A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there’s more to being in business than just making a profit. That’s the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet.  What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it’s never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It’s about how you can grab everything that’s within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It’s about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we’ll all be a little better off. It’s that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated 

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

 

Purpose of Role

 

This central role builds superior Paid and Organic Search capabilities for Mars Pet Nutrition brands, including PEDIGREE®, IAMS™, CESAR®, TEMPTATIONS™, GREENIES™, DENTASTIX™, SHEBA®, and NUTRO™, by leading a portfolio Search strategy and execution across Google, Bing & eComm platforms such as Amazon, Chewy & Criteo. This includes managing, improving and crafting ways of working across local and global agency partners, brand teams, e-commerce retailers, and internal cross-functional teams. This role must also define and roll out scalable solutions, best practices and frequent learnings to advance Mars Pet Nutrition Search efforts across brand equity and e-commerce initiatives. The Search Manager will increase efficacy of Paid and Organic Search via ongoing analysis and optimization of programs, streamlining processes, benchmarking, developing and leading structured test and learns, as well as education and training for brands and other key stakeholders.

 

Principal Accountabilities

• Creation and ownership of a holistic portfolio Search strategy and its execution, in collaboration with agencies, including recommended tactics for nine individual brands based on business goals and communication objectives across national/offsite and onsite eCommerce Search platforms.
• Identify opportunities to increase effectiveness and efficiency of Paid and Organic Search programs, through operational and technical optimizations as measured by a regular cadence of sales lift studies
• Manage planning, execution and optimization of Paid Search campaigns, SEO programs, and portfolio governance strategy, for nine active brands in Mars Pet Nutrition portfolio alongside agency partners, including:
  • Determine Search keyword areas for each brand within and across the portfolio in collaboration with agency partners and brand teams.
  • Lead agency partners to define investment levels for Paid Search across brands and portfolio.
  • Define annual SEO program components for brands.
  • Partner with Web & CRM Manager on the development and optimization of brand content to drive Organic Search visibility and Quality Score
  • Partner with agencies and brand teams to prioritize the implementation of SEO best practices
  • Prioritize optimizations within SEM portfolio and between Mars Pet Nutrition brands to drive effectiveness and efficiency and eliminate overlap, redundancies and inefficient investment
  • Report Search performance quarterly alongside agency partners through a quantitative scorecard to help brand teams and marketing directors understand performance and recommend clear actions for continuous improvement
  • Author monthly Search performance reports to Sr. Manager and Director, communicating overall progress, priority initiatives
  • Develop test & learns for Search, and package results to brands and marketing directors via educational sessions, playbooks and position papers to build marketing department capabilities and ensure proven solutions are scaled to deliver best-in-class performance
• Partner with agency and Search platforms to proactively identify trends and themes in consumer Search behavior that inform strategy, keywords and copy development
• Develop and manage brand marketer relationships for consistent communication and education on the Search space
• Communicate best practices and learnings from Mars Pet Nutrition programs with Pet Nutrition counterparts in other markets, and other Mars segments to advance Search efforts across the Mars Inc. organization
• Craft strategies and tests to gather learnings against emerging Search trends such as Voice and Local, and push innovation agenda with our strategic partners like Google and Amazon

Key Functional Skills/Knowledge

• Proven effective Search expertise, especially within an agency or multi-brand environment
• Strong communication skills (oral, written, listening). This includes ability to make effective presentations to all levels of management.
• High levels of interpersonal skills specifically in the area of influencing, resolving conflict, and creative problem solving.
• Proficient in managing complex projects. Well organized, good at prioritization, attentive to details.
• Biased toward action. Takes initiative, entrepreneurial, can hit the ground running and move projects forward right from the start.

 

What are we looking for?

• 5 years’ experience in Search marketing, with at least two years focused on managing strategic holistic Search initiatives
• Advanced skills in the Google suite of tools
• Expertise in technical SEO, eComm SEO, Amazon Search and Google/Bing Search
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Ability to travel 10% of the time.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years of prior Search experience, preferably within the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and/or at an agency
• Experience partnering directly with brand marketers and/or agencies to advance initiatives
• Experience in direct to consumer eCommerce

#LI-MW1

 

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.