Job Description
Who We Are
Goodway Group is one of AdAge’s 2025’s BEST PLACES TO WORK! As an independent and remote-first media and marketing services firm with a 90+ year history, Goodway Group has the security of an established company combined with a start-up feel. With leading data-driven and technology-enabled digital media and marketing services firm with teams in the U.S. and the UK, our diverse team of digital strategists, media practitioners, technologists and data scientists have won the most prestigious awards for innovative marketing technology, impactful work and inclusive remote-first places to work including being honored as a multiyear winner in Ad Age Best Places to Work, Ad Exchanger’s Best Use of Technology by an Agency Award and two MarTech Breakthrough Awards and a certified service partner to The Trade Desk.
Summary of Role
The Channel Director – SEM is the senior leader responsible for paid search excellence within Brand & Commerce, spanning specialty retail, consumer brands, and multi-location clients. This role owns the quality, performance, and evolution of offsite search activation while leading and developing a high-performing team of Search Managers and Coordinators.
This is a player–coach leadership role requiring deep, hands-on expertise across SEM platforms (Google Ads, Microsoft/Bing Ads) combined with strong people leadership, operational rigor, and proactive future planning. The Search Director ensures enterprise search standards are executed with excellence inside the LOB, while translating emerging changes, such as agentic AI and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), into practical, scalable activation strategies.
The Channel Director – Search is client-facing for high-value engagements and serves as a trusted search authority for complex planning, performance, and innovation discussions.
What You’ll Do
Search Leadership & Execution
- Own paid search activation across the Brand & Commerce LOB, ensuring strong performance, compliance, and consistency with enterprise standards.
- Lead in-platform execution for a small number of high-profile clients to deliver hands-on expertise, leadership and credibility to clients.
- Work collaboratively with the Client Strategy team to ensure tactical setup and execution mirrors agreed upon media plans across the search clients.
- Accountable for the quality of all paid search plans, strategies, and services delivered to clients
- Ensure search strategies are executed accurately across Google Ads and Microsoft/Bing Ads, including structure, bidding, automation, and measurement alignment.
- Lead paid search strategy with emphasis on a holistic, full-funnel approach.
- Serve as the escalation point for complex search challenges, audits, and platform changes.
Team Leadership & Capability Development
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Search Managers and Coordinators, setting clear expectations and performance standards.
- Coach managers on optimization strategy, platform expertise, and client communication.
- Build bench strength and readiness across the team, supporting progression and capability growth.
- Foster a culture of testing, learning, and accountability within the search discipline.
AI, GEO & Innovation Leadership
- Actively experiment with agentic AI tools, automation, and emerging search capabilities.
- Develop POVs on how AI-first discovery and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) will impact paid search strategy and activation.
- Partner closely with the Enterprise Channel Media Lead – Search to align on guardrails, standards, and responsible adoption of AI and GEO practices.
- Drive adoption of new search features, betas, and workflows within the LOB.
Client & Cross-Functional Partnership
- Participate in client meetings as the search authority for high-value accounts, QBRs, and complex initiatives.
- Build confidence with clients by translating search performance, AI innovation, and platform changes into clear recommendations.
- Partner with Client Strategy Leads to ensure search activation aligns with channel strategy and media planning intent.
- Collaborate with Analytics and Data Science teams to ensure measurement frameworks support optimization and learning.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, business administration, or a related field is preferred
- 10+ years of experience in paid search or performance media, with demonstrated leadership responsibility
- Deep expertise across search platforms including Google Ads and Microsoft/Bing Ads, with a strong understanding of automation, bidding strategies, and measurement
- Proven experience leading and developing high-performing search teams, including managers and junior practitioners
- Strong strategic and analytical skills, with the ability to translate performance data into scalable activation standards and POVs
- Extensive client-facing experience, serving as a senior search authority in complex performance, planning, and innovation discussions
- Demonstrated ability to establish governance, quality standards, and operational rigor across teams
- Strong communicator with the ability to articulate complex search concepts, platform changes, and AI-driven implications clearly
- In-depth knowledge of industry trends, evolving search ecosystems, automation, and emerging technologies including AI-driven discovery and GEO
#usremote
Check us out at www.goodwaygroup.com to learn more!
If you identify as a female candidate, and feel you can do this role even if there are a few things perhaps you’ve not done, please apply anyway! Goodway Group is 70% Female! We realize that men tend to apply for jobs when they can meet around 60% of the requirements for the role, where women tend to only apply when they know they meet 100% of the requirements.
Goodway Group is human-first, constantly working to become more inclusive and to make sure our employee population reflects our desire to constantly add to our diversity in all ways. We want applications from everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, citizen status, age, disability, military or protected veteran status, genetic predisposition or carrier status or any other legally protected status.
