Connected Media Group is conducting a national search for a commercially driven SEO Director to lead and evolve our SEO and AI-driven search capability.
Originally scoped as an in-office leadership role in Thirroul (NSW), we are now open to appointing an exceptional candidate anywhere in Australia, with a fully remote structure considered for the right person.
This is a senior leadership role within one of Australia's leading independent media agencies - with genuine scope to shape how SEO, AEO and AI-led search are delivered across the agency and our national client base.
Why work at Connected?
* A rare opportunity to lead and modernise an SEO function inside an award-winning independent agency.
* A competitive salary package and benefits.
* We get to work with some of Australia's top brands and marketing teams including Sanitarium, Canon, Australian Institute of Marketing, Aon Insurance.
Our team is built around our values: Performance, Energy, Integrity, Heart and Unexpected(ness).
As our SEO Director you will be responsible for:
As SEO Director, you will lead our SEO capability end-to-end: driving strategy, execution, innovation and team development. This is a commercial leadership role. You will be accountable not just for rankings and traffic, but for measurable business impact.
We're looking for someone who is already deeply engaged in AEO and AI search – actively experimenting, validating and translating emerging tools and strategies into real commercial impact.
Key Responsibilities:
* Own SEO/AEO performance for our agency and clients – develop and execute end-to-end SEO strategies and tactics to significantly scale organic growth.
* Identify opportunities for both short term gains and longer term growth for clients in a wide range of industries.
* Manage multiple SEO programs in a dynamic environment - balancing strategy, delivery and team capacity through structured sprint planning.
* Lead, mentor and develop a small SEO team - elevating capability, reviewing output, anticipating risks and maintaining quality standards.
* Create new systems and processes that leverage tools and AI to automate SEO tasks and projects including audits, keyword research, site crawls, backlink acquisition and their implementation plans.
* Lead ongoing innovation in SEO and AEO to ensure our clients stay ahead in AI-driven search visibility.
* Generously share knowledge with teammates and client partners.
Remote Leadership Expectations
For candidates outside the Illawarra/Sydney region, this role may be structured as fully remote.
However, this is a senior leadership position. Success in this role will require:
* Experience leading and developing teams remotely.
* Demonstrated ability to drive accountability and performance in distributed teams.
* Structured communication rhythms (weekly cadences, sprint planning, training sessions).
* High ownership mindset and commercial maturity.
* Willingness to travel to our Thirroul office periodically for team planning, training and strategic sessions (travel expenses covered).
We are looking for someone who sees remote as a high-performance structure - not a low-engagement one.
The ideal candidate:
To thrive at Connected you'll need to live our values – operating with focus, care and an obsession with impact. This role is a true blend of strategy and execution – we are looking for someone who is able to see the big commercial picture while remaining hands-on in the detail.
* A bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
* 7 years+ of experience working on small and large websites within multiple verticals.
* Agency experience highly regarded.
* Comfortable owning performance outcomes and commercial impact, not just SEO deliverables.
* Proven leadership of small-mid SEO teams.
* A self-starter. Someone proactive who takes initiative when solving problems and finding new solutions.
* Expert level understanding of search engine algorithms and ranking factors.
* Experience in LLM-driven search and GEO, with the capability to evolve and scale AI-led search strategies.
* Deep, end-to-end SEO expertise across technical SEO, on-page and content optimisation, keyword strategy and site performance, with a strong understanding of how website architecture, CMS platforms and code impact search visibility.
* Strong grasp of the broader SEO ecosystem, including UX and core web metrics, local SEO, backlink strategy and authority building.
* Strong in tools including Screaming Frog, SEMRush, ahrefs, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Looker Studio.
* Highly organised, efficient and comfortable operating at pace.
* A strong communicator focused on impact, innovation and process efficiency.
* Agency experience is highly preferred.
* Open to Australian residents only.
Application Requirement
If you are seeking a remote arrangement, as part of your application please include a short statement outlining:
* Your experience leading teams in a remote or hybrid environment.
* How you would structure team management, training and accountability in a fully remote model.
* How you ensure innovation and knowledge-sharing in distributed teams.
If you're a strategic SEO leader eager to drive impact and lead a high-performing team, we'd love to hear from you.
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