Associate Account Director - SEO

Saatchi & Saatchi is an advertising agency with the belief that creativity, data, media and technology should all work together, and we use that to influence human behavior and drive success for clients. S&S is one of the world's largest agency networks with 114 offices and more than 6000 employees globally.

Here in our Toronto office we work with some of the countries most valued brands including Toyota, Buckley's, and Children's Advil, as well as several under the Mondelez banner (Crispers, Oreo, and Chips Ahoy just to name a few). We’re an award winning agency in both creativity and effectiveness, so it’s really important for us here to convert that innovation and the great ideas into real tangible business results for the organization.

Job Description

We’re looking for an Associate Account Director to lead innovative search engine optimization and GEO strategies that elevate our clients’ organic performance across both traditional search engines and emerging AI‑powered search experiences.

In this role, you’ll blend technical SEO expertise with strong content, prompt, and analytics skills to optimize websites end‑to‑end, from audits and keyword/prompt research to on‑page execution and performance insights.

You’ll experiment with generative search platforms, turn data into clear recommendations, and collaborate closely with clients and internal teams to drive measurable impact and shape the future of Saatchi & Saatchi’s search practice.

Core Responsibilities

• Strategy development: Creation and execution of comprehensive SEO and GEO strategies that drive organic traffic, visibility, and performance across traditional and generative search environments. Overseeing kickoff, execution, QA, launch, and post-launch analysis, ensuring timelines and deliverables are met.
• AI Search integration: Adapt to the evolving AI search landscape by incorporating GEO and AI methodologies into strategies, processes, and content plans.
• Keyword & prompt development: Build and maintain keyword and prompt lists aligned to client goals using performance data, analytics insights, proprietary tools, and market research.
• Prompt research & content planning: Conduct keyword and prompt research to identify gaps, develop content briefs, optimize on-page elements, and support long-form and structured content creation.
• Technical SEO & GEO audits: Perform in-depth audits including crawlability, indexation, structured data, internal linking, site speed, schema markup and AI visibility. Provide prioritized, actionable recommendations aligned with product and development roadmaps.
• Performance analysis: Analyze analytics, search console data, AI search visibility tools, and behavioural signals to identify trends, inform strategy, and create performance-driven recommendations and provide reporting capabilities.
• Client collaboration: Support client communication across performance updates, strategy evolution, and opportunity discovery. Proactively surface risks, anticipate challenges, and recommend solutions.
• AI search experimentation: Test AI search experiences (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity etc.), evaluate generative answer patterns, and develop internal POVs and best practices.
• Advanced Reporting & Data Storytelling: Seamlessly blend traditional SEO KPIs with GEO metrics. Translate complex data sets into clear, narrative-driven reports that demonstrate business ROI to clients.
• Innovation & knowledge sharing: Consistently monitor industry trends, share insights with the team, contribute to internal training materials, and help strengthen Saatchi & Saatchi’s search practice.
• Collaboration & communication: Work with cross-disciplinary stakeholders and external partners to ensure SEO, GEO, and content recommendations are implemented effectively and support broader marketing objectives.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Experience:
• 5-7+ years of hands-on SEO experience, ideally within an agency or enterprise environment leading complex accounts.
• 1 Year Experience leading AI-driven search initiatives is required.
• Technical skills: Proficiency with GSC, GA4, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, and familiarity with AI-assisted SEO tools.

Nice to have

• Claude code and API integration considered an additional asset
• GEO & AI search knowledge: Understanding of Generative Engine Optimization, AI answer-generation patterns, structured data for AEO, and how LLMs consume and surface content.
• GEO Attribution & Measurement: Familiarity with emerging GEO tracking methodologies, LLM scraper/monitoring tools, or custom API setups used to measure brand visibility across generative AI engines.
• Content & prompt optimization: Experience creating content strategies, writing briefs, optimizing for generative summaries, and using LLMs for ideation, expansion, and evaluation. Strong prompt-crafting skills are a plus.
• Structured data literacy: Ability to develop and validate schema markup, ensuring compatibility with enhanced search features and AI-driven experiences.
• Analytical skills: Strong ability to analyze data from multiple platforms, identify patterns, create hypotheses, and translate insights into clear strategic actions.
• Presentation & communication: Skilled at creating executive-ready decks, presenting complex technical concepts clearly, and guiding clients/stakeholders through SEO/GEO recommendations.
• Adaptability: Comfortable operating in a fast-evolving search landscape; quick to adopt new methods, tools, and AI-driven capabilities.
• Client-focused mindset: Ability to proactively manage workstreams, anticipate issues, communicate status effectively, and drive toward client KPIs and goals.
• Industry Leadership: Stay updated on industry trends and search engine algorithms to ensure websites are optimized for maximum visibility.

Salary

Transparency matters to us. The salary for this position is CAD $90k - 100k per year. Actual compensation within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and applicable certifications. This range reflects what we reasonably expect to offer based on current market data.

AI Use

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision-making. We believe in a human-first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people.

Saatchi is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome and encourage applications from all interested parties. Accommodations are available, upon request, for all stages of the interview and employment process for those with a disability or medical need during any stage of the recruitment process.