Senior Director, Content & Search

Position Overview

Cox Automotive is seeking a Senior Director, Content & SEO to lead the content, SEO, and audience growth strategy for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, two of the most trusted consumer brands in the automotive industry.

Reporting to the AVP, Product & Engineering, this leader will oversee a team of approximately 50 professionals across Content Strategy, SEO, Editorial, Creative Production, Content Operations, and Social Media.

This highly visible leadership role partners closely with executives across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Advertising, and Business Operations to drive audience growth, content innovation, and business performance. The ideal candidate brings a blend of digital publishing expertise, SEO leadership, operational excellence, and experience leading organizations through transformation in an AI-powered landscape.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic & Executive Leadership

• Serve as the senior content and SEO leader for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader.
• Partner with executive stakeholders to align content strategy with audience, revenue, and business goals.
• Lead organizational change initiatives, including AI adoption, workflow modernization, and team evolution.
• Represent Cox Automotive as an industry thought leader and trusted advisor across internal and external forums.

Content, SEO & Audience Growth

• Define and execute content and SEO strategies that drive traffic, engagement, and business impact.
• Optimize content performance across search, AI-powered discovery, social platforms, and owned channels.
• Lead enterprise SEO and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies to maximize visibility across evolving search ecosystems.
• Establish editorial standards, governance, and performance frameworks across both brands.

Content Operations & Innovation

• Lead large-scale content operations supporting more than 2,000 content assets annually.
• Drive content technology strategy across CMS, SEO, analytics, workflow, and AI platforms.
• Build scalable processes that improve efficiency while maintaining editorial quality and integrity.
• Manage key vendor relationships, contracts, and technology investments.

Cross-Functional & Business Leadership

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Advertising teams to support growth, monetization, and innovation initiatives.
• Own key performance metrics across traffic, engagement, audience growth, and revenue contribution.
• Manage budgets, workforce planning, and resource allocation to maximize business outcomes.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of experience in digital publishing, content strategy, SEO, or related fields (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• 6+ years leading large, multi-functional teams.
• Proven experience leading content strategy across multiple brands or digital platforms.
• Expertise in SEO, technical SEO, content optimization, AI-driven search, and GEO.
• Experience leading organizations of 40+ employees and influencing executive-level stakeholders.
• Track record of leading organizational transformation and driving business results.
• Experience managing large-scale content operations, technology ecosystems, and vendor relationships.
• Strong analytical, operational, financial, and leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience optimizing content for AI-generated search experiences.
• Background spanning both content leadership and SEO product management.
• Experience with content monetization, sponsored content, or digital media business models.
• Automotive, media, consumer finance, or other high-consideration consumer category experience.
• Established industry presence through speaking engagements, thought leadership, or professional recognition.