Jobs and Careers

Director, Retail Search

New York City, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 11 Mar 2025

💰 $110,000/yr($90,000/yr – $110,000/yr)

About the role

Mars United Commerce Powered by Marilyn is a global commerce company that delivers all the solutions clients need to grow their business today and tomorrow. Founded by the late Marilyn Barnett, we’ve become global leaders in four key commerce disciplines – Strategy & Analytics, Digital Commerce, Content & Experiences, and Retail Consultancy – that together form a United Commerce Ecosystem that provides all the expertise clients need to navigate the commerce marketing landscape. Our 800+ Martians across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia exist to drive growth for our people, our clients, and our communities all across the globe. As our CPG clients increasingly rely on us to help manage their paid search activities across Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart, Kroger and other key retailers, we are looking for a Director, Retail Search to work from a remote location to lead the agency’s best-in-class retail search practice into its next phase of evolution and growth. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of building & executing winning search strategies for brands on retail media platforms; is a tinkerer and out-of-the-box thinker who is always looking for innovative ways to help clients find an edge; and is a strong leader who can inspire a team to achieve results they didn’t previously think possible. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Redefine the agency’s guiding philosophies, capabilities and processes for managing clients’ paid search investments across key retail media platforms (e.g. Amazon Advertising, Walmart Connect and Instacart) – including considerations for campaign setup/architecture, KPI & benchmark setting, item prioritization, budget allocation (always-on and seasonal), keyword research & selection, bidding guardrails, day-parting, pacing & optimization parameters and measurement & reporting
Collaborate with cross-functional peers to translate high-level strategy into detailed, actionable brand- and retailer-specific search plans; and to determine the best way to integrate paid search within the broader omni-channel marketing mix
Lead the current team of hands-to-keyboard retail search buyers; provide inspiration, guidance and mentorship to help them achieve optimal campaign results for our clients; and develop & nurture the existing talent and build out the team as needed to keep pace with the rapid change of pace in the industry
Work with our Analytics & Data Science team to set thoughtful KPIs & benchmarks, deliver best-in-class reporting, and drive automation throughout the measurement & optimization process
Serve as the face of the agency’s retail search practice, from presenting to/interacting with senior client stakeholders to engaging in industry-facing thought leadership activities (e.g. speaking at conferences and publishing articles/white papers)
Maintain existing and forge new relationships with key retail media networks, search platforms (e.g. CitrusAd and Criteo) and third-party software and data platforms; and continually vet and push partners to ensure they enable us to bring forward industry-leading capabilities and solutions to our clients
Stay current on the latest news, developments and trends in the industry, and regularly share updates, education, key learnings, best practices and case studies with clients and internal stakeholders
Initiate test & learns to try out new hypotheses, ideas, approaches and/or partner capabilities that could unlock significant performance improvements for our clients
Spearhead business development efforts – be it evangelizing our retail search offering with current agency clients, touting our capabilities via industry events and publications, or pitching our services to new prospects

SKILLSETS REQUIRED:

Extensive experience building & executing winning search strategies for brands on retail media platforms while working at an agency, retailer media network, aggregator, brand/manufacturer or other relevant company
Deep expertise in the fundamentals of paid search strategy, planning, campaign management, measurement and optimization
Strong familiarity and existing relationships with retail media networks and third-party search platforms like Amazon Advertising, Walmart Connect, Instacart, CitrusAd and Criteo
Firsthand hands-to-keyboard buying experience on native or third-party platforms is preferred – as your team will be seeking guidance, expertise and mentorship in this area – but not required
Dynamic, empathetic leader with seasone