Search Strategy Lead

Colgate-Palmolive; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 700 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global consumer products company in Midrand, Gauteng is looking for a Search Strategy Lead. This role requires a visionary to lead the AI-first search strategy and drive e-commerce growth across Africa. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of experience in managing SEO/PPC campaigns and possess strong analytical and communication skills. Join a company committed to fostering an inclusive environment and making a difference in the world.

Benefits

Inclusive work environment

Career development opportunities

Competitive salary package

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years managing complex Search (SEO/PPC) campaigns.
• Proven record in improving organic rankings.
• Strong analytical skills to identify trends.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a search strategy for e-commerce growth.
• Monitor paid search campaigns across Google Ads.
• Guide content teams on SEO and AEO.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical Skills

Communication

SEO Knowledge

PPC Management

Retail Media Experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Advertising, Marketing, or related field

Tools

Google Ads

GA4

GSC

Semrush

Ahrefs

Job description

No Relocation Assistance Offered

Job Number #170688 - Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa

Who We Are

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name!

Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values-Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous-we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.

Search Strategy Lead

We are seeking a Search Strategy Lead to lead the strategic evolution of our search ecosystem for Colgate-Palmolive across the Africa EurAsia Division.

This leadership role will be responsible for transforming search into a primary engine for driving e-commerce growth, dominating our online presence, and fueling our 1PD pipeline for personalization.

The ideal candidate will develop and pioneer our new AI-First Search Strategy, transforming how we win in this new landscape. This requires a visionary strategist with proven mastery of SEM (SEO/PPC) and Retail Media (Sponsored Search). This person will serve as the central strategic leader and evangelist for search, partnering with and empowering our local digital teams to orchestrate growth and set a new standard of digital excellence.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a robust search strategy tailored to our top-priority Africa EurAsia markets to drive e-commerce sales and grow our online market share.
• Monitor all paid search campaigns across Google Ads and Sponsored Search on Retail Media Networks (RMN) to drive sales and product visibility on key e-commerce sites.
• Develop a comprehensive SEO strategy to improve organic search rankings through Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), defining content strategies for AI-driven search (e.g., Google SGE, Perplexity) and retrieval-based natural language processing (NLP) systems.
• Oversee the high-level goal of capturing high-quality first-party data (both known and unknown) through all search-related activities.
• Guide the content team in creating optimized content to appear in AI snapshots, instant answers, voice search, and featured SERPs.
• Perform regular technical SEO audits and work with the web development team in LATAM to implement fixes (e.g., site speed, structured data, crawlability).
• Develop and manage scalable link-building strategies to enhance domain authority.
• Conduct A/B testing on ad copy, landing pages, and bidding models to drive continuous improvement.
• Define, monitor, and report on KPIs for all search initiatives, preparing detailed reports for senior management with actionable insights.
• Serve as the central in-house expert on search, providing guidance, training, and best practices to local subsidiary digital teams.
• Support all local teams to manage all paid media budgets, bidding strategies, and external agency performance to maximize ROAS and minimize CPA.

Education, Experience, & Skill Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Advertising, Marketing, Business, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Minimum 5 years of hands‑on experience managing complex Search (SEO/PPC) campaigns, with deep experience in Retail Media and the evolving AI search landscape.
• Proven track record of successfully improving organic rankings and managing complex paid search campaigns with significant budgets.
• Expert knowledge of GA4, GSC, and Google Ads.
• Deep experience with standard search tools (Semrush, Ahrefs and Screaming Frog).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders, upskill brand teams, and influence senior management.
• Self-starter with an experimental (test-and-learn) mindset, capable of prioritizing tasks and working in a fast-paced corporate environment without full guidance.
• Results-driven and oriented.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Our journey begins with our people-developing strong talent with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to best serve our consumers around the world and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels a true sense of belonging. We are dedicated to ensuring that each individual can be their authentic self, is treated with respect, and is empowered by leadership to contribute meaningfully to our business.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Colgate is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, veteran status (United States positions), or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodation during the application process is available for persons with disabilities. Please complete this request form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaxk_eF4utznQoVHlxmL9jVFJbOkM4Oe5CAdKOg-h9EPdLfg/viewform) should you require accommodation.

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