Risk & Controls Manager, Paid Search (SEM)

SEM Risk & Controls Manager - Paid Search

Location: New York, NY

Work Model: Hybrid, 3 days per week in office

Compensation: Up to $80/hour W2

Sponsorship: No sponsorship available

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced SEM Risk & Controls Manager to support a Paid Search

Activation team within a highly regulated environment.

This role will own and manage the risk, controls, governance, and compliance framework

supporting paid search operations. The ideal candidate brings strong experience in operational

risk and controls along with working knowledge of SEM and digital advertising processes.

You will partner across Marketing, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Audit, Technology, Information

Security, Procurement, and external media partners to ensure paid search campaigns are

executed within established policies, controls, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the Paid Search risk and controls framework.

• Execute, monitor, test, document, and improve operational controls.

• Maintain control inventories, procedures, process documentation, and audit evidence.

• Ensure controls are applied throughout campaign intake, approvals, trafficking, QA,

activation, optimization, and reporting.

• Validate required Legal, Compliance, business, and disclosure approvals before

campaign launch.

• Manage campaign QA processes and approval workflows.

• Support audits, regulatory reviews, assessments, and control testing.

• Coordinate evidence collection, issue remediation, management action plans, and audit

readiness.

• Identify and remediate control gaps, policy exceptions, and operational risk issues.

• Support third-party risk, vendor governance, due diligence, and control attestations.

• Develop reporting on control performance, risk indicators, audit findings, and

remediation progress.

• Provide risk and controls guidance for automation, platform enhancements, and AI-

enabled marketing capabilities.

• Drive continuous improvement across Paid Search governance and operational

processes.

Qualifications

• 4-7 years of experience in risk management, controls, compliance, audit, operational

governance, or digital marketing operations.

• Strong knowledge of operational risk, controls frameworks, governance, and control

testing.

• Experience supporting audits, regulatory reviews, findings, and remediation activities.

• Experience within a regulated industry, preferably financial services.

• Working knowledge of SEM / Paid Search campaign operations.

• Understanding of campaign intake, approvals, trafficking, QA, activation, optimization,

and reporting.

• Experience developing or maintaining controls documentation, SOPs, process maps, and

governance materials.

• Experience with third-party risk or vendor governance.

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Bachelor's degree required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting marketing, advertising, or digital-channel risk and controls.

• Familiarity with Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and SA360.

• Financial services or banking experience.

• Experience supporting marketing automation or AI-enabled marketing capabilities.

Important: This position is available on a W2 basis only. Candidates must be authorized to work

in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship.