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We’re looking for a Senior SEO Manager / SEO Lead to take ownership of the SEO function at Black Lab driving client performance, raising standards, and leading a small team to consistently deliver high-quality work.
This role exists because we need a senior individual who can bring pace, accountability and ambition into the department. You’ll be stepping into a role previously supported by remote senior oversight and will now lead SEO day-to-day: strengthening execution, shaping our offering, and ensuring we are operating at the cutting edge of SEO (including AI, automation, and evolving search behaviours).
You’ll work in a flat structure, leading relationships directly with clients, identifying opportunities, and proactively shaping roadmap and strategy. A clear understanding of paid channels and how they blend with organic is necessary to working collaboratively with the paid media team.
What You’ll Do1) Lead SEO Delivery & Quality
· Own and deliver high-performance SEO strategy across a mixed client portfolio (automotive, finance, childcare, bakery and more)
· Ensure every client has a clear SEO roadmap, prioritised by impact, and actively delivered
· Lead the “what” and “why” while supporting the team to execute the “how”
· Ensure best-practice delivery across:
o Technical SEO (crawling, indexation, internal linking, architecture, CWV where relevant)
o On-page optimisation (templates, content structure, metadata, intent matching)
o Content planning + content matrix management
o Local SEO / Google Business Profile strategy
o Digital PR / link acquisition strategy (where relevant)
o Analytics, measurement and reporting improvements
2) Manage & Develop a High-Performing SEO Team
· Line-manage two team members (Creative SEO and Technical SEO)
· Coach, develop, and hold direct reports to account with measurable outcomes
· Drive consistent adoption of SOPs/checklists and improve them over time
· Address performance issues directly and professionally, including:
o poor process
o delivery gaps
o low standards
o resistance to optimisation
3) Client Leadership & Growth
· Lead client relationships as the senior SEO specialist (not just “delivery in the background”)
· Run strategy discussions with marketing leads, including roadmap reviews and performance updates
· Identify and propose new opportunities:
o New landing page builds
o Additional intent clusters
o New content programmes
o Local search expansion
o Technical improvements with measurable outcomes
· Support account retention and contribute to growth
4) Shape the Department & SEO Agenda
· Define what “great SEO” looks like at Black Lab
· Improve the SEO offering: positioning, packages, measurement framework, and delivery cadence
· Support on pitches and proposals (including building strategy, forecasts and clear narratives)
· Keep the agency future-facing: staying ahead of platform changes, AI search developments, and best practice evolution
· Own Black Lab’s SEO positioning.
What Success Looks LikeFirst 30 Days
· Stabilise delivery quality
· Each client has a roadmap, clear priorities, and opportunity areas identified
· Identify gaps in delivery/process and implement immediate improvements
First 60 Days
· Team is operating smoothly with clear standards and accountability
· Reporting has been reviewed and improved
· Workflow in Asana/Slack is structured and consistent
First 90 Days
· Clear plan for the evolution of Black Lab’s SEO offering
· Individual development plans in place for SEO team members
· Client strategies and execution plans embedded and operational
What We’re Looking ForExperience & Capability
· Strong experience delivering SEO strategy across multiple clients (agency experience preferred)
· Able to confidently lead SEO across varied industries, especially including automotive and local/multi-site brands
· Highly competent across technical, on-page, content and local SEO
· Comfortable using standard tools such as:
o Screaming Frog / Sitebulb
o Ahrefs / SEMrush
o GA4 + Search Console
o Looker Studio (or similar reporting tools)
· Ability to deliver or support on all elements of SEO.
Leadership & Behaviour
· A proactive leader who pushes standards up and doesn’t settle for ‘that will do’.
· Confident challenging poor process (internally and client-side) when needed
· Comfortable managing underperformance and driving improvement
· Personable, dynamic and able to build trust quickly with clients
· Commercial mindset: understands how SEO supports leads/sales/ROI, not just rankings this applied to Black Lab as well as clients.
Why Join Black Lab
· Opportunity to shape and lead an SEO department
· Influence across strategy, process, delivery quality and commercial growth
· A flat structure where good ideas move quickly
· Varied portfolio: national brands and multi-site businesses
· Work with a team that wants to be pushed and wants to improve
· Half day Fridays, finish work at 1pm