SEM Strategist (Remote)

SEM StrategistForbes Advisor is looking for a SEM Strategist to join the Forbes Advisor Performance Marketing team, supporting Forbes Advisor's Financial Services business.This role is responsible for driving the strategic direction and long-term growth of key paid search categories. The ideal candidate combines deep SEM expertise with strong commercial acumen, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence stakeholders across the organization. They will identify new opportunities, develop scalable growth strategies, champion innovation, and serve as a key driver of business outcomes across their owned verticals.Responsibilities:Strategic Leadership & GrowthOwn the strategic direction, growth plans, and commercial success of key categories.Develop and execute short-term and long-term growth strategies aligned with business objectives.Build clear category roadmaps that balance immediate performance opportunities with long-term capability development.Identify, prioritize, and champion high-impact initiatives that drive sustained growth and competitive advantage.Act as the subject matter expert for owned categories, proactively identifying market trends, opportunities, and risks.Influence performance beyond directly owned accounts through thought leadership, best-practice development, and cross-category initiatives.Generate innovative ideas that challenge existing approaches and establish new best practices across the organization.Evaluate emerging industry trends, platform developments, and product innovations to maintain competitive advantage.Performance OwnershipTake full ownership of category performance, including revenue, profitability, volume, efficiency, and growth targets.Drive category growth through data-driven decision making and strategic allocation of resources.Develop forecasting models and growth plans for owned categories, ensuring alignment with business objectives.Analyze performance trends, identify root causes of variance, and communicate strategic recommendations to stakeholders.Conduct regular business reviews and account audits to identify opportunities for optimization and expansion.Utilize advanced analytical approaches to identify growth opportunities across campaigns, audiences, funnels, landing experiences, and partner ecosystems.Innovation & TestingDesign and own testing frameworks that support strategic category growth.Identify, prioritize, and scale innovative PPC tactics, automation opportunities, audience expansion strategies, and emerging platform capabilities.Drive experimentation initiatives from conception through implementation and performance evaluation.Build strong hypotheses based on data, market insights, and business needs to unlock new growth opportunities.Scale successful initiatives across additional categories and share learnings broadly within the organization.Partner directly with publishers and platform representatives to leverage beta programs, product innovations, and new capabilities.Stakeholder Influence & Cross-Functional LeadershipBuild strong relationships with Business Development, Product, Engineering, Finance, Compliance, Analytics, and Leadership teams.Influence stakeholders and obtain buy-in for strategic initiatives through compelling data, analysis, and business cases.Partner with Business Development teams to identify new partner opportunities, market expansion opportunities, and monetization initiatives.Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to identify and prioritize enhancements that improve business performance.Present category performance, growth strategies, recommendations, and insights to senior stakeholders and leadership audiences.Serve as a strategic advisor and thought leader within the Performance Marketing team.Capability ExpectationsOperates with high levels of autonomy and limited oversight.Owns category strategy and growth as if managing their own business.Develops and drives initiatives that influence performance beyond directly managed accounts.Proactively identifies opportunities and challenges before they impact performance.Leads strategic projects with significant business impact.Creates clear vision, roadmap, and execution plans for owned categories.Builds alignment across multiple stakeholders to deliver business outcomes.Balances commercial performance with long-term strategic investments.Drives adoption of new ideas, processes, and best practices across the wider team.Acts as a trusted strategic partner to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.Professional CompetenciesDeep passion for search marketing and digital advertising.Strategic thinker with a forward-looking mindset and strong commercial awareness.Proven ability to identify growth opportunities and convert them into measurable business outcomes.Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to make decisions using incomplete information.Outstanding analytical and critical thinking abilities.Ability to influence and negotiate effectively across multiple stakeholder groups.Exceptional communication, storytelling, and presentation skills.Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management capabilities.Comfortable operating in ambiguity and driving change.Ability to connect market dynamics, business objectives, and performance marketing strategies.Strong organizational, planning, and prioritization skills.Growth mindset with a focus on continuous learning and innovation.Requirements:8+ years of experience in Paid Search / SEM, including extensive experience with Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.Proven track record of owning and growing large-scale PPC programs.Demonstrated success developing and executing long-term growth strategies that drive measurable business impact.Advanced understanding of Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, automation, smart bidding strategies, and audience targeting.Experience managing significant budgets and delivering revenue and profitability growth.Strong forecasting, planning, and performance analysis experience.Deep knowledge of web analytics platforms, including Google Analytics and internal reporting solutions.Experience using competitive intelligence and market research tools such as SEMrush, Adthena, Similarweb, or equivalent platforms.Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive organizational change.Experience presenting business cases, strategic recommendations, and performance insights to senior stakeholders.Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.Bachelor's Degree required.Forbes Advisor provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.