Head of Search Marketing

Base salary up to £110,000 + 30% bonus + benefits
Location: Hertfordshire office | Hybrid working (3 days per week in office)

Some search roles are about channels.
This one is about ownership, driving commercial outcomes and leadership.

A big brand in the hospitality and leisure industry is looking to appoint a new Head of Search Marketing, a senior leadership role sitting at the heart of a fast-evolving digital function. It’s a chance to take real responsibility for how paid, organic and AI-driven discovery come together to drive revenue, not just traffic.

This is a newly created position. Which matters. You’re not inheriting someone else’s playbook. You’re defining the direction, setting the standards, and building a search engine that works as a system rather than a set of silos.

Why this role will appeal

If you’re at a point where pure channel leadership feels limiting, this role offers something broader. You’ll own a significant multi-million pound search budget, lead a specialist team across PPC, SEO and AI/GEO, and operate as a commercial partner to brand, product and performance leadership.

There’s also something exciting happening here. As the company embraces the changing search marketing landscape - AI summaries, LLMs, new forms of visibility. The company wants someone who doesn’t just react to that shift, but helps shape how the business shows up in this new landscape.

What you’ll actually be doing

• Owning the end-to-end search strategy across PPC, SEO and AI/GEO, with revenue and ROI as the north star
• Leading and developing a team of search specialists, setting clarity, pace and standards
• Managing and optimising a substantial paid media budget across Google and Bing
• Creating roadmaps for technical SEO, content and AI visibility that stakeholders can actually buy into
• Working closely with brand, product and analytics teams to align search with wider commercial goals
• Representing search confidently in senior forums, trading meetings and roadmap discussions

Who this is likely to suit

You’ll already be operating at a senior level within the search marketing industry with experience across both paid media and organic, could be you’re working at an ambitious SME but feel it’s time to get that big brand on your CV and step into the big leagues.

Or you could be working in an agency, leading the search/performance marketing teams, setting the strategy and direction. Which includes innovation strategies which helps keep your agency at the forefront of the search marketing industry.

You’re used to owning budgets, making decisions and being held accountable for outcomes.

You understand consumer facing brands and how they drive traffic, conversions and ROI through their websites. Bonus points if this includes understanding how booking engines work.

What matters most is not where you’ve worked, but how you think:

• You see paid and organic as complementary, not competing
• You’re commercially minded and comfortable making judgement calls with imperfect data
• You’re curious about AI and GEO, but grounded enough to avoid chasing noise
• You can lead specialists without needing to be the deepest expert in every room

If you’re looking for a role with genuine scale, influence and future-facing relevance, this one is worth a conversation.

Want to Apply? Here’s how:

Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK.

You can share your Linked-in profile or email me a CV – it doesn’t have to be up to date, we can work on that once you decide you want to take this forward.

Or, for a chat and more information please contact me on:

Colin Doree
Recruiter | Blue Pelican
01892 507122