Director, SEO/AEO

Risepoint is an education technology company that provides world-class support and trusted expertise to more than 100 universities and colleges. We primarily work with regional universities, helping them develop and grow their high-ROI, workforce-focused online degree programs in critical areas such as nursing, teaching, business, and public service. Risepoint is dedicated to increasing access to affordable education so that more students, especially working adults, can improve their careers and meet employer and community needs.

The Digital Experience team drives growth by optimizing partner microsites and landing pages across Risepoint’s portfolio.  We create, manage, and deliver best-in-class experiences across thousands of landing pages and web experiences to drive a measurable impact on user engagement and business outcomes for our university partners.  The team combines expertise in Organic Search, UX, CRO, and personalization to ensure prospective students find the right programs and take the next step in their educational journey.  We combine expertise in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), AEO (AI Engine Optimization), and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) to maximize discoverability, engagement, and organic conversions across hundreds of partner microsites and verticals. The team partners across functions to optimize conversion and usability while ensuring strong alignment with business priorities.

Job Summary

The Director of SEO/AEO/GEO Strategy and Performance will help lead and operationalize Risepoint’s organic growth strategy across our 100+ university partner websites. Reporting to the Sr. Director of SEO/AEO, this role will drive execution and innovation to ensure our partner sites win in discoverability and dominate emerging search and generative experiences—driving measurable increases in organic visibility, traffic, and leads.

This leader will translate enterprise search strategy into actionable plans and frameworks that can be executed at scale. They will manage a team of SEO and content optimization specialists, collaborating closely with UX, CRO, Content, and Analytics to ensure our sites are built for performance and visibility across both traditional search and AI-driven ecosystems.  This role will support the development of scalable frameworks, processes, and AI-driven workflows that transform how SEO is executed and measured at enterprise scale. They will partner with the AI Enablement team to leverage AI to rethink SEO operations, integrating AI into keyword research, technical audits, content analysis, and performance forecasting.

The ideal candidate brings a deep understanding of organic performance in a multi-site environment, strong experience with AI-driven search and generative engine optimization, hands-on experience using AI for search optimization and analysis, and a track record of delivering results through scalable processes, collaboration, and data-driven optimization.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Organic Growth Strategy Execution – Partner with the Sr. Director of SEO/AEO to operationalize and implement enterprise organic search strategies across partner websites, aligning with business goals and organic performance KPIs.
• Performance Leadership – Build and manage frameworks to measure, report, and improve organic performance across hundreds of partner domains. Translate performance insights into actionable strategies that drive growth in organic traffic, discoverability, and lead generation.
• AI and Generative Search (AEO/GEO) – Lead initiatives to optimize content and site experiences for AI overviews, large language models, and generative search platforms. Build playbooks and training to help teams adapt to the evolving AI-driven search landscape.
• Technical SEO Excellence – Ensure strong site architecture, clean data structure, schema markup, and Core Web Vitals optimization across CMS and DXP platforms. Partner with Dev and Analytics teams to scale technical best practices.
• Cross-Functional Partnership – Collaborate with Content, UX, CRO, and Analytics teams to ensure site experiences are optimized for visibility, engagement, and conversion. Partner with Paid Media to balance organic and paid strategies for optimal performance.
• Innovation and Enablement – Identify and test new tools, AI capabilities, and automation techniques that improve efficiency and performance across organic channels. Contribute to enterprise learning around SEO/AEO/GEO advancements.  Use AI and automation to reimagine SEO operations and workflows. Adopt AI-powered tools for keyword research, content clustering, technical audits, competitive analysis, and performance forecasting.
• Team Leadership – Manage and mentor SEO specialists and analysts, fostering a culture of experimentation, curiosity, and performance-driven collaboration.

Additional Position Responsibilities

• Perform in accordance with Risepoint Policies
• Perform other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• MBA or related Master’s degree
• 8-10 years SEO and organic performance optimization for enterprise or multi-site ecosystems
• 4+ years of management or team lead experience
   

Licenses & Certifications

• SEO, analytics, or digital marketing certifications (e.g., Google Analytics, SEMrush, BrightEdge, SEO Clarity, or equivalent)

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities

• Enterprise SEO execution, site architecture optimization, and technical SEO implementation
• Expertise in AI-driven search (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
• Experience using analytics, AI insights, and automation/AI to optimize large-scale, multi-brand web ecosystems.
• Experience driving measurable gains in organic traffic, conversion, and visibility.  Ability to translate data into actionable insights that drive performance.
• Demonstrated experience using AI to improve SEO operations, including automating research, analysis, and reporting workflows.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with executive stakeholders.
• Hands-on expertise with enterprise SEO platforms, analytics tools, and data visualization (e.g., GA4, BigQuery, Ahrefs, SEMrush, BrightEdge, SEO Clarity, Looker Studio).
• Experience collaborating cross-functionally with Content, UX, CRO, and MarTech teams
• Experience in higher education, OPM, or similarly complex multi-brand environments

Risepoint is an equal opportunity employer.  We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an equitable environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state or federal laws.

Risepoint is an equal-opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce.