Head of Search

Schillings is a multidisciplinary advisory firm with expertise in reputation, privacy and security. We work with UK and international clients to successfully manage high-stakes opportunities and threats, using a unique combination of capabilities: legal; intelligence; communications; security and diplomacy. We believe everyone has a right to fair treatment of their reputation, to a reasonable expectation of privacy and to feel safe. Our experts sit within their specialist team but day-to-day work in multidisciplinary teams solving client problems. They are supported by our business services teams: Clients and Markets, HR, Finance, Risk and Compliance, IT and Client Services. Because we are a growth business, opportunities appear in all areas at all levels. We have the largest team of specialist media lawyers in the world, an expanding Intelligence & Investigations team, a growing Critical Risks unit, an evolving Digital Resilience practice, and a new communications agency – Schillings Communications – that will grow significantly in the next three years. Schillings is a collaborative, fun and welcoming place to work, with a positive culture, strong values and a developed service ethic. We require commitment, diligence, agility and professionalism, and in return provide competitive packages and incredibly stimulating and interesting work. We are committed to sharing learning and creating development opportunities so you can progress your career with us. Our people’s career trajectory and longevity at Schillings is a good example of this: a third of our people have been at the business for over five years. Join us and become part of our story.

Job Purpose

This role sits within Schillings Communications & Schillings Digital Resilience team, working with a broad client base to identify, monitor and manage risks to their reputation, privacy, or security. The successful candidate will play a critical role in shaping Schillings’ digital resilience team and offer; the tools we use and the team we hire. You will lead the search function to advise on content strategy, link building and keyword strategy to provide expert analysis, actionable insights and robust resilience strategies that help protect and enhance Schillings’ clients reputations. This is a newer team, and you will have genuine opportunities to develop our offering in an exciting growth area for the Firm. We are looking for a creative innovator with strong technical SEO prowess and gravitas to build strong relationships and develop our offering.

Role Accountabilities

• Entrepreneurial Leadership: Build and scale a high-performing SEO team, taking ownership of ORM-related products, processes, and positioning within Schillings. Develop innovative service offerings and operational frameworks aligned with client needs and market trends. Demonstrate commercial acumen by identifying growth opportunities and driving efficiency without compromising quality.
• Strategic Thinking & Digital Expertise: Design and implement reputation-focused SEO strategies tailored to Schillings’ clients across traditional and AI-driven platforms. Maintain deep digital literacy, understanding how search engines and generative AI models surface and prioritise information.
• Collaboration: Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to clients and internal teams. Lead cross-functional collaboration with content, social, and technical teams to deliver integrated reputation solutions.
• Technical SEO Leadership: Apply advanced technical SEO principles, including site architecture, structured data, schema markup, and performance optimisation. Implement E-E-A-T principles, entity-based SEO, and knowledge graph optimisation to strengthen authority signals.
• Reputation Management: Execute SERP control, content promotion, and authority-building tactics to protect and enhance client reputations. Monitor search trends, algorithm updates, and AI platform behaviours to anticipate and mitigate reputational risks.
• Analytics & Measurement: Develop and implement measurement frameworks for reputation KPIs, including sentiment, visibility, and authority metrics. Use data-driven insights to refine strategies and demonstrate impact to stakeholders.
• Responsible AI Utilisation: Leverage generative AI tools responsibly to enhance search visibility and reputation outcomes. Validate all AI-generated outputs for accuracy, relevance, and alignment with client objectives. Ensure compliance with regulations, ethical standards, and information security protocols.

Ideal Candidate

• Exceptional leadership qualities with the ability to build and scale high-performing teams and lead them through ambiguity.
• Strong commercial acumen and entrepreneurial mindset, capable of identifying growth opportunities and driving efficiency.
• Demonstrates advanced expertise in technical SEO, including site architecture, structured data, schema markup, and performance optimisation.
• Deep understanding of E-E-A-T principles, entity-based SEO, and knowledge graph optimisation.
• A strategic thinker with proven experience in reputation management strategies, including SERP control and authority building.
• Skilled in developing measurement frameworks and using data-driven insights to refine strategies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to simplify complex technical concepts for clients and internal teams.
• Collaborative approach, working effectively across content, social, and technical teams.
• An expert in your field (12+ years experience), you will have a minimum of 7+ years’ experience in a professional services environment, ideally within digital marketing, SEO, or reputation management.
• Overall you will have built a depth of digital experience during your career to best advise a diverse client base.
• Proficiency with analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Search Console, SEMRush) and familiarity with HTML and JavaScript constraints.
• Resilient under pressure, able to manage multiple projects and tight deadlines.
• Genuine curiosity in clients and their world to best devise strategies that enhance their reputation and achieve their objectives.
• A strong critical thinker who is digitally literate and uses AI tools responsibly and effectively to enhance outputs.
• Validates AI outputs for accuracy and relevance. Complies with all regulations and information security protections while using AI.

Life at Schillings

Given our audacious (and successful) business strategy, it is not surprising that Schillings has a very strong culture. The atmosphere is highly collaborative and focused on excellence. We have worked hard over the years to develop a coaching culture and are remarkably non-hierarchical, especially given our roots as a law firm. Schillings has adopted a set of values to put at the heart of this change and they reflect the intention and tenor of our ambitious plans. They are: ‘Innovative; Bold; United; and Excellent’. Our client list speaks for the outstanding results that have been delivered over many years and the task now is to grow without losing any of the commitment to delivering for clients or the service ethos. Finding people who share our values and can thrive in this environment is key to our success. It takes a unique mix of people to create something truly great. We appreciate that diversity of thought, background and culture creates the best environment to truly innovate, solve problems and achieve our goals. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds – if you are driven and want to achieve your best then we will give you the platform and support to succeed. Please let us know if there are any extenuating circumstances we should consider, or any adjustments we may need to make to our selection process, when making your application.