Head of Search – Digital Resilience

Job Title: Head of Search, Digital Resilience

Reporting to: Partner

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.