Associate Director, SEO Specialists

Description

The Associate Director, SEO Specialist owns the day-to-day operations of the SEO Specialist team, acting as the primary point of leadership for the Specialists and Leads who execute technical and tactical SEO work across the department. This role manages the intake and prioritization of day-to-day SEO tasks coming in from other groups, oversees the Specialist responsible for pre-launch SEO on web projects, and runs point on SEO audits, pre-sales support, and delivery of any signed SEO products.

The Associate Director blends operational leadership with hands-on SEO expertise, ensuring the Specialist team runs smoothly, delivers consistent quality, and supports both existing client engagements and new business opportunities.
Job Responsibilities

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

- Own the day-to-day management of the SEO Specialist team, including intake, triage, and prioritization of SEO tasks and requests coming in from other groups across the organization.

- Directly manage the Specialist team — including Lead SEO Specialists and SEO Specialists — overseeing staffing, workload distribution, quality of output, and delivery timelines.

- Manage and mentor the SEO Specialist responsible for pre-launch SEO on web projects, ensuring pre-launch SEO deliverables (technical setup, migrations checklists, redirect mapping, information architecture review, etc.) are completed accurately and on schedule.

- Serve as the primary point of contact and quality reviewer for all pre-launch SEO work on web projects, coordinating closely with Web, Dev, UX, and Project Management teams.

- Run point on SEO audits across the department — scoping, resourcing, overseeing execution, and ensuring final deliverables meet quality and strategic standards.

- Run point on pre-sales SEO support, including audits, technical scoping, and SEO input for prospective client pitches, RFPs, and proposals.

- Own the management and delivery of any signed SEO products, ensuring scope, timelines, staffing, and quality expectations are met from kickoff through delivery.

- Partner with the Director of SEO Operations to plan team capacity, forecast staffing needs, manage escalations, and align department priorities.

- Set, refine, and enforce SOPs and QA standards across day-to-day Specialist work, pre-launch SEO, audits, and pre-sales engagements.

- Serve as the escalation point for complex or high-stakes technical SEO issues arising from Specialist tasks, web project launches, audits, or pre-sales work.

- Collaborate cross-functionally with SEO Strategists, Content, UX, Dev, Sales, and Media teams to ensure Specialist execution and pre-launch SEO support broader campaign and business goals.

- Provide regular reporting and status updates to the Director of SEO Operations on team capacity, task throughput, pre-launch project status, audit pipeline, pre-sales activity, and signed product delivery.

- Identify gaps in current processes and workflows, propose solutions, and drive continuous improvement across day-to-day execution, pre-launch SEO, audits, and pre-sales.

- Support hiring, onboarding, and professional development planning for the Specialist team, working with Leads to build a strong bench of talent.

- Ensure the team's work consistently reflects current search trends, algorithm shifts, LLM/AI search behaviors, and technical SEO best practices.

- Manage SEO projects. Coordinate with internal team resources and sales to scope short term SEO projects. This includes client communication and project management when needed.

- Oversee internal Link Building service. Manage team resources and maintain internal partner databases.

- Additional duties, as assigned

Requirements

- 5–7+ years of SEO experience, including demonstrated expertise in technical SEO, audits, pre-launch/migration SEO for web projects, and pre-sales support.

- Proven experience man