Director of Organic Search in London

Salary to £100k + benefits

Fully remote (UK-based, occasional travel for client meetings and team days)

NB: please only apply if you have lots of experience speaking at events, contributing to publications, appearing on podcasts etc. (i.e. being very visible/well known in the organic search community).

Overview

This opportunity is with a multi-award-winning SEO and digital marketing agency with offices in London and Dubai. They work with high-growth brands across competitive industries including finance, iGaming, and eCommerce, delivering data-driven SEO campaigns that drive real commercial results.

The Opportunity

This is a senior leadership role owning the full organic search offer across SEO, content, link building, AI search and digital PR. This is not a management role disguised as a directorship. This is a genuine leadership position for someone who wants to shape the direction of an agency. They are a digital marketing agency specialising in regulated industries, including iGaming and financial services. They have been operating since 2008 and are in the middle of a significant transformation. They are investing significantly in growth across the UK, Middle East and Southeast Asia, aiming to double ARR over the next two-to-three years. The Director of Organic Search will be central to that growth. The role sits at the intersection of vision, strategy and delivery. You will own the organic search vertical: its performance, its people, its output and its reputation. You will work alongside the Managing Director to shape agency strategy, and alongside the sales team to help win and retain clients.

What They Are Looking For

Someone who is known in the industry (essential). Someone who has built things, grown things, and has the credibility to walk into a boardroom or onto a stage and represent the agency with authority. If you are the kind of person who quietly does good work but avoids the spotlight, this probably is not the right fit. They need someone who combines technical depth with commercial instinct and personal brand.

What You Will Do

• Own the strategic direction of organic search; Define what services they offer, how they deliver them, and where they take them next. This includes SEO, content, outreach, link building, digital PR, and LLM/AI visibility.
• Lead and grow the team; You will inherit an existing team and have the scope to restructure, recruit and develop it. This means hiring senior talent, building career paths, and creating a culture where people do their best work.
• Drive client performance; Every client on an organic search retainer is your responsibility. Not the day-to-day delivery, but the strategy, the quality, and the results. When a client is underperforming, you are the person who fixes the approach.
• Win new business; Support pitches, lead strategy presentations, and help close deals. Your credibility and expertise will be a direct factor in whether prospects choose them over the competition.
• Elevate the agency's reputation (essential); Contribute to the agency's thought leadership through LinkedIn, speaking engagements, podcasts, industry events and media. You will be a visible representative of the company in the search community.
• Shape commercial strategy; Work with the MD and CEO on pricing, packaging, service development and growth planning. This is not a siloed role. You will have a seat at the table where decisions about the future of the business are made.
• Build and refine processes; Improve how they onboard clients, how they report, how they deliver, and how they retain. You will own the search delivery within it.
• Stay ahead of the industry; AI search, LLM visibility, algorithm changes, new platforms. You will be the person the team and their clients look to for what is coming next and what to do about it.

Who You Are

• You have at least 8-10 years of search experience across SEO, content and digital PR, with a significant portion at senior or director level in an agency environment.
• You have worked with global or nationally recognised brands and can demonstrate measurable commercial impact from your work.
• You have deep experience across technical SEO, content strategy, link building, and digital PR. You do not need to be the best at each, but you need to understand every discipline well enough to lead it.
• You have a visible industry presence (essential). You speak at events, contribute to publications, appear on podcasts, or maintain an active and respected LinkedIn profile. You are known in the organic search community.
• You have experience in regulated industries such as iGaming and financial services. This is not essential, but it would be a significant advantage given their specialism.
• You are commercially minded. You understand how agency economics work, how to price services, and how to connect organic search performance to client revenue.
• You are a natural leader. People want to work for you, not because of your title, but because you make them better at their jobs.
• You have the energy and the fire. This is a transformation role. They are not looking for someone who wants to maintain the status quo. They want someone who wakes up thinking about how to make things better.

What This Role Is Not

This is not a head of role with a director title. You will not spend your days in spreadsheets doing keyword research. You will have a team. Your job is to set the direction, raise the standard, and make sure the output is exceptional. This is also not a pure people management role where you sit in meetings all day. You will be expected to stay close to the work, to understand what is happening on client accounts, and to step in when the strategy needs your expertise. The best people they have seen are the ones who can zoom out to the big picture and focus into the detail when it matters.

Why Regulated Industries Matter

Our clients operate in sectors where getting it wrong is not just a missed ranking. It can mean regulatory action, reputational damage, or legal consequences. iGaming brands need to navigate advertising restrictions across multiple jurisdictions. Financial services clients must comply with FCA guidelines. Healthcare and pharma content must meet strict accuracy and compliance standards.

This is their competitive advantage. Most agencies avoid these sectors because they are complicated. They specialise in them because they understand the rules, the risks, and how to deliver results within those constraints. If you have worked in these industries before, you already know what that means. If you have not, you will need to learn quickly, and they will support you in doing so.

What They Offer

£70,000 to £80,000 base salary depending on experience

Fully remote working

A genuine leadership role with a seat at the senior table

The opportunity to shape an agency during its most important growth phase

Conference and event budget for speaking engagements and industry presence

Other Stuff

NB: for non-UK Citizens; we cannot accept applications from anyone requiring sponsorship (now or in the future) for UK permanent employment status. If you are utilising a work visa this must allow you to work in the UK unrestricted for at least the next 5 years.