Digital Marketing Acquisition - Paid Search Marketing Manager

Job Title: Paid Search Marketing Manager
Contract Type: 7 Month Fixed Term Contract (Maternity Cover)
Office Based: Chancery Lane , London | Hybrid working, 3 days a week in the office

Are you a paid search expert who thrives on delivering commercial results, leading high-performing campaigns and turning data-driven insights into action?

At Whitbread, we're looking for a Paid Search Marketing Manager to join our Performance Marketing team on a 7-month maternity cover contract. This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of anannual media budget, leading the strategy, performance and development of one of our most important customer acquisition channels.

In this highly visible role, you'll be responsible for driving best-in-class performance across Paid search products. You'll work closely with agency partners, Google and Microsoft, whilst collaborating with marketing technology, data and technical teams to maximise channel performance, drive innovation and support business growth.

What you'll be doing:

• Own and deliver Whitbread's paid search strategy, ensuring activity aligns with commercial objectives and delivers maximum return on investment.
• Manage and optimise an annual paid search budget, providing forecasting, performance monitoring and recommendations to maximise value.
• Lead the execution and optimisation of campaigns across Paid Search, Performance Max, AI Max and other search advertising platforms.
• Act as the primary relationship owner for agency partners and key platform providers including Google and Microsoft.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, automation and channel growth, staying ahead of industry trends and developments in AI-powered search marketing.
• Work closely with marketing technology, data and technical teams to enhance channel capabilities, measurement and reporting.
• Develop reporting frameworks, dashboards and performance insights to support decision making and communicate results to senior stakeholders.
• Lead, coach and develop a Senior Paid Search Executive, fostering a high-performing and collaborative team culture.

Why you'll love it here:

• Bonus up to 20%
• Up to 10% contributory pension
• Up to 60% off Premier Inn and Hub stays
• Individual and company-wide performance incentives
• Discounts and cashback from a wide range of retailers and leisure providers
• Excellent development opportunities within one of the UK's leading hospitality businesses

What you'll need:

• Proven experience managing large-scale paid search programmes within a B2C environment.
• Strong expertise across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Performance Max and wider paid search channels.
• Experience managing significant paid media budgets, ideally £10m+.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience forecasting, managing spend and delivering ROI.
• Demonstrable experience leading agency relationships and managing external partners.
• Experience working within large, complex organisations with established governance, processes and stakeholder groups.
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to interpret large datasets and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with experience presenting to and influencing senior leaders.
• Previous experience managing and developing direct reports.
• Strong understanding of attribution, measurement and performance reporting frameworks.
• Experience within hospitality, travel, aviation, rail, cruise or a large eCommerce environment would be highly advantageous.
• A passion for digital marketing trends, innovation and the growing role of AI within search marketing.

Be part of our Performance Marketing team at Whitbread and help drive millions of customer journeys through one of our most important growth channels.