Senior Associate, Marketing Strategy - Paid Search; Hybrid

Senior Associate, Marketing Strategy
- Paid Search (Hybrid)

Chicago, IL

We are looking for a strategic, self-directed marketing expert to own the growth and trajectory of our search and affiliate strategy for Enova’s Small Business division. This role reports to the Head of Acquisition, SMB and sits at the center of how paid search (SEM) and affiliate marketing drive new customer acquisition and profitable growth.

This is not an execution-only seat. We need an owner - someone who treats the performance of these channels as if it were their own business, sets the strategy, and drives the results. You will still be close enough to the levers to be hands-on in the platforms, but your primary mandate is to define where the strategy goes next and to connect the dots between analytics, reporting, channel performance, and the bottom line.

You’ll be the person who anticipates where performance is headed, not waiting for a report to tell you something changed. You’ll use AI to surface signals, generate ideas, and pressure-test decisions - not the one waiting for a report to tell you something changed.

• Own the search strategy. Set the vision, roadmap, and growth trajectory for SEM and channels - from budget allocation and bid strategy to partner mix and testing agenda — and be accountable for the performance and efficiency over time.
• Build and manage the affiliate partner portfolio. Recruit, vet, and onboard partners and networks; structure and negotiate commission and payout models; run relationship and performance reviews; and monitor for brand bidding, lead-quality issues, and fraud — ensuring third-party promotion of our products meets the same standards as our owned channels.
• Bridge data science, analytics, and performance. Work hand-in-hand with the Data Scientist who owns the model and with internal and external analytics and reporting/BI teams — building enough fluency in the model to translate its inputs and outputs, keep everyone working from the same numbers, and turn insight into channel decisions that improve performance.
• Connect performance to the P&L. Translate channel decisions into their impact on acquisition volume, efficiency, cost, and profitability. Understand and clearly articulate how spend and optimization choices flow through to unit economics and the P&Ls bottom line.
• Lead with AI. Actively adopt and champion AI tools across the search and affiliate workflow - using them to accelerate research, analysis, creative, reporting, and optimization — and continually find new ways to apply AI to extend the channel’s reach, efficiency, and workflow. Let AI do the heavy lifting on research and analysis while the final call stays yours.
• Find growth before it’s asked for. Proactively identify new opportunities, channels, and partner relationships that extend our reach and capture via the Search model and keep us ahead of the market.
• Run and optimize the channels hands-on. Own day-to-day execution across the SEM and Affiliate portfolio - campaign builds, bid and budget management, keyword and audience strategy, affiliate partner management, and landing pages — and drive the testing and optimization agenda end to end: design and prioritize high-impact experiments across creative, bidding, and partners, measure rigorously, and scale what works.
• Own compliance and brand integrity in-channel. Ensure all paid search and affiliate activity - including ad copy, landing pages, and affiliate promotion — meets Enova’s regulatory, legal, and compliance requirements, partnering closely with Legal and Compliance to keep the channel audit-ready as it scales.
• Communicate cross-functionally. Partner with Analytics, Finance, Creative, Product Marketing Legal, and Compliance…