Director, SEO Strategy

WHY DEPT®?

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

Overview

The Director, SEO Strategy serves as a senior leader within the department, responsible for shaping the vision, growth, and operational excellence of DEPT’s SEO practice. With 10+ years of experience leading enterprise-level organic programs, this role combines deep technical mastery, strategic leadership, scalable process building, and cross-channel integration.

The Director oversees a portfolio of large, high-impact clients and manages a team of Managers and Associate Directors, ensuring every engagement reflects DEPT’s commitment to excellence. This leader is fluent in both foundational SEO and the rapidly expanding domain of AI-driven discovery, guiding teams and clients through the evolution of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) / Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and broader reputation-influenced search dynamics.

This role calls for a visionary who can balance strategic thinking with operational precision - someone passionate about redefining the boundaries of discoverability while fostering the next generation of SEO talent.

 

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and drive the SEO vision for the agency, aligning practice growth with evolving market trends in AEO / GEO and technical innovation.
• Oversee the strategic direction and performance of enterprise-level clients, ensuring initiatives align with broader business and marketing objectives.
• Lead full-funnel, full-spectrum SEO frameworks across technical, content, and AI ecosystems, ensuring data-driven alignment with integrated marketing strategies.
• Develop and refine DEPT’s proprietary methodologies for AI Search (AEO / GEO), including frameworks for visibility analysis, prompt tracking, and generative SERP optimization.
• Build and guide strategies that account for community-driven signals (Reddit, Quora, etc.), user-generated content environments, and online reputation factors that influence modern SERPs and AI-generated responses.
• Guide technical innovation through advanced initiatives such as structured data automation, personalization, entity optimization, site architecture evolution, and indexability engineering (particularly rendering on Javascript frameworks).
• Collaborate with department leadership to define long-term goals, forecast staffing needs, and shape cross-channel service integration across Paid, CRO, Social, and Analytics.
• Represent DEPT externally as an industry leader on AI Search, technical SEO, and the future of organic strategy through thought leadership, webinars, and client advisory sessions.
  
  

Client Management & Growth

• Serve as the senior-most strategic partner for key enterprise clients, maintaining trusted advisor relationships at the executive level.
• Lead strategic storytelling and performance communication through executive presentations, QBRs, and roadmap sessions.
• Oversee client health and growth, ensuring consistent delivery excellence and long-term retention.
• Identify and pursue cross-channel expansion opportunities, partnering with Sales and other channel directors to align proposals, pitches, and new business opportunities.
• Evaluate and optimize account performance through regular audits of deliverables, process, and pacing to ensure profitability, quality, and innovation.
• Act as the final escalation point for client challenges, ensuring resolution with clarity, accountability, and strategic insight.
  
  

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of Managers and Associate Directors, fostering continuous growth, accountability, and skill depth across all levels.
• Conduct ongoing mentorship, 1:1s, performance reviews, and capability assessments to support strong career progression.
• Drive excellence in technical acumen across crawling, indexing, rendering, Core Web Vitals, site architecture, and structured data.
• Ensure account teams are empowered, prepared, and supported on complex enterprise engagement