Associate Director, SEO (Mat leave Contract

We’re looking for an experienced SEO leader who thrives on blending technical expertise with strategic thinking, and who’s excited to lead SEO and GEO initiatives across some of Canada’s largest automotive accounts. If you’re a confident, client-facing strategist who enjoys mentoring a team and staying ahead of how search is evolving, we’d love to hear from you

INNOCEAN Worldwide Canada is an award-winning global marketing and communications company based in Toronto with offices across 16 countries and growing. At Innocean, we believe the future of business belongs to companies and brands that understand how to create memorable customer experiences. We are passionate about creating extraordinary value to our clients, providing bespoke solutions that propel their business forward locally, nationally, and internationally.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic associate SEO director to join our Digital Media team at Innocean on a 18 month full-time contract, covering a maternity leave
. This role owns SEO strategy and execution across some of Canada’s largest automotive accounts, including OEM brand sites and their affiliated dealer networks. You will lead technical SEO, structured data, and generative engine optimization (GEO) initiatives, manage day-to-day client relationships, mentor junior team members, and contribute directly to new business development.

Reporting to the VP, Digital Media, you will set SEO strategy, oversee a team of 3 talented individuals, and act as the primary day-to-day SEO lead across accounts - balancing hands-on technical work with client-facing strategy and cross-functional leadership within our media team of Planners, Buyers, Creatives, SEM, SMM, Programmatic Traders, and Data Analysts.

• Own end-to-end SEO strategy across OEM and dealer-network accounts, translating business goals into prioritized roadmaps
• Set direction on keyword strategy, content gap priorities, and site architecture recommendations
• Manage, mentor, and review the work of the SEO team members, providing guidance on execution and professional development
• Act as the primary SEO point of contact for clients, presenting strategy, performance, and recommendations directly

• Lead technical SEO audits and oversee remediation, partnering with web development on site speed, mobile experience, and crawlability
• Direct structured data and schema markup strategy across brand and dealer sites
• Own generative engine optimization (GEO) strategy, including llms.txt implementation and content structuring for AI-driven search and answer engines

• Oversee SEO performance reporting across all accounts, ensuring insights are integrated into overall Digital Performance reporting
• Translate data on rankings, traffic, and engagement into clear, actionable recommendations for clients and internal teams
• Establish and monitor KPIs and QA standards for metadata, content, and technical implementation across accounts
• Partner with web dev, content, design, and account service teams to align on optimization priorities
• Share SEO insights and keyword strategy with strategy, account services and other teams to inform integrated campaign planning
• Represent SEO within broader account planning and strategy discussions

• Support new business pitches and RFP responses, including SEO audits, opportunity assessments, and strategic recommendations for prospective clients
• Identify and scope SEO growth opportunities within existing accounts, contributing to upsell and account expansion conversations
• Contribute to proposal materials, capability decks, and competitive positioning related to SEO and GEO services

• Stay current on evolving SEO, GEO, and search engine algorithm developments, and translate implications into strategy
• Identify and champion process and productivity improvements across the SEO function

• Deep, current knowledge of SEO and GEO best practices, including structured data and schema.org markup
• Proven experience managing SEO strategy across multiple accounts or a…