Director of Search Marketing (Remote, Charlotte)

About the Role

Blacksmith Agency runs PPC and SEO for clients across multifamily, B2B, and technical verticals. As Director of Search Marketing, you will lead the search marketing department. The PPC strategist and the SEO strategist will report to you, and they are the specialists in their respective channels. This is a management role, not a senior individual contributor position. You will not be building campaigns, and the SEO strategist will have more technical expertise than you. Your focus will be on channel strategy, budget allocation as accounts scale, and ensuring the department delivers results.

Responsibilities

• Manage the PPC strategist and SEO strategist, including their quality of work, development, performance reviews, and making decisions when someone is not meeting expectations.
• Set and maintain the standard for work quality, including audits, checks before work leaves the agency, and account reporting.
• Ensure client results across the entire function, including honest reporting and accuracy in attribution and GA4.
• Handle escalations for at-risk accounts, diagnose issues, direct strategists on fixes, and communicate with clients.
• Develop channel strategy and budget allocation as accounts scale.
• Define what the agency can credibly deliver to sales before it gets sold.
• Create the hiring plan for the department and conduct first-round interviews for your team within a quarter.

Requirements

• Experience managing strategists or specialists, including performance reviews, development, and making tough decisions about team members.
• 7+ years of experience across paid media and SEO, with a deep understanding of both channels.
• Proficiency in Google Ads, GA4, Search Console, Meta, and Microsoft Ads to distinguish good work from work that merely looks good.
• Ability to discuss a turned-around account, including metrics, before-and-after figures, and the reasoning behind the successful change.
• Comfort in being the client-facing owner when an account underperforms.
• Agency experience managing multiple accounts simultaneously.

Qualifications

You must have experience in a management role where you’ve overseen strategists or specialists, including their reviews and development. You should have a strong background in both paid media and SEO, with enough technical depth to evaluate work quality. Agency experience and the ability to handle client communications during challenging situations are essential.

What We Do Not Want

• Applicants who have never managed a team or conducted performance reviews.
• Candidates with experience in only one channel (PPC or SEO).
• Those with solely in-house experience on a single brand.
• Individuals who want to continue building campaigns themselves (this is a management role, not an individual contributor position).

Process

The hiring process includes three conversations: a 30-minute screen with our recruiter, a first-round interview with the founder this role reports to, and a final interview. There is no take-home project or panel interview.

How to Apply

Complete the four fields at the application link and take a short 6-minute Predictive Index assessment. Use the same email throughout the process. No cover letter is required.