Group Director, Search | Growth Marketing Team

WHY DEPT? We are pioneers at heart. What this means, is that we are always leaning forward, thinking of what we can create tomorrow that does not exist today. We were born digital and we are a new model of agency, with a deep skillset in tech and marketing. That's why we hire curious, self-driven, talented people who never stop innovating.
Our culture is big enough to cope and small enough to care. Meaning, that with people across 20+ countries, we're big enough to provide you with the best tools, global opportunities, and benefits that help you thrive. While acting small by investing in you, your growth, your team, and giving you the autonomy to solve our clients' problems, no matter where you are in the world.
This is a hybrid role located in Chicago, IL and is requiring 2 days on-site a week. ABOUT YOU You are the driving force behind the success of paid search within the organization, with a deep understanding of strategy and the media landscape. Your leadership skills and technical expertise foster high-performing teams that exceed goals and consistently deliver strategic solutions. You are a master strategist, ensuring that every aspect of the organization flourishes, from staffing to client retention and profitability. You champion innovation, collaborate with partners to cultivate cutting-edge practices and lead the charge for profitable new business opportunities.
As a coach, mentor, and leader, you nurture talent and build succession plans that ensure unwavering performance. You are shaping the paid search landscape and leaving an indelible mark of success on the organization.
PROFICIENCY EXPECTATIONS Group Directors are pivotal in the organization as the most senior leaders for paid search activation strategy. They deeply understand how it weaves within the integrated media ecosystem and are responsible for driving technical expertise and delivery excellence across all search channels. They successfully oversee a team of highly specialized paid search experts that operate towards DMUS standards and are committed to supporting career growth plans and ensuring the satisfaction of all team members.
Work on new processes and initiatives that can be put forward within the org to meet group-wide goalsProactively developing team staffing and growth plans to ensure their org can cover for any employee losses & new business opportunities while maintaining a balance of healthy team utilization.Group Directors oversee paid search activation teams to ensure all accounts successfully surpass goals and that the activation teams provide proactive strategy.Manages Directors, mentoring them into influential leaders who can own and grow their book of business and multi-layer team structureRegularly review client margins and ensure your accounts meet or exceed margin goals as Finance determines. Address when profitability levels are too low or signal we are not investing enough into the relationshipEnsure all tracks within their org have both a high client retention and employee retention rate, identify core issues, proactively develop plans to mitigate issues from restructuring track staffing models, adjusting account teams, identifying skill gaps and up-leveling their employees, to re-evaluating client needs at an SOW/services level.Actively involved in the pitch process for new business opportunities, owning staffing forecasting, populating the pricing tool, and ensuring healthy coordination with new business and finance to be able to staff, support, and service new business clients profitablyIn-depth understanding of how financials work regarding hiring, promotions, raises, bandwidth, client ROI, and client investment opportunities.Accountable to Client Partner(s) in delivering tactical plans that ladder up to overall brand strategy and agreed KPIsSupport client partners in managing client relationships as related to paid search strategy, team, and performanceEnsures effective collaboration of paid search strategy and implementation for flawless execution of search campaign strategy and activation towards client overall goals.Manage recruiting & interview process with the recruiting teamPoint of escalation for all activation team members within their track- understands when to step in and coach the team on any advanced strategy, optimizations, processes, or next steps to mitigate issues and drive search growth.Oversees their activation team resourcing, consistently updating tracking to ensure utilization numbers are accurate and the team is fully utilized towards targets. Understands when their team is open for bandwidth and ready to take on clients.Ensures we have high-performing team members across the track and proactively identifies when someone is struggling.Provide coaching to both the employee and manager or implement a performance improvement plan to document progress on specific issuesSet up skip levels with all team members to ensure managers follow all proper procedures and support their DRs appropriately.Complete all administrative requirements for your track:Monthly Client Spend Review/QA for search-specific channelsIdentifies succession plans for their team and cultivates talent development for upward mobility and planning for unplanned employee attritionProven track record of growing team members by at least two levels, successfully managing ALs, and managing/coaching management within the team – providing clear and timely feedback on performance to ensure employees understand their strengths and opportunities to improveTakes part in new business search audits & pitchesOwns the relationship between DMUS and channel platform repsWorks with reps to identify and vet new opportunities, drive the development of channel-specific innovation, thought leadership, best practices & training, and ensure that best practices are implemented regularlyQUALIFICATIONS A minimum of 8 years' paid search experience (spanning all core Google, Microsoft, and Apple products) and a minimum 3 years of experience in a client-facing marketing roleProven prior work experience managing a team of 3+ direct reports / team members and demonstrated ability to mentor and develop direct reports into more senior rolesA deep understanding of Google Ad and Microsoft Ads managers and be skilled at effectively communicating paid search goals, targets, and tactics to clients and can get into the weeds when necessary.The ability to audit an account and present actionable insights to a clientThe ability to provide feedback and strategic guidance across search channels (search, shopping, PMax, YouTube, Demand Gen)To hold your own talking growth strategy, SEO, CRO, analytics and measurement with marketing managers and C-Level executives alikeExperience acting as an escalation point for clients, evaluating team services levels and proposing improvementsAdditional things that will impress us: The ability to identify upsell opportunities across all agency offerings and execute on those opportunities to grow revenue on existing clientsYou are skilled at effectively communicating/teaching optimization tasks to multiple team members at once and have past experience managing managersSuccessful track record of crafting and participating in sales pitches and auditsProven prior work experience managing a P&L and hitting margin targetsWHAT DO WE OFFER? We are a collaborative, open-door, best-idea-wins environment that fosters personal and company growth and has fun doing it. Here is a snapshot of our benefits package:
Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage401k plan, plus matchingPTOPaid Company HolidaysParental LeaveWE SUPPORT YOU BEING YOU: DEPT is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We believe our work is its best when our people feel safe and free to be themselves. We're committed to an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment and selection process and workplace, regardless of anyone's lived experience, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information. So tell us about any accommodations you need. It's totally confidential and only used to make sure you feel fully supported at every step.
DEPT participates in E-Verify, meaning your Form I-9 information will be sent to the federal government to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.
We are a B Corp-certified company passionate about purpose-driven work. Our hope is that you can feel good about the contributions DEPT is making to the world and we always have an open door for your ideas in making the world a better place.
DEPT is a pioneering technology and marketing services company that creates integrated end-to-end digital experiences for brands such as Google, KFC, Philips, Audi, Twitch, Patagonia, eBay and more. Its team of 2,500+ digital specialists across 30+ locations on 5 continents delivers pioneering work on a global scale with a boutique culture.
Learn more about DEPT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION At DEPT, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us. Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.
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