Director SEO - Audience Engagement

The Director of SEO is a senior leader within our Audience Engagement group responsible for defining and executing ESPN’s overall search and referral growth strategy across a large, fast-paced newsroom producing hundreds of pieces of content a day. This role owns organic search performance end to end—setting best practices, guiding editorial partners, and translating data into actionable insights that drive audience growth and engagement. The Director will also oversee and evolve our SEO content strategy, setting budgets and generating evergreen story ideas.In addition to traditional search engines, the Director of SEO will oversee optimization and growth strategies across key referral platforms such as Reddit, Apple News, and other emerging distribution channels, as well as work closely with the social team to lead referral best practices. The ideal candidate combines deep SEO expertise, strong newsroom instincts, and proven people leadership. Sports happens on nights, weekends, and holidays. The SEO Director will help lead and delegate in these windows.This role is located in our Bristol, CT office.Responsibilities:Own and evolve the organization’s SEO and referral strategy, aligned with editorial, audience, and business goalsStay ahead of algorithm changes, platform updates, and industry trends, translating them into clear guidance for teamsAct as the senior SEO voice in cross-functional conversations with Audience Engagement, Editorial, Product, ABC News, and other business stakeholdersEstablish and maintain SEO best practices for news, evergreen, and video contentPartner closely with editors to integrate SEO thinking into daily workflows without compromising editorial integrityLead optimization strategies for non-search referral platforms (e.g., Apple News, Reddit, newsletters, and other emerging sources)Define success metrics and KPIs for organic search and referral traffic, delivering regular reporting on performance, trends, opportunities, and risks newsroom partnersManage, mentor, and grow a team of SEO specialists and writersServe as a trusted advisor, helping teams balance speed, quality, and optimization in a breaking-news environmentRequired Qualifications:Minimum of 8 years of experience in SEO, audience development, or digital growth, preferably within a large media or content-driven organization; with a proven track record in SEO strategies for the AI age Minimum of 2 years of direct people management experienceUnderstanding of technical SEO, on-page optimization, and content strategy in a newsroom contextStrong experience working with analytics tools (e.g., Google Search Console, Adobe, SEMrush, or similar tools) and translating data into insightsPreferred Qualifications:Demonstrated success growing organic search and referral traffic at scaleExperience partnering cross-functionally with product teamsComfort operating in a fast-changing, high-pressure news environmentRequired Education:High School DiplomaPreferred Education:Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in journalism, communications, or a related field#ESPNMedia