Technical SEO Specialist for WordPress Multisite

We are looking for an experienced Technical SEO specialist to help repair and clean up technical SEO issues on a Canadian mortgage brokerage website built on WordPress Multisite. This is not a general SEO/content role. We need someone who is strong with technical SEO implementation, Google Search Console, canonical tags, redirect mapping, duplicate URL cleanup, XML sitemaps, WordPress/Rank Math or Yoast settings, and crawl/indexation issues. Our website has recently experienced a decline in rankings, and we have identified several technical SEO issues that require careful review and implementation. Key issues include: Homepage canonical issue where the homepage appears to canonicalize to /2/ Duplicate homepage URL requiring proper 301 redirect handling Large number of not-indexed URLs in Google Search Console WordPress Multisite structure with province subdirectories Duplicate service pages between main site and province pages Multiple competing service URL slugs www vs non-www inconsistency Trailing slash and internal linking inconsistencies XML sitemap cleanup Google Search Console Domain property setup/review Schema validation and possible cleanup Core Web Vitals review after technical fixes The first phase will be a controlled audit/review and implementation plan. We do not want someone making broad changes immediately without a redirect/canonical map and clear approval. Initial deliverables: Review the existing technical SEO audit and website structure. Confirm the highest-priority issues in Google Search Console and live HTML. Create a redirect and canonical cleanup plan. Identify which URLs should be kept, redirected, canonicalized, or noindexed. Provide a safe implementation sequence. Fix the homepage canonical and /2/ issue after approval. Help standardize www/non-www, trailing slash, and internal link inconsistencies. Clean up sitemap/indexation issues after redirects and canonicals are finalized. Provide before/after documentation and validation screenshots from GSC, Screaming Frog, or similar tools. Requirements: Strong experience with WordPress Multisite Strong experience with Google Search Console indexing issues Strong experience with canonical tags and 301 redirect mapping Experience with Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Sitebulb, or similar crawl tools Understanding of Rank Math and/or Yoast SEO Ability to work carefully without creating redirect chains or accidental noindex problems Clear written communication Must document every change before and after implementation Important: We are a mortgage brokerage, so the site falls under the finance/YMYL category. Accuracy, trust, and clean implementation matter. Please do not apply if your focus is only backlinks, generic keyword research, or AI-generated content. This project is primarily technical SEO repair and indexing cleanup. To apply, please answer these questions: Have you worked on technical SEO for WordPress Multisite before? Please give an example. How would you safely fix a homepage canonical pointing to /2/? What process would you use to decide whether to redirect, canonicalize, noindex, or keep duplicate URLs? What tools would you use to validate the fixes? How do you prevent redirect chains during a URL consolidation project? We are open to hourly or fixed-price work, but the first phase will be limited in scope to evaluate quality and communication before expanding the project.