Job Title

VP of Paid Search Department: Paid Search Employment Type: Full Time Location: Canada Compensation: $200,000 - $220,000 / year Description About The Job Title: Vice President of Paid Search Department: Paid Search Location: Remote Employment Type: Full Time Reports To: Senior Vice President, Client Services Who We Are Clever Digital Marketing (CDM) is a performance marketing agency trusted by the largest home improvement companies across North America. We specialize in scaling client growth through full-funnel paid media strategies and deep business consulting. CDMs success is powered by its industry-leading reputation for exceptional service delivery and performance, with growth driven almost entirely by client referrals and expansion. Our Paid Search division is a major engine of that growth. We manage seven-figure monthly SEM investments, build high-performance systems, and deliver predictable, scalable lead generation and profitability not vanity metrics. Our agency thrives on accountability, transparency, proactive leadership, and results, with a culture built on extreme ownership, high standards, and a relentless pursuit of performance. We expect leaders to operate with authority, clarity, and calm pressure, and to bring decisive energy to high-stakes environments. As we continue to scale rapidly, we are hiring a Vice President of Paid Search to architect the future of our SEM organization and lead one of the most high-impact departments at CDM. The Opportunity CDM is seeking a Vice President of Paid Search to lead the overall operations, strategy, and future direction of one of the most strategically important divisions in the company. This role is built for a leader with a never-ending passion for Paid Search; someone who lives and breathes SEM, understands the complexity of performance ecosystems, and excels at navigating the constantly evolving landscape of search marketing. Youll be the architect of a best-inclass department shaping the systems, people, processes, and strategic direction that define how CDM delivers performance at scale. Your leadership will set the pace and standards for our Aplayer environment, championing a culture of performance excellence, clarity, accountability, and high output, while striking a balance with the empathy and support needed to build healthy, motivated, and highperforming teams. This is a role for a true builder a strategic operator who has scaled teams, led seven-figure spend leadgeneration programs, and built systems that create predictable performance in highstakes environments. You will transform ambiguity into structure, guide with presence and authority, and partner closely with executive leadership to shape the future of CDMs Paid Search offering. Strong experience leading seven-figure monthly spend, especially in lead generation, is essential for success in this role. Key Responsibilities Department Leadership & Vision Own the full vision, roadmap, and operational direction of the Paid Search division. Build, scale, and evolve the organizational structure, roles, processes, and standards. Architect a highperformance, highoutput culture rooted in clarity, accountability, and continuous improvement. Provide leadership presence that inspires confidence across clients, internal teams, and the executive suite. Performance Strategy & SEM Excellence Oversee the strategy, execution, and optimization of highvolume, sevenfigure paid search programs across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and emerging platforms. Set the strategic direction for PPC tactics, testing frameworks, funnel structure, and crosschannel alignment. Define the departments measurement philosophy and ensure consistent adoption of performance frameworks, KPIs, and reporting standards. Lead departmentwide adoption of new technologies, tactical innovations, and platform opportunities. Oversee complex performance landscapes including CRO, landing pages, creative, automation, analytics, and devsupported initiatives. Client Impact & Revenue Growth Oversee the SEM strategy that drives client retention, scale, and profitability across large highstakes accounts. Partner with Client Services on audit development, pipeline support, and onboarding enhancements. Identify opportunities to improve client performance, enhance efficiency, and build competitive advantages in the home improvement vertical. Operational Excellence & Systems Building Design and optimize departmental workflows, SOPs, reporting frameworks, QA processes, and operational systems. Develop training programs, internal certification pathways, and centralized knowledge assets for all SEM functions. Build scalable systems that allow the department to 410x output without sacrificing quality. Improve forecasting, spend allocation models, profit optimization, and budgeting processes. Team Development & Leadership Pipeline Building Lead, develop, and mentor senior managers (minimum of 5+ direct reports). Recruit, hire, and onboard toptier SEM talent, building new roles and specialty divisions as needed. Create personalized growth plans, performance improvement pathways, and coaching rhythms. Ensure performance management rhythms (quarterly evals, coaching cycles, compensation alignment) are upheld with consistency and clarity. Uphold and model CDMs culture and core values of extreme ownership, integrity, collaborative success, continuous improvement, and results with speed. CrossFunctional Leadership & Executive Partnership Work closely with Client Services, Paid Social, Creative, CRO, Data/Analytics, and other department heads to unify CDMs strategy. Collaborate with the executive team on annual planning, department forecasting, P&L oversight, and longterm strategic investments. Support new product development, market expansion initiatives, and enterpriselevel growth decisions along with ongoing agency and department innovations to continuously evolve and improve agency deliverables and client results. Skills, Knowledge and Expertise Who You Are You are a highperformance executive who blends deep SEM expertise with strategic clarity, operational discipline, and exceptional leadership presence. You think like an owner, operate like a builder, and lead with the confidence and composure of someone who has repeatedly delivered results in highstakes environments. You bring a rare combination of rigor, curiosity, empathy, and decisiveness the traits that inspire teams, elevate standards, and create scalable excellence. You dont wait for direction. You create it. You dont react to problems. You anticipate and prevent them. At the core, you are: Relentless About Performance: You thrive in environments where excellence is expected and accountability is nonnegotiable. You instinctively tie strategy to performance, performance to profitability, and profitability to longterm scale. For you, results arent an outcome theyre a responsibility. A Proactive, ForwardThinking Operator: You dont just manage. You anticipate, plan, pressuretest, and act. You stay several steps ahead of the market, the platforms, the team, and the competition. Analytical, Commercial, and SystemsMinded: You see SEM through the lens of business impact and operational scale. You think in frameworks, processes, and levers. Data isnt noise its direction. Assertive With Empathy & Confident Humility: You push when its right and listen when it matters. You hold high standards without losing the trust, respect, and loyalty of your team. Calm, Clear, and Commanding Under Pressure: When stakes are high, you bring clarity. When challenges arise, you bring direction. When ambiguity appears, you bring structure. A Builder at Heart: You thrive in environments where something needs to be created, improved, or scaled. You bring order to complexity, develop people, and build systems that outlast you. Curious, Coachable, and GrowthMinded: You seek mastery in your craft and depth in your understanding. You ask sharp questions, pursue continuous learning, and welcome feedback as fuel. Qualifications Requirements 12+ years of comprehensive Paid Search / SEM experience. 5+ years in a senior leadership role overseeing paid search teams. 5+ years directly managing $1M+ in monthly performance advertising spend within lead generation environments. Proven experience scaling a department (ideally 4+ growth) through systems, people, and strategy. Direct experience hiring, training, and managing senior SEM leaders and multilayered teams. Demonstrated success in building departmental processes, onboarding systems, and operational frameworks. Strong track record leading crossfunctional strategic initiatives (e.g., CRO, dev, analytics). Experience partnering with executive leadership on forecasting, revenue planning, and P&L impact. Preferred 6+ years Directorlevel leadership in agency environments. Experience with CRO, landing page development oversight, or multidisciplinary performance functions. Experience overseeing 6+ direct reports and departments of 15+. Exposure to home improvement, home services, or lead generation industries. Benefits Benefits of Working at CDM Competitive base salary + performancebased bonuses Flexible remote work environment with option for inperson collaboration (Vaughan, ON) Group Benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision, RRSP/401k Plan w/matching, more. Companyprovided MacBook computer Home office budget and Clever merch delivery to get you started Work Abroad Policy: Need a new working environment? Our work abroad policy supports this! The chance to shape and grow a highperforming Enterprise Client Success team A culture of performance and respect where the best work happens with extreme ownership and accountability meets collaboration. #J-18808-Ljbffr