Manager, Search Engine Marketing; SEM

Manager, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) - Quill

This position is a minimum of 4 days in office with flexibility for remote work on Fridays.

Quill is a valuable part of the Staples family of brands. Since 1956, Quill has held its position as a leader in office supplies.

Acquired by Staples in 1998, Quill delivers the essential services, solutions, and award-winning customer support to help our customers – and our people – thrive. When you partner with Quill, as a customer or as an associate, every workday is more rewarding.

From paper, ink & toner, to technology and custom print, we deliver the right products at the right value, plus an unmatched assortment of over 900 instant rewards available with every order.

Quill is seeking a Manager, Search Engine Marketing to lead the day-to-day strategy, execution, performance management, and optimization of its paid search program across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, including Search and Shopping/PLA campaigns. This role serves as Quill’s internal SEM owner and is accountable for ensuring the channel operates with strong analytical discipline, agency accountability, execution rigor, and alignment to acquisition, order growth, profitability, and customer value goals.

This is a manager-level individual contributor role with no direct reports today, but it requires leadership through influence, including directing external agency resources, coordinating cross-functional partners, and serving as a senior performance marketing thought partner across Growth Marketing forums.

• Own the day-to-day health and performance of Quill’s paid search program across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, including Search and Shopping/PLA campaigns.
• Lead the agency team responsible for SEM execution by setting priorities, defining deliverables, reviewing work quality, tracking commitments, and ensuring resources remain focused on the highest-value opportunities.
• Conduct regular in-platform analysis to identify performance drivers and opportunities across queries, campaigns, products, audiences, devices, geographies, bids, budgets, impression share, CPC, conversion, feed health, and other relevant dimensions.
• Diagnose unexpected performance changes quickly, develop hypotheses, isolate root causes, coordinate corrective actions, and elevate material risks as needed.
• Own SEM pacing and tactical budget decisions within approved investment plans and established guardrails.
• Develop and maintain an SEM testing and optimization roadmap covering campaign structure, bidding, creative, landing pages, feeds, promotional execution, and platform capabilities.
• Partner with Marketing Analytics to connect platform performance to customer economics, lifetime value, incrementality, and broader business outcomes.
• Create clear performance readouts, recommendations, and action plans for Growth Marketing leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Strong SEM judgment and hands‑on platform depth to independently evaluate performance, challenge recommendations, and diagnose issues.
• Excellent project and program management skills with the ability to coordinate campaigns, promotions, deadlines, assets, dependencies, and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to build hypotheses, work through platform data, and translate findings into business actions.
• High ownership, strong problem‑solving instincts, and a bias for early issue detection and timely escalation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence peers, partners, and stakeholders without formal authority.
• Comfort working in a performance‑oriented environment with changing platforms, business priorities, and operating…