

Budget management

Analytics platforms

First-party data

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Google Ads

Microsoft Advertising

Analytics tools

Job description

Senior Manager, Paid Search

Date: Oct 2, 2026

Location: LAKE FOREST, IL, US, 60045-5202 CHICAGO, IL, US, 60654-4203

Company: Grainger Businesses

Work Location Type: Hybrid

Req Number 335253

About Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America and Japan. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.6 million customers worldwide with maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and value-added solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer expertise. Known for its commitment to service and purpose-driven culture, the Company reported 2025 revenue of $17.9 billion. For more information, visitwww.grainger.com.

Compensation

The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $134,100.00 – $223,500.00. This role is eligible for an incentive target of up to 20% or $, based on the achievement of individual and company performance objectives in accordance with the current terms of the incentive program which are subject to change.

Rewards and Benefits

With benefits starting on day one, our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet team members' individual needs, including:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
• 18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
• 6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
• Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents.

For additional information and details regarding Grainger’s benefits, please click on the link below:

https://experience100.ehr.com/grainger/Home/Tools-Resources/Key-Resources/New-Hire

Grainger Benefits

The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.

The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above.

Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.

Position Details

The Senior Manager, Paid Search is accountable for the leadership, governance, and performance of Grainger's paid search marketing channels (e.g., Google, Microsoft, emerging search platforms). This role ensures paid search investments are executed with discipline and deliver against approved demand generation, commercial, and customer acquisition objectives. Operating within established strategies, budgets, and enterprise policies, this position is accountable for end-to-end governance and execution of paid search programs. The role has responsibility for paid search investment strategy and financial stewardship, including budget allocation, forecasting, pacing, bidding strategy, and optimization decisions to maximize profitable growth while maintaining cost discipline.

This is a hybrid position that is based onsite in Lake Forest or Chicago 3 days a week.

You Will

• Lead end-to-end governance and execution of paid search programs, including strategy, campaign architecture, operating standards, and performance priorities to ensure consistency, compliance, and quality delivery.
• Lead and develop managers and senior professionals through formal goal setting, coaching, and performance management processes to maintain delivery standards and maintain delivery standards while building organizational depth in paid search expertise.
• Lead paid search investment strategy and financial stewardship, including budget allocation, forecasting, pacing, bidding strategy, and optimization decisions to maximize profitable growth while maintaining cost discipline.
• Oversee partner relationships through structured operating forums, scope management, and performance reviews to ensure contractual compliance, value realization, and operational excellence. Serve as a senior business partner to Google, Microsoft, and other search technology and platform partners, setting channel objectives, resolving escalated issues, evaluating new capabilities, and ensuring platform roadmaps support Grainger’s paid search strategy.
• Partner closely with Grainger Analytics, Sales, Pricing, Merchandising, Category Management, and Marketing teams to align paid search investments with customer strategies and business priorities, identifying opportunities to drive incremental revenue, demand generation, and customer lifetime value.
• Drive continuous optimization across campaign structure, keyword strategy, audience targeting, bidding automation, ad copy, landing page performance, and testing methodologies to improve business outcomes.
• Establish and enforce standardized measurement, reporting, attribution, incrementality, and channel health monitoring frameworks in partnership with Analytics teams to evaluate campaign performance, customer acquisition efficiency, and return on advertising spend (ROAS).
• Provide leadership with regular assessments of paid search performance, investment opportunities, and emerging capabilities, translating insights into actionable recommendations and resource priorities
• Lead the paid search operating and experimentation roadmap, establishing scalable processes, controls, resource and capability requirements, performance reviews, and escalation paths while prioritizing tests across campaign, feed, platform, automation, measurement, and customer experience capabilities to advance business objectives.

You Have

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience in paid search
• Experience managing paid search budgets, including forecasting, pacing, accruals, financial reporting, and investment optimization, and executing paid search programs using automated bidding strategies, audience segmentation, feed management, and search automation tools.
• Knowledge of search measurement, attribution, incrementality testing, conversion tracking, and analytics platforms used to evaluate campaign performance and inform paid search decisions.
• Experience using first-party data, customer insights, audience strategies, and paid search performance data to inform acquisition, retention, customer lifetime value, and campaign optimization decisions.
• Experience partnering with Marketing, Merchandising, Pricing, Sales, Analytics, Technology, and Product teams and applying search platform innovations, AI-driven optimization capabilities, privacy changes, and digital advertising practices to paid search programs.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.