At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead Upwork operations, manage bids, and optimise profiles for growth.
- Company: Dynamic agency focused on innovative lead generation strategies.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible hours, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.
- Why this job: Take charge of a key channel and drive real results in a fast-paced environment.
- Qualifications: 3+ years Upwork experience, strong analytical skills, and team leadership experience.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 70000 £ per year.
Your mission
We are looking for an experienced Upwork Channel Manager to take full ownership of our Upwork operation — from bidding and profile management to analytics, team leadership, and channel development. You will run one of our most important lead generation channels end-to-end, managing bids across multiple profiles and leading a team of lead generators across shifts. This is a senior operator role. You will set the strategy, execute the day-to-day, and be held accountable for real numbers — replies, qualified calls, SQLs, and closed deals.
What You Will Own
- Bidding & Proposal Strategy
- Run the bidding operation end-to-end: bids per month across multiple profiles, with clear quality standards and no drops in view rates.
- Manage Connect spending: keep cost per SQL in healthy ranges and reconcile refunds from lost/closed jobs.
- Own scanner configuration: weekly optimization of underperforming scanners, applying small iterative changes — cover letter variants, profile selection, smart boosting — and scaling what works.
- Write and test cover letters: continuous A/B testing of length, opening lines, trust signals, portfolio anchors, and niche framing.
- Profile & Channel Development
- Optimize profiles for visibility and conversion: titles, descriptions, portfolios, keywords, and positioning.
- Align every profile with our current propositions, including AI-assisted development.
- Launch and onboard new profiles: when the channel can absorb them, plan, launch, and season new profiles to keep the operation scaling.
- Analytics & Reporting
- Track the full funnel weekly: bids → views → replies → calls → SQLs → deals, by profile, by scanner, by day-of-week, by bidder.
- Investigate bottlenecks: the reply-to-call conversion is the current priority. Pull the conversation data, find the patterns, test fixes, report on results.
- Team Leadership
- Manage the lead generation team (currently 2–3 people across shifts): set KPIs, run 1:1s, review performance, hire, onboard, and — when needed — make the hard calls on underperformers.
- Build processes that scale: standardize how bids are recorded, how SQLs are qualified, how data is logged. The team needs to be measurable, not dependent on any one heroic performer.
- Cross-functional Collaboration
- Work with Sales: hand off SQLs cleanly to the team running qualification calls.
- Work with Analytics: partner on dashboards, data exports, and attribution.
Your profile
What You Bring
- Must-Haves
- 3+ years of hands-on Upwork experience, ideally running a bidding operation for an agency or service business of $10m and more.
- Proven track record of improving funnel conversion — not just running volume. You can point to specific numbers you moved.
- Strong analytical skills: fluent in spreadsheets, comfortable modeling unit economics (cost per SQL, LTV, CAC), able to read funnel data and form real hypotheses.
- Experience managing a lead gen or BDR-style team: hiring, onboarding, performance management, compensation design.
- Deep familiarity with Upwork's mechanics: Connects, boosting, algorithm changes, profile optimization, client filtering, scanner/automation tools.
- Experience bidding across multiple verticals — software development, full-stack, healthcare, logistics, CRM, fintech, or similar.
- Excellent written English. You will be writing and editing cover letters, proposals, and profile copy.
- Process discipline. You document what you do, you record data consistently, and you expect the same from your team.
- Judgment. You know when to enforce process and when to let a high performer operate their own way.
- Nice-to-Haves
- Experience with AI-assisted proposal generation.
- Familiarity with LinkedIn / Email outbound.
- Background in positioning software development agencies or AI-assisted development services.
- Experience working with distributed teams across Eastern Europe and other time zones.
Why us?
Senior Upwork Channel Manager: Bids, Profiles & Growth employer: Index.dev
Join us as a Senior Upwork Channel Manager and become part of a dynamic team that values innovation, collaboration, and personal growth. We offer a supportive work culture that encourages continuous learning and development, with opportunities to lead and shape our Upwork operations while achieving measurable results. Located in a vibrant area, we provide a flexible work environment that fosters creativity and teamwork, making it an excellent place for professionals seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Upwork Channel Manager: Bids, Profiles & Growth
✨Tip Number 1
Get your networking game on! Connect with people in the industry on LinkedIn and engage with their content. It’s all about building relationships, so don’t be shy to reach out and ask for advice or insights.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews like a pro! Research the company and its Upwork operations thoroughly. Be ready to discuss how you can improve their bidding strategies and share specific examples from your past experiences.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your analytical skills! During interviews, highlight your ability to track and optimise funnel metrics. Bring data-driven examples of how you've improved conversion rates in previous roles.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our team.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Upwork Channel Manager: Bids, Profiles & Growth
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Upwork Experience:Make sure to highlight your hands-on Upwork experience in your application. We want to see how you've run bidding operations and improved funnel conversions, so don’t hold back on those specific numbers!
Be Analytical:Since this role is all about data, showcase your analytical skills in your written application. Talk about your comfort with spreadsheets and how you've used data to make informed decisions in the past.
Craft Compelling Cover Letters:As you'll be writing and editing cover letters, make sure your application reflects your excellent written English. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your ability to create engaging content that grabs attention.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep track of applications and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from us!
How to prepare for a job interview at Index.dev
✨Know Your Numbers
Make sure you can talk confidently about your past achievements, especially those related to funnel conversion and Upwork metrics. Be ready to share specific numbers that demonstrate your impact, like cost per SQL or closed deals.
✨Master the Bidding Process
Familiarise yourself with the intricacies of Upwork's bidding process. Prepare to discuss your strategies for managing bids, optimising profiles, and how you've successfully navigated challenges in the past.
✨Showcase Your Analytical Skills
Be prepared to dive into data during your interview. Highlight your experience with analytics and how you've used data to inform decisions. Bring examples of how you've tracked performance and optimised processes based on your findings.
✨Demonstrate Team Leadership
Since this role involves managing a team, be ready to discuss your leadership style. Share examples of how you've set KPIs, conducted performance reviews, and built processes that empower your team to succeed.
