### Who you are
- This is a hands-on performance marketing role for someone who can step in quickly, operate independently and make an immediate impact
- 4-6+ years of hands-on SEM / paid search experience, ideally within ecommerce, subscription or consumer digital businesses
- Deep expertise in Google Ads, including Search, Shopping/PMax, automated bidding and audience strategies
- Experience managing meaningful paid search budgets across multiple products, markets or geographies
- Strong understanding of performance marketing economics, including CPA, CAC, ROAS, LTV and contribution margin
- Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to quickly diagnose performance changes and translate data into action
- Experience with GA4, conversion tracking, attribution and performance reporting
- Understanding of SEO and the relationship between paid and organic search
- Comfortable working both strategically and directly in-platform — this is not an agency-management or strategy-only role
- Able to get up to speed quickly, work independently and deliver with limited onboarding ### What the job involves
- We’re looking for an experienced SEM Manager to help lead the day-to-day management and optimization of our global paid search program across Devices, Kobo Plus and Content
- You’ll own campaign execution and optimization, manage investment across multiple markets, and continuously improve performance through smarter bidding, targeting, testing and budget allocation
- You’ll work closely with Media, eCommerce, SEO, Analytics, Creative and agency/platform partners to ensure paid search efficiently captures demand and delivers against clear commercial outcomes
- Own day-to-day management and optimization of Kobo’s global paid search campaigns across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising




- Manage SEM across multiple lines of business, including Devices, Kobo Plus subscriptions and digital Content
- Manage budgets and pacing across markets, products and campaigns, proactively reallocating investment based on performance
- Optimize against key metrics including CPA/CAC, ROAS, revenue, conversion and contribution margin
- Develop and optimize campaign structures, bidding strategies, keywords, audiences, match types and negative keyword strategies
- Manage Search, Shopping/PMax and other relevant paid search campaign formats
- Build and launch campaigns supporting promotions, product priorities and key commercial periods
- Lead ongoing testing across ad copy, creative, audiences, bidding approaches and landing pages
- Monitor performance closely, quickly identify issues or opportunities, and take action without requiring significant oversight
- Partner with SEO to understand paid and organic search performance together and identify where paid investment is most incremental
- Provide clear, concise reporting on performance, actions taken, risks and recommended next steps
- What Success Looks Like
- You’ll quickly become a trusted extension of the team, ensuring our paid search program remains well-managed, efficient and commercially disciplined. You’ll bring additional capacity where we need it most, while identifying opportunities to improve CPA, profitability and overall search performance ### Benefits
- "Work from anywhere" policy
- Flexible hours
- Internet/phone/commuting allowance
- Daily meal allowance when in the office
- $500 CAD adaptable spending account
- Parental leave top-up
- Unlimited sick and mental health days
- 4-day summer holiday weekends
- RRSP matching, bonus and stock options
- Free Kobo eReader
- Free weekly book of your choice
- Volunteer time off

📌 SEM Manager (Toronto)
🏢 Rakuten Kobo
📍 Toronto