Generative Search and Reputation Manager

About the Role A leading global travel and hospitality marketplace is looking for an experienced SEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) Manager to advance and expand its Search and AEO capabilities within a Reputation and Research team. This is an emerging function with a baseline strategy, performance infrastructure, and operating model already in place, and there is significant room for the right person to build on that foundation, deepen the practice, and extend its impact across markets. You will work at the intersection of search technology, strategic communications, and public affairs, a combination that calls for both technical fluency and strong stakeholder instincts. You will manage vendors and contractors, coordinate across cross-functional partners, and support multiple markets and workstreams at the same time. What You'll Do You will help plan and implement comprehensive SEO and AI Search strategies aligned to the organization's reputation, business, and public policy priorities. That means identifying the priority topics, narratives, and search landscapes that matter most in key markets, and staying current on AEO developments such as generative search, AI Overviews, and large language model citation patterns, then translating those emerging trends into practical recommendations for owned, earned, and paid channels. You will own the ongoing monitoring and refinement of Search and AEO performance infrastructure across the relevant tools and platforms. You will build and maintain regular performance reports for internal stakeholders, making complex data legible and actionable for non-technical audiences, and you will track content visibility, share of voice, and AEO citation patterns over time to identify shifts that warrant a strategic response. Acting as an internal consultant, you will provide data-driven guidance on content and messaging priorities, audience targeting informed by search behavior, competitive landscape analysis, and AEO citation analysis, and you will translate local search data into insights that inform broader reputation, amplification, and communications strategies. You will manage relationships with SEO and AEO vendors, paid media and creative agencies, and specialist contractors, helping to define scopes of work, oversee quality and delivery, and evaluate vendor performance. Across all of this you will build strong working relationships with reputation, communications, growth marketing, business, and public policy teams, project manage multiple workstreams at once with clear timelines and communication, and represent the Search and AEO function in cross-functional planning when needed. Qualifications You bring 5 or more years of experience in SEO, with a track record of contributing to search performance in a multi-channel or multi-market environment. You have hands-on proficiency with core search and website performance platforms such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, Screaming Frog, AHREFs, SEMrush, Conductor, Moz, or similar enterprise SEO tools, along with working knowledge of AEO and the tools used to monitor and optimize for it, including platforms such as Profound, Conductor, or equivalent. You understand SEM and paid media and how they interact with organic search. You have strong analytical skills and are comfortable working with performance data, identifying meaningful patterns, and presenting findings clearly to non-technical stakeholders. You have experience working with external vendors, agencies, or contractors, including helping to define scope and manage delivery, and you use AI tools for productivity such as Claude Cowork, Claude Code, Google Gemini, or NotebookLM. You have good project management instincts and can keep multiple workstreams moving across different teams, and you have strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain search concepts to policy and communications colleagues. Preferred Qualifications Experience working in public affairs, policy communications, corporate reputation, or a related field is a plus, and technology or startup experience is welcome. Familiarity with the political and regulatory landscape around short-term rentals, housing, or the broader technology space is valuable, as is experience supporting international or multi-market teams with localized search strategies. A background in competitive intelligence or media monitoring rounds out the profile. Key Details Start Date: September 2026 Contract Duration: Approximately 12 months, with the possibility of extension based on performance and business need. Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week Location: Remote, aligned to Pacific Time. Compensation: $50-$65 per hour (W2)