Head of Search – Digital Resilience

Schillings is a multidisciplinary advisory firm with expertise in reputation, privacy and security.

We work with UK and international clients to successfully manage high-stakes opportunities and threats, using a unique combination of capabilities: legal; intelligence; communications; security and diplomacy.

We believe everyone has a right to fair treatment of their reputation, to a reasonable expectation of privacy and to feel safe.

Our experts sit within their specialist team but day-to-day work in multidisciplinary teams solving client problems. They are supported by our business services teams: Clients and Markets, HR, Finance, Risk and Compliance, IT and Client Services. 

Because we are a growth business, opportunities appear in all areas and at all levels.   We have the largest team of specialist media lawyers in the world, an expanding Intelligence & Investigations team, a growing Critical Risks unit, an evolving Digital Resilience practice, and a new communications agency – Schillings Communications – that will grow significantly in the next three years. 

Schillings is a collaborative, fun and welcoming place to work, with a positive culture, strong values and a developed service ethic.  We require commitment, diligence, agility and professionalism, and in return provide competitive packages and incredibly stimulating and interesting work.  We are committed to sharing learning and creating development opportunities so you can progress your career with us. Our people’s career trajectory and longevity at Schillings is a good example of this: a third of our people have been at the business for over five years. Join us and become part of our story.

Job Title: Head of Search, Digital Resilience

Reporting to: Partner

Job Purpose

This role sits within Schillings Communications & Schillings Digital Resilience team, working with a broad client base to identify, monitor and manage risks to their reputation, privacy, or security. The successful candidate will play a critical role in shaping Schillings’ digital resilience team and offer; the tools we use and the team we hire. You will lead the search function to advise on content strategy, link building and keyword strategy to provide expert analysis, actionable insights and robust resilience strategies that help protect and enhance Schillings’ clients reputations. This is a newer team, and you will have genuine opportunities to develop our offering in an exciting growth area for the Firm. We are looking for a creative innovator with strong technical SEO prowess and gravitas to build strong relationships and develop our offering.

Role Accountabilities

Entrepreneurial Leadership

• Build and scale a high-performing SEO team, taking ownership of ORM-related products, processes, and positioning within Schillings.
• Develop innovative service offerings and operational frameworks aligned with client needs and market trends.
• Demonstrate commercial acumen by identifying growth opportunities and driving efficiency without compromising quality.

Strategic Thinking & Digital Expertise

• Design and implement reputation-focused SEO strategies tailored to Schillings’ clients across traditional and AI-driven platforms.
• Maintain deep digital literacy, understanding how search engines and generative AI models surface and prioritise information.

Collaboration

• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to clients and internal teams.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with content, social, and technical teams to deliver integrated reputation solutions.

Technical SEO Leadership

• Apply advanced technical SEO principles, including site architecture, structured data, schema markup, and performance optimisation.
• Implement E-E-A-T principles, entity-based SEO, and knowledge graph optimisation to strengthen authority signals.

Reputation Management

• Execute SERP control, content promotion, and authority-building tactics to protect and enhance client reputations.
• Monitor search trends, algorithm updates, and AI platform behaviours to anticipate and mitigate reputational risks.

Analytics & Measurement

• Develop and implement measurement frameworks for reputation KPIs, including sentiment, visibility, and authority metrics.
• Use data-driven insights to refine strategies and demonstrate impact to stakeholders.

Responsible AI Utilisation

• Leverage generative AI tools responsibly to enhance search visibility and reputation outcomes.
• Validate all AI-generated outputs for accuracy, rele