Head of SEO, AI & Content

Location:Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, SL8 5YS (Hybrid - min. 2 days in office) Reporting to:CCO About the role We're looking for a commercially driven, forward-thinking Head of SEO, AI & Content to lead our organic growth strategy at Virgin Experience Days. This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for defining and delivering a best-in-class organic ecosystem spanning SEO performance, AI-readiness (including LLMs and emerging search behaviours), and high-impact content creation. You will own the strategic direction and take a hands-on role in the execution of how customers discover, engage with, and choose our experiences. You will work cross-functionally with Trading, Commercial, Product, Tech, and Marketing teams to maximise visibility, conversion, and revenue. This role combines high-level strategic leadership with the ability to"roll up the sleeves"and execute - with line management responsibility and full accountability for organic performance, reporting, and measurable commercial impact. Why we want you Organic search is a critical revenue driver for our business, and the landscape is evolving rapidly. We need a leader who can:

• Drive Commercial Outcomes:Lead a best-in-class SEO performance cycle with clear, measurable revenue targets.
• Be a Content Visionary:Elevate our copy and visual storytelling, ensuring content drives the full funnel from "inspiration" to "buying."
• Act as an AI Pioneer:Understand how LLMs are changing user intent and prepare us for the next generation of generative search.
• Zoom-In/Zoom-Out:Debate the nuances of Schema markup or edit a high-performing blog post hour, then pivot to present a long-term commercial roadmap to the C-suite the next.
• Foster Accountability:Create a performance-led culture underpinned by clear KPIs and actionable data storytelling.
What you'll do: Strategy, Leadership & Commercial Ownership
• Define the Organic Roadmap:Own the strategy across SEO, AI, and content, ensuring it is aligned with business revenue targets and the Virgin brand voice.
• Stakeholder Influence:Act as the senior expert for organic performance, partnering with Trading and Commercial teams to embed SEO thinking into product launches and seasonal trading cycles.
• Team & Agency Development:Lead, develop, and grow a high-performing team of specialists, while managing external agencies to ensure they deliver maximum strategic value.
• Performance & Accountability:
+ Organic revenue growth (YoY and vs forecast) + Traffic growth and search visibility across priority categories + Conversion performance from organic channels + Content effectiveness (engagement, conversion, assisted revenue) + Technical SEO health and site performance improvements + Progress against AI and LLM readiness roadmap + Conduct competitor and market analysis to identify growth opportunities and risks + Drive a culture of continuous testing, learning, and optimisation to improve ROI
• E-E-A-T Leadership:Build a long-term "Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trust" roadmap to ensure we remain the primary source of truth in the gifting industry.
Technical SEO & Performance
• Technical Health:Partner with Product and Tech teams to lead the technical roadmap (crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, and Schema).
• Data Storytelling:Own the organic reporting suite (GA4, Looker Studio), translating complex data into simple, decision-driving insights for senior stakeholders.
Content & Creative Excellence
• Editorial Vision:Oversee the creation of category, product, and editorial content, ensuring best-in-class copywriting and visual storytelling.
• Direct Execution:Take a hands-on approach to content production where required, ensuring copy is inspirational, authoritative, and optimized for conversion.
• Visual Discovery:Lead a visual content strategy (imagery and video) that optimizes for "Discovery" search, Pinterest, and increasingly visual SERPs.
• Efficiency & Scalability:Improve "Time to Market" for content by implementing AI-assisted workflows and sophisticated production processes.
AI & Search Innovation
• Generative Engine Optimization:Define how we optimize for LLMs and AI Overviews, ensuring our brand is cited in conversational search.
• AI-Enhanced Workflows:Leverage AI tools to automate manual SEO tasks and scale content production without sacrificing quality.
• Future-Proofing:Proactively adapt site architecture to thrive in a world of Search Generative Experiences (SGE).
What you'll need: Experience & Technical Skills
• Senior Leadership:Significant experience leading SEO/Content functions, ideally in high-SKU e-commerce or travel/leisure environments.
• Content Mastery:A "content-first" mindset with proven experience in digital storytelling and managing end-to-end content lifecycles.
• Technical Fluency:Deep expertise in technical SEO (Schema, Site Architecture) and a sophisticated understanding of AI/LLM search algorithms.
• Commercial Gravity:Comfortable owning a revenue target and articulating the ROI of organic investment to non-marketing stakeholders.
• Tool Kit:Expert knowledge of Search Console, Screaming Frog, SEMrush/Ahrefs, GA4, and Looker Studio.
Mindset
• Strategic & Tactical:Able to operate at a high strategic level while remaining happy to execute hands-on tasks to get the job done.
• Collaborative:Ability to break down silos and work seamlessly with Tech, Product, and Trading teams.
• Innovative:Passionate about staying ahead of industry change and driving a culture of continuous testing and learning.
Perks to make work feel less ordinary:
• Time for you:25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 2 days each year
• Freedom to work your way:2 days in-office (Tuesdays a mandatory in-office day), Flexi-working hours around our core 10-4, so your day works for you (8.5 hours per day)
• Wellbeing that works:Access to an award-winning employee assistance programme; Health Plan cover (plus family add-ons) with cash back for a variety of health & wellbeing costs; Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes (post probation).
• Future proofing you (and your finances):Company pension (5% you, 3% us) after 3 months; Discretionary bonus and life assurance after probation.
• Giving back & all the anti-ordinary extras:2 volunteer days each year; Free breakfast when in the office; Personal re-loadable multi-choice gift card (topped up on your birthday, lifetime milestones and internal celebrations); Yearly £150 experience voucher; Discounts on experiences and across the Virgin Group; Refer a Friend bonus and generous team celebrations throughout the year.
  
  Senior Leadership:Significant experience leading SEO/Content functions, ideally in high-SKU e-commerce or travel/leisure environments.
• Content Mastery:A "content-first" mindset with proven experience in digital storytelling and managing end-to-end content lifecycles.
• Technical Fluency:Deep expertise in technical SEO (Schema, Site Architecture) and a sophisticated understanding of AI/LLM search algorithms.
• Commercial Gravity:Comfortable owning a revenue target and articulating the ROI of organic investment to non-marketing stakeholders.
• Tool Kit:Expert knowledge of Search Console, Screaming Frog, SEMrush/Ahrefs, GA4, and Looker Studio., Strategic & Tactical:Able to operate at a high strategic level while remaining happy to execute hands-on tasks to get the job done.
• Collaborative:Ability to break down silos and work seamlessly with Tech, Product, and Trading teams.
• Innovative:Passionate about staying ahead of industry change and driving a culture of continuous testing and learning.
  
  Time for you:25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 2 days each year
• Freedom to work your way:2 days in-office (Tuesdays a mandatory in-office day), Flexi-working hours around our core 10-4, so your day works for you (8.5 hours per day)
• Wellbeing that works:Access to an award-winning employee assistance programme; Health Plan cover (plus family add-ons) with cash back for a variety of health & wellbeing costs; Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes (post probation).
• Future proofing you (and your finances):Company pension (5% you, 3% us) after 3 months; Discretionary bonus and life assurance after probation.
• Giving back & all the anti-ordinary extras:2 volunteer days each year; Free breakfast when in the office; Personal re-loadable multi-choice gift card (topped up on your birthday, lifetime milestones and internal celebrations); Yearly £150 experience voucher; Discounts on experiences and across the Virgin Group; Refer a Friend bonus and generous team celebrations throughout the year.