Associate Director, Paid Search - Organic, Global Client Solutions

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth. 

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com .

3430 - Associate Director, Paid Search - Organic, Global Client Solutions

Role Summary and Impact

WPP Open X is a ground-breaking, bespoke agency model designed exclusively for The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC). This innovative structure brings together the best talent and capabilities from across the WPP network to deliver unparalleled creativity, strategic insight, and operational excellence. Our mission is to redefine the agency-client partnership, fostering a culture of deep collaboration, agility, and measurable impact.

We are looking for a commercially strong, strategically minded and client-facing SEO Associate Director to lead the organic search, SEO and GEO agenda for The Coca-Cola Company across EMEA.

This is a senior client leadership role within the international TCCC team, responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organic search programme across European markets, divisions and product lines. The role will ensure that WPP Media delivers a consistent, commercially valuable and operationally scalable approach across The Coca-Cola Company Brands.

The ideal candidate will be confident advising senior clients, translating search and AI-driven discovery into business impact, and orchestrating multi-market teams to deliver high-quality strategic recommendations, governance, measurement and market enablement. They will act as a trusted partner to Honda and WPP stakeholders, helping to connect brand, product, customer journey and performance priorities across the region.

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust .
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise .

Role specific:

• Experience in SEO, organic search, digital strategy, performance marketing or integrated media, with proven experience leading complex, high-profile client accounts across multiple markets.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to connect SEO/GEO activity to Honda’s wider business objectives, including brand visibility, product consideration, customer engagement, lead generation, efficiency and measurable growth.
• Deep understanding of SEO, Generative Search Optimisation (GSO/GEO ) and AI-driven discovery, including optimisation for LLMs, AI Overviews, conversational search interfaces, structured data, entity authority and emerging search behaviours.
• Experience defining and governing measurement frameworks across EMEA, including LLM visibility , organic performance, market maturity, content effectiveness, customer journey visibility, cross-market reporting and next-generation KPIs beyond traditional
• Ability to translate traditional SEO strategies into AI-first search environments , ensuring Honda content is discoverable, authoritative and optimised for both search engines and generative answer
• Proven ability to manage multiple regional workstreams simultaneously , balancing strategic direction, delivery governance, stakeholder alignment, market enablement and quality control in a fast-paced environment.
• Skilled in identifying growth , innovation and incremental value opportunities , including those outside the core scope, and confidently shaping these into commercially compelling recommendations for Honda and internal WPP stakeholders.
• Proactive in anticipating challenges in a rapidly changing search and mobility landscape , developing forward-looking solutions that support Honda’s regional marketing transformation and customer engagement priorities.
• Advanced proficiency in SEO and analytics tools, including GA4, Search Console, crawling tools, ranking platforms , dashboarding solutions and emerging AI search monitoring tools.
• Strong understanding of web technologies and digital experience architecture , including CMS platforms, rendering, indexing, site performance, APIs, structured data, localisation and multi-market content governance.
• Ability to create compelling strategic narratives , including client proposals, roadmaps, performance storytelling, thought leadership and executive-ready recommendations that incorporate the evolution of AI and search.
• Strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills , with the ability to simplify complex AI/search concepts for senior, non-technical stakeholders across Honda, WPP Media and local market teams.

Essential personal qualities:

• Strategic, commercially focused and confident operating as a trusted advisor to senior clients and internal stakeholders.
• Able to take ownership of complex workstreams, drive momentum and ensure teams deliver against agreed priorities and standards.
• Collaborative and diplomatic, with the ability to bring together stakeholders across markets, disciplines and levels of seniority.
• Curious and forward-looking, with a strong interest in the future of search, AI-driven discovery, mobility and consumer behaviour.
• High attention to detail, with the ability to balance strategic thinking, operational rigour and high-quality client delivery.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

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