Senior Manager, Paid Search Marketing
Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large, Fortune 100 enterprises with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.
Last year, more than $3.8 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.
As the Sr. Manager of Paid Search Marketing, you will join the Acquisition team responsible for driving growth in Job Posts, Contract Starts, and Revenue. Your expertise lies in the realm of Paid Search, where your leadership will guide the strategic execution and end-to-end management of our campaigns.
This role is about more than just managing budgets, keywords, and analytics; it's about embodying a culture of analytical rigor, process excellence, accountability, and a relentless pursuit of growth. Your primary goal is to lead the Paid Search team toward executing a complex, global strategy that exceeds our aggressive growth goals.
Through a combination of leadership excellence, intellectual curiosity, and exceptional communication skills, you will drive forward initiatives that maximize performance and profitability. This position, reporting to the Director of Acquisition Marketing, requires a blend of strategic foresight, operational efficiency, and a hands-on approach to achieving results.
Responsibilities:
- Leadership & Collaboration: Manage a Paid Search team, fostering a culture of data curiosity, analytical rigor, and high standards. Collaborate and lead programs across teams (Channel Leads, Analytics, Finance, Product, Integrated Marketing) to achieve growth goals, emphasizing a bias toward action and process optimization.
- Analytical Excellence: Employ a data-driven approach to optimize performance (LTV:CAC, ROAS, etc.) across key dimensions (targeting, messaging, landing page optimization, bid strategies, platform capabilities)
- End-to-End Campaign Management: Own SEM channel budgets and manage all operations from campaign strategy to execution, optimization, analysis, and reporting
- Strategic Execution: Lead the SEM team in addressing all facets of the channel, from the initial strategy development to execution and insightful analysis. Achieve exceptional results by meticulously following the program roadmap and setting new benchmarks in performance and efficiency.
- Adaptability in Rapidly Changing Environments: Excel in a fast-paced, evolving landscape, adapting strategies swiftly to meet dynamic market demands.
- Innovation & Expansion: Champion a test-and-learn agenda to continuously refine and optimize existing tactics while focusing on opportunities to scale and increase profitability.
- Best Practices: Ensuring SEM runs in accordance with industry best practices, upholding high standards and meticulous attention to detail.
What it takes to catch our eye:
- Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success in leading Paid Search strategy and execution, with tangible results showcasing your ability to drive growth and partner with product and other cross-functional teams.
- Leadership Excellence: Experience leading and mentoring teams, showcasing your ability to inspire, guide, and elevate those around you.
- Ambitious Drive & Organizational Skills: A continuous hunger for improvement, always pushing boundaries and setting higher benchmarks. Your strong organizational and project planning skills will be key in managing multiple initiatives.
- Process Excellence and High Standards: Experience setting high standards, building and defining processes, and maintaining a relentless bias towards action to achieve marketing excellence.
- Intellectual Curiosity: Demonstrated ability to apply business knowledge to marketing problems. Strategic marketer who is intellectually curious, proactive, and collaborative
- Executive Presence: Possess outstanding written and verbal communication skills, effectively articulating complex strategies and results to a wide range of stakeholders.
- Self-Motivation and Independence: Demonstrated ability to be a self-starter, thriving as a remote contributor with a strong sense of accountability and minimal supervision.
The annual base salary for this position in California and Washington ranges from $135,000 - $183,000. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position in California and Washington, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long-term equity incentive program.
Come change how the world works.
At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals. While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 19 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees.
Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And oh yeah, we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.
Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.
Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
