Head of SEO & Content Performance

About Us We are a growing digital marketing agency specialising in helping local and regional businesses generate more leads through SEO, content marketing, websites, paid media and digital strategy. We manage a large portfolio of SEO clients across multiple industries and have built a strong reputation for delivering practical, measurable results. As we continue to grow, we are looking for an experienced SEO leader who can elevate the quality, consistency and performance of our SEO and content delivery teams. This is not a pure management role. This is a leadership position for someone who combines deep SEO expertise with proven agency management experience. You will be responsible for developing people, improving delivery standards, strengthening client outcomes and creating a high-performance culture across our SEO and content functions. The Opportunity We are looking for a highly experienced SEO professional who has successfully managed SEO delivery teams within a digital marketing agency or SEO agency environment. You will act as the senior SEO authority within the business, leading a team of SEO specialists while providing strategic direction and SEO content guidance to our content writers. You will be responsible for ensuring that client work is prioritised correctly, delivered to a consistently high standard, completed on time and aligned with client goals. You will coach, mentor and challenge the team to continually improve their skills, strategic thinking and execution quality while also serving as the escalation point for complex SEO challenges. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys developing people, solving problems, improving systems and driving exceptional client outcomes. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Performance Management Lead, develop and mentor the SEO team. Conduct regular 1-to-1s, performance reviews and development planning. Identify strengths, weaknesses and training opportunities across the team. Create a culture of accountability, ownership and continuous improvement. Bring energy, direction and expertise to team meetings and workshops. Support recruitment, onboarding and performance management activities. Recommend structural, staffing or process improvements where appropriate. SEO Quality & Delivery Excellence Maintain and continually improve SEO delivery standards. Ensure client work is completed on time and to a high standard. Monitor workloads, resource allocation and capacity planning. Review deliverables for quality, strategic relevance and accuracy. Ensure clients receive the appropriate level of service without over-servicing or under-servicing. Improve delivery efficiency and consistency across the department. Identify risks, bottlenecks and delivery issues before they impact clients. Training, Coaching & Team Development Deliver ongoing SEO training across technical SEO, on-page SEO, content SEO, local SEO and authority building. Upskill team members on modern SEO thinking, frameworks and methodologies. Develop the team's strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities. Share industry developments, Google updates and emerging SEO opportunities. Create and maintain SEO best-practice frameworks and guidance. Foster a culture of learning, curiosity and professional growth. Content Strategy & Content Quality Leadership Work closely with the content team to improve SEO content quality. Train content writers on SEO content principles and best practices. Develop content frameworks, content planning methodologies and briefing standards. Guide topical authority strategies and content clustering initiatives. Ensure content aligns with search intent, commercial objectives and SEO opportunities. Improve content performance through continual analysis and optimisation. Technical SEO Leadership Act as the senior escalation point for complex SEO challenges. Review technical audits and recommendations. Support troubleshooting across crawlability, indexability, internal linking, structured data, migrations and website architecture. Provide strategic guidance on technical implementation priorities. Assist development teams with SEO-related requirements and recommendations. Ensure technical recommendations are commercially sensible and strategically aligned. SEO Strategy & Consultancy Support the creation of SEO strategies for clients. Conduct advanced keyword research and opportunity analysis. Support forecasting and growth planning activities. Troubleshoot underperforming campaigns and accounts. Identify growth opportunities across client portfolios. Assist with major account reviews and strategic initiatives. Lead SEO strategy on selected high-value or strategically important accounts. Cross-Department Collaboration Support Account Managers with client-facing SEO discussions and client expectation management. Assist with client escalations where specialist SEO expertise is required. Support sales presentations, pitches and SEO consultations. Collaborate closely with content, development, projects and leadership teams. Ensure smooth onboarding and successful implementation of SEO requirements. Operational & Process Improvement Improve SEO systems, processes and workflows. Enhance project management and resource planning practices. Help develop more efficient delivery methodologies. Improve documentation, training resources and internal knowledge sharing. Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation to improve SEO delivery. Contribute to the evolution of agency SEO products and services. Hands-On SEO Contribution Whilst this is primarily a leadership role, we expect you to remain actively involved in SEO delivery when required. This may include: Conducting advanced SEO audits. Troubleshooting technical issues. Supporting major client projects. Providing expert SEO consultancy. Leading complex investigations and recovery projects. Essential Experience You must have: 7+ years of SEO experience. At least 2 years managing SEO delivery teams within a digital marketing or SEO agency. Extensive expertise across Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, Local SEO and SEO Content Strategy. Proven experience managing multiple client campaigns simultaneously. Experience mentoring, coaching and developing SEO professionals. Strong understanding of content strategy, topical authority and search intent. Experience conducting technical audits and diagnosing complex SEO issues. Strong project management and workload planning skills. Excellent communication and leadership abilities. Experience presenting recommendations to clients and internal stakeholders. Preferred Experience Experience managing both SEO and content teams. Experience supporting sales processes and new business pitches. Experience improving operational efficiency within an agency environment. Experience implementing AI tools and automation into SEO workflows. Experience working with: SE Ranking Google Analytics 4 Google Search Console Looker Studio Zoho Projects ChatGPT Claude Screaming Frog What Success Looks Like After 12 Months SEO delivery quality has noticeably improved. Content quality and SEO effectiveness have increased. Team capability and confidence have grown significantly. Client retention has improved. SEO results across the client portfolio have strengthened. Resource utilisation and efficiency have improved. Escalations and quality issues have reduced. The department operates with greater consistency and accountability. Leadership dependency on directors has reduced significantly. The SEO and content teams have a clear development pathway and performance culture. Who Will Thrive In This Role You will thrive if you: Enjoy developing people and building high-performing teams. Love solving complex SEO problems. Take ownership and lead from the front. Have high standards and attention to detail. Can balance strategic thinking with operational execution. Are comfortable making decisions and challenging assumptions. Stay current with industry developments and emerging trends. Enjoy improving systems, processes and ways of working. Who This Role Is Not For This role is not suitable for: SEO Executives looking for their first management role. Specialists with expertise in only one area of SEO. Candidates whose experience is primarily freelance or single-brand in-house SEO. Managers who prefer administration over leadership. Individuals who are uncomfortable coaching, mentoring and holding teams accountable. Candidates who are no longer willing to remain hands-on when required.