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Head of Digital Growth (JB6055)
Johannesburg, Gauteng · Marketing/Public RelationsHead of Digital Growth (JB6055)
Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng (Office-Based)
Salary: R55 - 75 000 gross per month + performance bonus
Employment Type: Permanent
This role sits in an international media company with operations across multiple markets. The team is lean, the structure is flat, and the Group Director is the kind of leader who is in the detail and hires people who are too.
One thing to be clear about upfront: this is a digital performance role, not a brand marketing role. Events, social posting, CSR, and collateral belong to a separate team. If your world is website optimisation, organic search, content-driven lead generation across LLM, and commercial pipeline with data and analytics, read on. If it is not, this one is not for you.
In the first 90 days, you are in the work: keyword research, technical audits, content briefs, agency reviews, and dashboard builds. You are not inheriting a function; you are building one. Over time, the balance shifts toward strategy and management, but the executional instinct stays. Content production and activity is big. This company does not hire people who point out problems and wait for someone else to fix them.
The scope will stretch you. Fifty-plus country pages. Seventy-plus programmatic landing pages to build. Agencies to govern. A content specialist to direct. Six-language website translation to oversee. AI search visibility to own, because when a customer searches on ChatGPT or Perplexity, you want this business to appear. And twice a week, you will draft thought leadership posts for the Group Director's LinkedIn and other outlets, in conjunction with the content creator.
Performance is tracked, reviewed, and taken seriously.
What makes it worth your while:
Outsized influence in a lean team, your work is visible, your results are measured, and credit goes where it is earned.
Direct access to Group Director-level leadership with no layers between your ideas and a decision.
The opportunity to build a digital growth function from the ground up across a multi-country international operation.
A compensation package that rewards performance with a bonus structure tied to the outcomes you drive.
A business that moves fast, makes decisions quickly, and does not waste your time with approvals that go nowhere.
What Makes This Worth Your While
Outsized influence in a lean team, your work is visible, your results are measured, and credit goes where it is earned.
Direct access to Group Director-level leadership with no layers between your ideas and a decision.
The opportunity to build a digital growth function from the ground up across a multi-country international operation.
A compensation package that rewards performance with a bonus structure tied to the outcomes you drive.
A business that moves fast, makes decisions quickly, and does not waste your time with approvals that go nowhere.
You Need to Bring
8 to 12 years in digital marketing with real, demonstrable SEO, content marketing and demand generation experience, not delegated, but personally done.
A before-and-after story of organic lead growth from a previous role, told in numbers. “I managed SEO” is not enough.
Deep hands-on SEO expertise: technical SEO, on-page optimisation, keyword research, content strategy, link building, schema markup.
Proven experience managing external SEO and paid search agencies against structured KPIs with real accountability.
Advanced fluency in GA4, Google Search Console, SEMrush or Ahrefs, you build dashboards, not slide narratives.
The ability to plan, brief, QC and publish commercial content at scale
Advanced WordPress and Elementor proficiency, you can manage content and work with developers without being dependent on them.
You need to be able to make changes inside the website in Elementor and to be able to add/remove plugins- a full technical ability of the website.
Webspeed will be owned by you, and you need to know what to do to improve to the required standards.
Lead-gen database management through nurture journeys and CRM must be something you have worked with and fully understand.
Johannesburg-based and willing to work from the office, this role is not available remotely.
Highly Desirable
B2B services, media, adtech
Practical, working knowledge of LLM and AI search visibility, not just awareness
Multi-market or international digital marketing experience
Paid search management at a senior level (Google Ads)
Email marketing and lead nurture experience
What You Will Own
The end-to-end SEO strategy across 49+ international country pages: technical SEO, on-page optimisation, content strategy, backlink acquisition, and Core Web Vitals.
A programmatic SEO build-out targeting 70+ new landing pages based on a proven sub-page model.
The SEO and paid search agency relationships: briefing, KPI-setting, weekly check-ins, and holding partners accountable for results.
A content calendar aligned to commercial priorities, directing the Content Specialist to deliver 4+ optimised pages per month.
LLM and AI search visibility: building and monitoring the company’s presence in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini responses for 50+ target queries monthly.
The website as a commercial asset: conversion funnel ownership, landing page optimisation, A/B testing, and overseeing translation into French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and German
Two thought leadership posts per week for the Group Director’s LinkedIn profile, plus LinkedIn outreach strategy targeting clients, CMOs, and procurement.
A monthly performance dashboard tracking leads, CPL, conversion rates, search rankings, and LLM visibility.
The digital growth function itself, how it is structured, resourced and scaled as the business grows.
Please do not apply using scanned CVs; no supporting documentation is required at this point. This will be requested later.
Kontak Recruitment Disclaimer:
Equal opportunity: All backgrounds are welcome, with no bias. All are considered based on requirements.
Job specifics: Requirements mirror advertisement, duties may adjust for client needs.
Fair process: Fair assessment, only shortlisted candidates contacted due to volume.
Privacy: Data processed as per Privacy Policy. By applying, you agree to data handling. We safeguard applicant info.
Candidate verification: Candidates selected by the client are verified. False info may disqualify or end employment with the client.
Offer clarity: The Advert is not a binding offer. Written offers based on pre-employment conditions.
No direct link: Advert is not tied to Kontak Recruitment. We assist in the employment process ONLY.
Applicant Responsibility: Upon applying, confirmation of receipt for a specific advert is given. If no confirmation is received, you must verify with Kontak Recruitment.
Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng (Office-Based)
Salary: R55 - 75 000 gross per month + performance bonus
Employment Type: Permanent
This role sits in an international media company with operations across multiple markets. The team is lean, the structure is flat, and the Group Director is the kind of leader who is in the detail and hires people who are too.
One thing to be clear about upfront: this is a digital performance role, not a brand marketing role. Events, social posting, CSR, and collateral belong to a separate team. If your world is website optimisation, organic search, content-driven lead generation across LLM, and commercial pipeline with data and analytics, read on. If it is not, this one is not for you.
In the first 90 days, you are in the work: keyword research, technical audits, content briefs, agency reviews, and dashboard builds. You are not inheriting a function; you are building one. Over time, the balance shifts toward strategy and management, but the executional instinct stays. Content production and activity is big. This company does not hire people who point out problems and wait for someone else to fix them.
The scope will stretch you. Fifty-plus country pages. Seventy-plus programmatic landing pages to build. Agencies to govern. A content specialist to direct. Six-language website translation to oversee. AI search visibility to own, because when a customer searches on ChatGPT or Perplexity, you want this business to appear. And twice a week, you will draft thought leadership posts for the Group Director's LinkedIn and other outlets, in conjunction with the content creator.
Performance is tracked, reviewed, and taken seriously.
What makes it worth your while:
Outsized influence in a lean team, your work is visible, your results are measured, and credit goes where it is earned.
Direct access to Group Director-level leadership with no layers between your ideas and a decision.
The opportunity to build a digital growth function from the ground up across a multi-country international operation.
A compensation package that rewards performance with a bonus structure tied to the outcomes you drive.
A business that moves fast, makes decisions quickly, and does not waste your time with approvals that go nowhere.
What Makes This Worth Your While
Outsized influence in a lean team, your work is visible, your results are measured, and credit goes where it is earned.
Direct access to Group Director-level leadership with no layers between your ideas and a decision.
The opportunity to build a digital growth function from the ground up across a multi-country international operation.
A compensation package that rewards performance with a bonus structure tied to the outcomes you drive.
A business that moves fast, makes decisions quickly, and does not waste your time with approvals that go nowhere.
You Need to Bring
8 to 12 years in digital marketing with real, demonstrable SEO, content marketing and demand generation experience, not delegated, but personally done.
A before-and-after story of organic lead growth from a previous role, told in numbers. “I managed SEO” is not enough.
Deep hands-on SEO expertise: technical SEO, on-page optimisation, keyword research, content strategy, link building, schema markup.
Proven experience managing external SEO and paid search agencies against structured KPIs with real accountability.
Advanced fluency in GA4, Google Search Console, SEMrush or Ahrefs, you build dashboards, not slide narratives.
The ability to plan, brief, QC and publish commercial content at scale
Advanced WordPress and Elementor proficiency, you can manage content and work with developers without being dependent on them.
You need to be able to make changes inside the website in Elementor and to be able to add/remove plugins- a full technical ability of the website.
Webspeed will be owned by you, and you need to know what to do to improve to the required standards.
Lead-gen database management through nurture journeys and CRM must be something you have worked with and fully understand.
Johannesburg-based and willing to work from the office, this role is not available remotely.
Highly Desirable
B2B services, media, adtech
Practical, working knowledge of LLM and AI search visibility, not just awareness
Multi-market or international digital marketing experience
Paid search management at a senior level (Google Ads)
Email marketing and lead nurture experience
What You Will Own
The end-to-end SEO strategy across 49+ international country pages: technical SEO, on-page optimisation, content strategy, backlink acquisition, and Core Web Vitals.
A programmatic SEO build-out targeting 70+ new landing pages based on a proven sub-page model.
The SEO and paid search agency relationships: briefing, KPI-setting, weekly check-ins, and holding partners accountable for results.
A content calendar aligned to commercial priorities, directing the Content Specialist to deliver 4+ optimised pages per month.
LLM and AI search visibility: building and monitoring the company’s presence in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini responses for 50+ target queries monthly.
The website as a commercial asset: conversion funnel ownership, landing page optimisation, A/B testing, and overseeing translation into French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and German
Two thought leadership posts per week for the Group Director’s LinkedIn profile, plus LinkedIn outreach strategy targeting clients, CMOs, and procurement.
A monthly performance dashboard tracking leads, CPL, conversion rates, search rankings, and LLM visibility.
The digital growth function itself, how it is structured, resourced and scaled as the business grows.
Please do not apply using scanned CVs; no supporting documentation is required at this point. This will be requested later.
Kontak Recruitment Disclaimer:
Equal opportunity: All backgrounds are welcome, with no bias. All are considered based on requirements.
Job specifics: Requirements mirror advertisement, duties may adjust for client needs.
Fair process: Fair assessment, only shortlisted candidates contacted due to volume.
Privacy: Data processed as per Privacy Policy. By applying, you agree to data handling. We safeguard applicant info.
Candidate verification: Candidates selected by the client are verified. False info may disqualify or end employment with the client.
Offer clarity: The Advert is not a binding offer. Written offers based on pre-employment conditions.
No direct link: Advert is not tied to Kontak Recruitment. We assist in the employment process ONLY.
Applicant Responsibility: Upon applying, confirmation of receipt for a specific advert is given. If no confirmation is received, you must verify with Kontak Recruitment.