Manager, Paid Search (SEM)

About Ovative Group:

Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm transforming how brands grow. We partner with leading names like American Eagle, Best Buy, Domino’s, The Home Depot, Polaris, and UnitedHealth Group to build smarter media and measurement programs that drive real, profitable growth.

We don’t just track performance—we redefine it. Powered by our proprietary intelligence platform, EMRge, and our holistic metric Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), we help brands connect revenue, customer, and brand outcomes into one clear picture of success. Our approach to full-funnel strategy, buying, and measurement delivers results that matter—and it’s getting noticed. Our work has been recognized by Digiday, Google, USA Today, Inc. 5000, and Search Engine Land.

About the Role:

Digital Marketing is a critical part of every consumer journey, but many companies only measure its impact on their digital outcomes. Our approach to paid search optimization at Ovative Group can’t be found anywhere else. We measure and optimize search marketing campaigns at the enterprise level, both online and offline. Our clients are household names that span multiple industries, including retail, healthcare, education, CPG, and hospitality.

The Ovative Group Manager, Paid Search (SEM) position is an opportunity for an experienced candidate to take the next step in a leadership role at a fast-growing company that has the highest standards for talent, fun, and client success. The ideal candidate demonstrates, phenomenal client management, inspiring team leadership, great critical thinking, and sophisticated understanding of the digital media landscape. Their role will play a pivotal role in helping Ovative build and drive new capabilities toward measuring and optimizing paid media to the true enterprise impact, not solely ecommerce impacts.

Responsibilities of a Paid Search Manager:

Client relationship management:

Own, manage and grow the overall relationship and performance of some of Ovative Group’s largest clients

Lead day-to-day management of client paid search programs including:

Clearly defining program objectives , tactics and KPIs

Developing and delivering client communication

Effectively manage client relationship and establish trust and credibility

Effectively influence client stakeholders to evolve strategies and measurement approach to drive enterprise impact through paid search channel

Team leadership and employee development:

Recruit, train and manage new Ovative team members

Foster a culture of open communication and 360-degree feedback

Inspire your team and direct reports to reach their quarterly, annual, and long-term goals with strong coaching and development aligned to their interests and goals

Cross-functional strategy & thought leadership:

Act as a subject matter expert for Paid Search strategies by continually evolving Ovative’s approach to best practices; vetting and partnering with new technology companies; managing planning and execution tools, and staying on top of emerging trends

Partner with SEO, retail media, and upper- funnel teams to drive holistic searc h strategies and impact

Develop and drive forward multi-channel digital media strategies and roadmaps aligned with client program growth goals

Support higher level, cross-functional marketing strategy projects by providing deep media expertise

Performance media management & execution:

Guide, manage, and QA optimization and management of client paid search programs including:

Strategy and campaign planning, integrated with all Ovative services

Campaign tactics and segmentation strategy, with a customer first mindset

Algorithmic bid platform and manual bidding strategy and optimization to optimize to enterprise results

Strategic partner management (Google, Microsoft , SA360, etc.)

Actively identify new test and learn opportunities within paid search to build on expertise and unlock new capabilities

Custom analysis, reporting and insights that can scale across the channel

Plan and activate as a true AI and Holistic search expert

Partner with internal and external SEO partners to drive holistic program growth across platforms

Adopt and scale internal best practices that best align to client goals

Test and adopt ion of AI-driven search capabilities (AI Max, emerging AI platforms, etc.) that improve business outcomes for our clients

Requirements:

5+ years of experience directly responsible for enterprise-level paid search marketing (SEM) programs

Proven track record of success driving strong positive results through paid search marketing programs

Proven mastery of the following:

Performance-based, direct-response search marketing programs

Execution with paid search technologies tools ( Google Ads, Microsoft Ads , Search Ads 360, etc.)

External partner management (Google, Microsoft, technology partners, etc.)

Previous experience in performance marketing, retail, eCommerce, etc. preferred

Experience managing direct reports

Pay Transparency:

At Ovative, we offer a transparent view into three core components of the total compensation package: Base Salary, Annual Bonus, and Benefits.

For our Manager positions, including the position of Manager, Paid Search, our compensation range is from $90,000 to $132,000 on an annualized basis, which is inclusive of an annual bonus opportunity of 20% of base salary.

Working at Ovative Group:

We provide strong, competitive, holistic benefits that understand the importance of your life inside and out of work.

At Ovative, culture isn’t a buzzword—it’s the reason we’ve been named a Top Workplace for ten years running. We lead with trust, transparency, and a commitment to doing the hard work others avoid.

We offer flexibility. You'll work from our Minneapolis, Chicago, or New York office on set days each week, and an option to work remote on others.

Our open floor plan reflects our open communication and flat structure—where interns collaborate with VPs, analysts partner with senior leaders, and our CEO engages with every team member. Together, we create an environment where smart, driven people can do their best work and support one another in the process.

We’re equally committed to inclusion and belonging. Ovative fosters a workplace where everyone can participate and thrive—regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression or other protected class status. Our benefits and policies reflect that commitment, from inclusive medical leave coverage for same-sex spouses to equitable care and support for all families.

Benefits:

We strive to hire and retain the best talent by offering fair, competitive compensation, a meaningful bonus program, and excellent health coverage. When the company performs well, we all benefit.

Some tangible benefits and amenities we enjoy:

Access to all office spaces in MSP, NYC, and CHI

Frequent, paid travel to our Minneapolis headquarters for company events, team events, and in-person collaboration with teams

Generous paid vacation policy

401k match program

Top-notch health insurance options, inclusive of same sex partners

Family formation benefits including reimbursement options for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting needs

Monthly stipend for your mobile phone and data plan

Sabbatical program

Charitable giving via our time and a financial match program

Shenanigan’s Day

Additional information can be found at Ovative's Career Page .

The details of the benefits are covered by applicable plan documents for group benefits and by company policies where a plan document does not apply.

Working at Ovative won’t be easy—but if you like challenging, hard work, driving results, and being surrounded by the best talent, it has the potential to be the most rewarding job you’ll ever have. If you think you can make us better, we want to hear