SEO ACCOUNT DIRECTOR in London

Search is fragmented. Discovery no longer starts or ends with Google. Buyers are researching across AI tools, social platforms, publishers, review sites, and communities before they ever return to a traditional SERP. In this environment, “SEO” is no longer just about optimising for a search engine; it is about Search Everywhere Optimisation and ensuring clients are visible, cited, and trusted wherever their audience is looking.

As SEO Account Director at Found, you will lead the evolution of Found’s Organic offering for your portfolio. You will move beyond legacy keyword‑led strategies to build a Total Organic Presence — connecting technical foundations with brand authority, content, and AI visibility so the brand becomes the answer across platforms. You will sit within the Organic team, leading a diverse mix of specialists from SEO All‑rounder, Technical SEO, Content Strategists, Digital PR, and CRO. Beyond your immediate team, you will work closely with Business Directors, Data & Analytics, and Paid Media teams to break down silos and develop cohesive, insight‑led strategies. Your goal is to drive efficiency and consistency, ensuring that whether a user sees a Paid or Social Ad, an Organic listing, or an AI result, the brand message is unified. As a senior leader in the Organic department, your influence will extend beyond your accounts — defining best practice, mentoring your team, and shaping how Organic operates in a multi‑platform, AI‑driven world.

IMPACT OF THE ROLE

• Strategic & Commercial Leadership: Guiding modern organic strategy across a client portfolio with a sharp focus on KPIs, ROI, and long‑term growth, while accounting for AI results and social search.
• Organic Presence Across All Platforms: Shifting focus from “rankings” to broad, multi‑surface visibility across Google, AI results and social platforms like YouTube, and Reddit.
• Client Success & Retention: Acting as the senior point of contact to build deep, productive client relationships and identify upsell opportunities.
• Team Performance & Development: Leading, developing, and nurturing Account Managers and Executives, ensuring high standards and career growth.
• Operational Excellence: Ensuring all accounts are delivered efficiently, meeting strategic goals, budget parameters, and best practice benchmarks.
• Integrated Marketing Strategy: Championing cross‑channel collaboration to deliver unified client strategies across SEO, Paid Media and Analytics teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• ACCOUNT LEADERSHIP: Serve as a senior escalation point across your account portfolio, ensuring smooth client communication and resolution. Lead key meetings and contribute to QBRs, proposals, and client development planning. Oversee quality control of dashboards, reports, budgets, and timelines across all accounts. Review client outputs (e.g., reports, decks) to ensure strategic clarity and performance insights are well communicated. Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, acting as their strategic partner for the future of search. Contribute to upsells and renewal conversations, ensuring the value of Organic work is clearly articulated and linked to business outcomes.
• STRATEGY: Act as strategic lead for SEO across all assigned accounts, defining holistic roadmaps that target user intent across multiple discovery platforms, not just Google SERPs. Drive integration across departments, aligning Organic strategies with Paid Search and Social to maximise clients search visibility. Ensure forecasts and performance frameworks are set, maintained, and closely monitored. Identify and pursue upsell and cross‑sell opportunities by understanding wider client business goals and pain points. Support new business and pitch efforts by developing commercially viable SEO proposals aligned to prospect needs. Monitor scope adherence across all accounts, proactively addressing overburn or delivery gaps before they escalated.
• COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT: Own the commercial performance of your client portfolio, ensuring accounts are profitable, strategically aligned, and delivering value to both the client and Found. Collaborate with Business Directors and Client Services on annual planning, contract renewals, and account growth strategies. Lead on forecasting and budgeting for your accounts, ensuring delivery plans match available hours and margin expectations. Identify and pursue upsell and cross‑sell opportunities by spotting gaps in the client's Total Organic Presence. Support new business and pitch efforts by developing commercially viable SEO proposals aligned to prospect needs. Monitor scope adherence across all accounts, proactively addressing overburn or delivery gaps before they escalated.
• TEAM MANAGEMENT: Line manage and coach SEO Account Managers and Executives, setting clear expectations and goals. Conduct weekly 1:1s, quarterly development sessions, and manage performance against personal development plans. Support your team's growth by reviewing outputs, delivering feedback, and providing stretch opportunities. Act as a mentor and department leader, setting the tone for collaboration, knowledge‑sharing, and performance culture.
• AI & INNOVATION: Utilise AI responsibly and ethically in line with company policies, ensuring transparency and trust in its application. Drive responsible adoption of AI within their pod, ensuring alignment with company values and policies. Guides teams in leveraging AI to create efficiencies and automate routine tasks such as audits and reporting, unlocking capacity for higher‑value strategic work. Advocates for AI‑enabled practices that strengthen client partnerships and deliver strategic impact.
• COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES: Consistently follow company and team processes, ensuring alignment and efficiency across all projects. Utilise company platforms (such as Asana, Float, and other internal tools) effectively to manage tasks, resources, and workflows. Log time accurately and on schedule, providing transparency and supporting operational planning. Promote and uphold Found’s values and culture, acting as an inspiring, supportive, and accountable team member or leader. Ensure consistent, high‑quality service delivery that enhances Found’s reputation and strengthens client trust. Maintain an up‑to‑date understanding of Found’s technology, products, and services, ensuring these are applied effectively in your role. Stay informed of industry standards, innovations, and emerging approaches in digital marketing, applying relevant insights to client and agency work.

BEHAVIOURS IN THIS ROLE

• Strategic Thinker & Visionary: Drives innovation and long‑term thinking, aligning client goals with evolving industry trends and anticipating AI and Organic evolutions to keep Found’s proposition market‑leading.
• Strong Leader & Mentor: Inspires, develops, and holds their team accountable with empathy and confidence.
• Commercially Astute: Understands the financial and contractual implications of client relationships and manages them effectively.
• Collaborative & Cross‑Functional: Works seamlessly across teams, promoting integration and shared success.
• Solutions‑Focused & Adaptable: Leads calmly through change, finding opportunities and inspiring action.
• Effective Communicator: Simplifies complex concepts for senior stakeholders, influencing and persuading at a high level.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• COMMERICAL PERFORMANCE: Delivers profitable growth across your portfolio, achieving revenue targets and maintaining healthy margins. Identifies and secures upsell opportunities, contributing to wider agency revenue growth. Demonstrates strong commercial awareness, ensuring work delivered balances client outcomes with agency profitability.
• STRATEGIC EXCELLENCE: Develops and implements EverySearch™ strategies that deliver measurable performance aligned with client KPIs. Proactively identifies opportunities for growth and positions Organic Search as a critical driver of business success. Successfully pilots new initiatives (e.g., AI Optimisation) that keep clients ahead of the curve.
• CLIENT SATISFACTION & GROWTH: Builds and sustains long‑term client relationships, acting as a trusted partner. Demonstrates clear evidence of upsell success, retention, and client advocacy. Ensures client goals are consistently exceeded through insight‑led recommendations.
• TEAM LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT: Leads and inspires a high‑performing SEO team, fostering collaboration, accountability, and innovation. Provides mentorship, structured development, and career progression opportunities. Ensures direct reports consistently perform at a high level and contribute positively to the department.
• TEAM PERFORMANCE & GROWTH: Maintains a motivated, skilled team delivering high‑quality work across accounts. Encourages continuous learning, training, and knowledge‑sharing within the department. Proactively addresses performance gaps and ensures workloads are manageable and effective.
• OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY: Ensures accounts are run to best‑practice standards, with accurate time usage, clear reporting, and strong process discipline. Creates clarity for teams by setting direction and maintaining structured account roadmaps. Champions scalable ways of working that drive efficiency without sacrificing quality.
• DEPARTMENTAL IMPACT: Plays a key role in shaping the culture, practices, and growth of the Organic function. Brings thought leadership and innovation to improve processes, positioning the department as best‑in‑class. Actively contributes to agency‑wide initiatives and collaborative projects.
• CROSS‑CHANNEL INTEGRATION: Ensures Organic strategies work seamlessly alongside Paid Media, Data, PR, and Content. Demonstrates how integrated thinking has improved efficiency or performance for clients. Collaborates with sister agencies and Tomorrow Group partners to unlock joint opportunities.

WHAT IS THE INTERVIEW PROCESS?

• Initial conversation – A chat with the Talent team to explore your experience and motivations.
• Hiring manager interview – A deeper discussion with senior SEO leadership.
• Task interview – A practical or strategic exercise to demonstrate your thinking and approach.
• Final conversation – Meet additional stakeholders and ask any final questions.

PERKS AND BENEFITS

• Dynamic, Flexible Working – Work is what we do, not where we do it. We believe in having a working environment where we thrive and can do our best work, whether that is at home, in the office or on the beach.
• Private Medical Insurance – We support your health and wellbeing with either a cash pot or enhanced medical insurance to help with both medical and dental needs.
• Financial Wellbeing Coaching – Access to Bippit which provides access to professionally qualified coaches who assist with household financial accounts, budget monitoring, and creating holistic financial plans for all aspects of life.
• 1‑1 Counselling & Mental Health Support – Supporting your mental health, you will have access to six 1‑1 sessions of therapy, plus access to self‑directed content and frequent live workshops with Oliva for life.
• Subsidised Gym Membership – Access to a platform of multiple gyms across the UK.
• Enhanced Parental Leave – We offer competitive packages to support our team with big life changes with up to 6 months enhanced primary caregiver pay and 6 weeks secondary caregiver pay.
• Interchangeable Bank Holidays – We have a global multicultural team, so everyone gets the choice to swap bank holidays to cultural/religious days that are important to them.
• Matchable Partnership – Two paid volunteering days via Matchable, a platform that promotes social impact by connecting individuals with meaningful community volunteering opportunities.
• Work from Abroad – Up to 30 days a year working from another country.
• Personalised Career Progression – We know that progression is highly individual. You'll have a personalised development plan with meaningful, impactful training opportunities.
• And lots more!

INCLUSION AT FOUND

At Found, we’re passionate about building a team of talented individuals from all walks of life who share the skills and drive to help us achieve our mission. That’s why we’re committed to a hiring process free from judgment, prejudice, or bias. We encourage everyone to apply for our roles—your gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or background will never impact how your application is considered. We’re dedicated to fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels empowered to do their best work, enjoy their journey, and truly feel they belong.