Search Engine Optimization Manager

Manulife • Toronto, ON

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a highly experienced Search Engine Optimization Manager to lead North American SEO & GEO programs while supporting global SEO initiatives across the organization. This role is designed for a strategic, data-driven SEO leader with deep expertise in technical and content SEO, enterprise-level operations, and cross-functional program management. The ideal candidate brings strong industry experience in Retail, eCommerce, or Finance/Insurance, thrives in a fast-paced enterprise environment, and has a proven track record of delivering exceptional organic business results.

Requirements

• Minimum 8+ years of SEO experience in Retail, eCommerce, or Finance/Insurance at an enterprise level.
• 3-5 years of experience leading teams within a direct report or project management capacity.
• Proven team management experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success in driving exceptional organic performance and business results.
• Strong technical SEO knowledge including crawlability, indexation, site architecture, schema, Core Web Vitals, and log analysis.
• Solid understanding of content SEO, editorial optimization, GEO localization strategies, and content governance.
• Hands-on experience with AEM or other enterprise CMS, as well as strong foundational knowledge of HTML and networking concepts.
• Comfortable with data analysis, forecasting, reporting, and creating C-suite-ready presentations.
• Experienced in Agile methodologies and working with JIRA for sprint planning and issue management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and storytelling abilities for executive-level audiences.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and comfort managing multiple parallel workstreams.
• Outcome-driven mindset focused on measurable impact and continuous improvement.
• Ability to thrive in a highly complex, matrixed global organization.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on daily use of: Google Search Console, Adobe Analytics or Google Analytics, SEMRush, SiteImprove, Server log analysis tools, Screaming Frog, Other enterprise-grade SEO technologies

Responsibilities

• Oversee all in-house SEO and GEO programs for North America.
• Support other global SEO initiatives in partnership with international teams.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new SEO/GEO opportunities for business growth.
• Coach and develop the SEO team to meet industry benchmarks and elevate operational excellence.
• Establish prioritization frameworks and work with cross-functional partners (IT, Product, Publishing, Content, Social) to unblock implementation and accelerate delivery.
• Manage day-to-day SEO/GEO operations, including program tracking at an item/deliverable level.
• Ensure all team outputs are outcome-driven, aligned to industry best practices, and ladder up to business goals.
• Maintain delivery and implementation trackers across technical and content pipelines.
• Flag and escalate blocked or delayed implementation items (technical or content).
• Maintain a technical backlog of SEO improvements, new CMS features, and bug fixes.
• Own end-to-end reporting for SEO/GEO performance and business impact.
• Analyze data (traffic, rankings, conversions, engagement, logs, crawlability) to identify opportunities.
• Build and deliver executive-level presentations for cross-functional and leadership teams.
• Monitor and report on the impact of all SEO recommendations in partnership with SEO Product.
• Manage GEO/SEO content strategy and day-to-day operations.
• Work cross-functionally with Marketing, Publishing, and Content SEO teams to support BAU initiatives.
• Maintain content delivery and implementation trackers to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Establish and enforce Content QA processes.
• Support Social Media team with GEO-focused social posts and content strategy.
• Partner with SEO Product and Social teams to deliver comprehensive GEO impact initiatives.
• Maintain and govern SEMRush workspaces, projects, keyword sets, and prompt tracking.

Benefits

• health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans.
• various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources.
• generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed