Senior Manager Paid Search & eRetail

Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

Senior Manager Paid Search & eRetail  

The following position is open in England, United Kingdom.

What makes this a great opportunity?

We are building a new world class media function and a future-focussed media model to support our brands globally, and this role will have a key chance to drive our search approach within that. This is an opportunity for a career defining role to shape something from scratch and be part of a progressive organisation - One that truly wants to both deliver results internally and be recognised externally as one of the best in the business. whilst allowing you to do the best work of your life!

Sitting in our new global team alongside programmatic, paid social and commerce specialists you’ll both have the opportunity to shape our global strategy and have hands on involvement & consultancy with specific markets & campaigns. This role sits within our new global total media function, reporting into the Director of Digital Media & Operations and then the VP, Head of Media.

The business has not had a global media team before, relying on an established US function and very locally driven approaches in our other international markets, and thus this is a rare opportunity to define and shape something on a relatively blank canvas allowing you to really bring your expertise and make your mark. You’ll work across our premium portfolio of brands including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Sipsmith and Suntory whisky, with opportunities to work directly with global brand teams and markets. Together we will shape a data driven media approach that supports our North American business, unites our International Region and sets us up for future global expansion and premiumisation.

This is a great opportunity for someone who has hands on paid search and eSearch/eRetail activation & buying experience combined with experience of delivering full funnel paid eSearch/eRetail strategies across an international footprint. This is a rare opportunity to drive change not commonly seen on client or agency side. 

Role Responsibilities

The Manager Holistic Search will work closely with the Director of Media Activation & Operations and the Manager Digital Media to take ownership for our global search approach. You will have experience of building, optimisation and reporting on Paid Search accounts across Google and ideally other SEs. Along-side this you'll have experience of building out teams and search capabilities whilst driving the strategic agenda. You will talk confidently about best practice, stretegic development of the channel and relevant KPIs and metrics. You will also be well versed in the latest developments across all search environments. Occasionally you may need to get stuck in and help with some small campaign set ups.

This hybrid role requires understanding of SEO. We have a dedicated SEO and website function who you’ll co-ordinate closely with. no actual implementation of SEO is needed but you will understand SEO and its facets (content being key but also knowledge of tech element would be advantageous), be able to confidently talk about it and its interplay with Paid Search. You will also understand how to co-ordinate combined SEO and Paid Search activity and talk about them holistically. As we expand into more digital commerce opportunities experience in eCommerce search environments would be beneficial.

Your work will play a key role in defining the overall search framework and KPIs for the business as well as being a key champion of holistic search to our Global Brand Houses providing advice and counsel on brand or category recommendations which will be delivered to markets. As an expert in your field, you will also act as a consultant to local markets and agencies to evaluate set up, performance and optimisation.

Ultimately your role is to be an internal champion of search, to continue building the business case & showing the value of the medium and to drive efficiency & effectiveness improvements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Help define and shape our global holistic search strategy, brand guidelines and overall business KPIs.
• Analyse and report back on holistic search activity around agreed KPIs.
• Develop documentation, templates and processes for delivering best in class holistic search work.
• Ensure sharing of keyword research, Paid Search metrics SEO audits, backlink intel etc is carried out between teams on relevant campaigns.
• Provide counsel around eRetail and eShopping environments.
• Identify pro-actively opportunities for holistic search.
• Support other members of the global media team with search expertise to feed into wider strategy or activation plans and discussions.
• Collaborate with eCommerce teams & specialists as we develop commerce search capabilities including providing intel on keyword research and rising trends.
• Be a supportive resource and add value to our North American team and other key markets looking for detailed search recommendations, evaluations, or advice.
• Input into our ‘Future Media Model’ to help the business understand the future-facing opportunities created by search and how we should set ourselves up to maximise them – including helping evaluate insourcing & centralising models - Supporting the global development of scaled holistic search product working along side SEO and eCom functions.
• Provide detailed reviews and optimisation suggestions for local market plans to improve the local effectiveness of our search approach.
• Have the understanding & capability to be able to directly access search buying platforms and potentially to occasionally setup and manage campaigns.
• Encourage and drive innovation opportunities including alpha & beta tests or new partner trials.
• Provide thought leadership on your expert areas to the Global team, wider business and industry partners.
• Work closely with vendor partners on relevant Global Initiatives.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• 7+ years of hands-on experience in media/agency roles with a strong foundation in digital media and marketing for brand-building and direct response initiatives
• 7+ years leading paid search from strategic planning, investment, or activation perspectives
• Experience of eShopping and eRetail such as Google Shopping and Amazon
• Experience in helping shape and define search strategy and buying & team setups
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to work in a complex matrix organisation
• Demonstrated ability to work and excel within an environment that is not always black & white; the individual must be comfortable in situations where answers are not always obvious and sometimes require open-ended analyses + critical thinking to produce a business recommendation
• Self-starter, passionate to challenge the status quo, curiosity, desire and ability to think beyond surface level, dive deeper into media and consumer trends, and strategic thinking
• Team player who is flexible and adaptable in their approach
• Ability to work successfully with teams and independently on multiple projects under tight deadlines with limited supervision
• Ensure work produced is QA’d and meets and exceeds the requirements of a best-in-class Global Media operation
• Ability to probe assumptions and gain understanding without devaluing individuals’ viewpoints
• Ability to use a wide range of sources to understand trends, solve problems and provide intel

Desirable

• Bachelor’s Degree or Marketing Industry Qualification (Encouraged but optional)
• Broad familiarity across all media channels – TV, Addressable, OTT, Publishing, Search, Display, Online Video, Mobile, Social, etc.
• Experience working with 3rd party measurement and verification partners (i.e. MOAT, IRI, NCS, MMA, etc.)
• An understanding of the modern ad tech landscape, as well as key data opportunities and challenges facing brands
• Experience in digital commerce including retailer search opportunities (eg Amazon, Criteo, Tesco, Walmart)
• Experience in advanced search management platform leveraging the power of data and audience e.g. SA 360
• Multi-market experience or broad understanding of co-ordinating multiple teams and understanding consumer behaviour nuances across different markets
• Experience working in the alcohol industry or other category with legal restrictions and implications

At Beam Suntory, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Beam Suntory is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant’s skills and experience.