Manager, Search, GCS at WPP Media in London, United Kingdom

3822 - Manager, Search, GCS

Role Summary and Impact

The role exists within WPP Media Channels & Solutions to support a growing team, covering SEO. As an SEO Account Manager, you will play a pivotal role in day-to-day ownership of client engagements, SEO process and execution on and off page.

The SEO Account Manager will be required to support the growth of our offering with the help of the Account Director and lead in management of the SEO Account Executives. The SEO Account Director will shape the global SEO strategy for a variety of brands across content, technical and outreach.

Responsibilities

Organic Search Management

• Oversee development and creation of organic search best practices alongside your BD. Ultimate accountability for adherence to best practice, and responsible for effective oversight of designated organic and holistic search strategies.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of organic search, operating as an in-agency expert in your field of specialism, whilst showing a good understanding of the overall media landscape.
• Actively generate client related case studies and seek opportunities for award entries whilst ensuring the teams aim at a higher prominence within the wider industry.
• Report on Client performance and share learnings and insights to the wider agency Channels and Solutions group on a quarterly basis at minimum and evolve the agency best practices based on this.
• Make continuous strategic and optimisation recommendations and work with the various specialists and/or local teams to ensure effective implementation.
• Connect with account teams and market leads to ensure cross-team integration and WoW consistency both across organic search and paid channels.
• Support Senior leadership and line manager with regular updates on up-and-coming innovation, changes to industry landscape

Delivering client performance

• Identify and source the right technology following best practices and report to BD for potential activation. Ensure reporting is focused on actionable insight
• Deliver best-in-class approach to Organic Search, rooted in the WPP Media Channels & Solutions Best Practice Framework, and raise any barriers to this to the Organic search lead.
• Develop strong relationships with your client, leading team communications with these stakeholders. Lead efforts to gather and disseminate intelligence about the client to ensure deep understanding to predict and meet their business needs.
• Share key industry information with wider Channels and Solutions group via sessions and workshops.
• Regularly support the AD in presentations, and lead sessions/meetings/presentations when asked to do so.
• Create a strong relationship with leadership within by actively contributing and collaborating to create the best possible offering for the client.
• Demonstrate expert understanding of the business successes, challenges, and strategic objectives; draws from experience to evaluate solutions from the business perspective and provide advice regarding potential opportunities and risks.
• Strategically nurture relationships with key decision-makers alongside the BD, by helping them successfully navigate through critical business changes and address complex issues in their businesses.

Developing our product

Work with the Head of/Partner Organic Search and the wider Channels & Solutions Senior Leadership team to:

• Develop roadmaps for the Organic Search product, to differentiate and future proof our offering
• Create a consistent, challenging, but exciting recruitment experience for candidates that allows us to find and secure the best talent in the market
• Support BDs, Head of/Partner Search in development of Channels & Solutions Paid Search product
• Contribute and leads aspects of New Business, as well as upselling and cross-selling of services and capabilities to IBM alongside your BD.
• Contribute to the New Business process by creating templates and resources usable in all pitches

Raising our profile

• Build and maintain relationships with Clients and Client Leads, as well as offering strategic guidance alongside the BD to help grow the business and strengthen the relationship
• Surface and share great work from the team and ensuring that case studies of great work are regularly created.
• Enter relevant industry awards and create POVs regarding industry developments
• Contribute to key industry events and represent WPP Media externally.
• Regular development of opinion pieces related to Organic Search to be shared across the agency, build external and internal profile and act as a thought leader in the Organic Search space.
• Build and maintain relationships with Client Leads, offering strategic guidance (in line with BD vision) to help grow the business and strengthen the relationship
• Work with HR/other channel leads to ensure the Channels & Solutions story is positioned correctly with recruiters
• Develop the profile of WPP Media Channels & Solutions through training, presentations, and other communication
• Support Senior leadership and line manager with regular updates on up-and-coming innovation, changes to industry landscape

Inspiring our people

• Maintain a positive attitude towards all areas of our work and looking for opportunities and solutions from challenges

• Establish a relationship with key senior clients, through QBRs/proactive projects
• Regular maintenance of talent mapping and career path development plans for all direct reports.
• Regularly update the team alongside the BD on live initiatives, business performance, new business opportunities and any other relevant topics
• Maintain a strong line of communication with all team members including the Head of Search, senior leadership, etc.
• Work with BD and HR teams to develop and maintain training plans to plug any skills gaps around the team
• Lead through vision, values, and model leadership behaviours while championing and facilitating change in a positive manner.
• Ensuring the effective management of more junior team members, guaranteeing workloads are monitored and prioritised to meet deadlines within SLAs.
• Support the Head of/Director and broader team in capacity planning and resource management. Lead the recruitment process for your immediate team and assist with the wider team’s recruitment as needed (e.g. TDP development, position description creation, hiring/interview process changes and partake in interviews, etc.) Share your developments with the department to promote standardisation of process and template within the group
• Communicate clearly and in a timely manner with internal and external stakeholders as required across email, chat, video, and in-person. Lead presentations where necessary.

Driving our process

• Take the lead on one or more integration projects across the department, and supporting other projects
• Develop and maintain on-boarding process for new starters
• Constantly review all optimization, budget management, task management, testing, and other processes to identify opportunities for improvement in effectiveness or efficiency
• Develop ways of working that maximize client output whilst minimizing operational input.
• Ensure alignment to wider group best practices surrounding aspects such as reporting, automation, accreditations, etc. Lead this workstream alongside appropriate BD and communicate progress to stakeholders

Ensuring our profitability

• Work with ADs to ensure client resource allocations are adhered to, reported, and flagged to BD
• Support and deliver new business pitches when requested by leadership
• Commercially driven and forward thinking in the expansion of business opportunities, entrepreneurial in mind-set and always looking to develop incremental or new services both centrally and locally via new opportunities and revenue streams

Skills and Experience

Commercially driven and forward thinking in the expansion of business opportunities, entrepreneurial in mind-set and always looking to develop incremental or new services both centrally and locally. The candidate should be confident and competent across all aspects of SEO and have the ambition to consistently drive the growth and development of our people and offering.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in SEO and Owned Asset Optimisation
• Experience in creating Global scalable strategies
• Advanced competency for technical SEO
• Experience in Integrating of SEO with Paid digital channels
• High level numeracy and analysis skills, to be able to interrogate data and coming out with actionable insights to inform business decisions.
• Strong project management and organisational skills
• Demonstrated career management of SEO executives
• Client relationship skills – including presentation skills
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills, being able to confidently and clearly present work to clients, media owners and internal stakeholders. Experience & gravitas to ‘fly solo’ & present to mid to senior weight clients.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills: ability to solve issues (both technical and operational) quickly and creatively
• Ability to communicate process driven approaches clearly and effectively to non-technical individuals
• Competency in Google Analytics and Tag Manager
• Competency in Microsoft Excel
• Experience and competency in SEO tools including Screaming Frog, Lumar, BrightEdge and more.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience building Looker Studio reports
• Paid search experience and experience in holistic search strategies
• Experience in building deliverable templates for the team to utilise
• Substantial demonstratable success in managing and leading digital teams.
• Language skills

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment to Be Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We also Lead Optimistically, firmly believing in and Championing Growth and Development for every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

We Create an Open environment built on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process. Please note that while our philosophy is the same across WPP, benefits may vary by office/country.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

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While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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