Search Strategy Lead needed at Colgate-Palmolive

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a robust search strategy tailored to our top-priority Africa EurAsia markets to drive e-commerce sales and grow our online market share.
• Monitor all paid search campaigns across Google Ads and Sponsored Search on Retail Media Networks (RMN) to drive sales and product visibility on key e-commerce sites.
• Develop a comprehensive SEO strategy to improve organic search rankings through Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), defining content strategies for AI-driven search (e.g., Google SGE, Perplexity) and retrieval-based natural language processing (NLP) systems.
• Oversee the high-level goal of capturing high-quality first-party data (both known and unknown) through all search-related activities.
• Guide the content team in creating optimized content to appear in AI snapshots, instant answers, voice search, and featured SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
• Perform regular technical SEO audits and work with the web development team in LATAM to implement fixes (e.g., site speed, structured data, crawlability).
• Develop and manage scalable link-building strategies to enhance domain authority.
• Conduct A/B testing on ad copy, landing pages, and bidding models to drive continuous improvement.
• Define, monitor, and report on KPIs for all search initiatives, preparing detailed reports for senior management with actionable insights.
• Serve as the central in-house expert on search, providing guidance, training, and best practices to local subsidiary digital teams.
• Support all local teams to manage all paid media budgets, bidding strategies, and external agency performance to maximize ROAS and minimize CPA (Cost Per Acquisition).

Education, Experience, & Skill Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Marketing, Business, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience managing complex Search (SEO/PPC) campaigns, with deep experience in Retail Media and the evolving AI search landscape.
• Proven track record of successfully improving organic rankings and managing complex paid search campaigns with significant budgets.
• Expert knowledge of GA4, GSC, and Google Ads.
• Deep experience with standard search tools (Semrush, Ahrefs and Screaming Frog).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders, upskill brand teams, and influence senior management.
• Self-starter with an experimental (test-and-learn) mindset, capable of prioritizing tasks and working in a fast-paced corporate environment without full guidance.
• Results-driven and oriented.