Paid Search Acquisitions, VP

The U.S. Personal Banking organization delivers a wide array of banking, payments, lending and investment services to individual consumers and small businesses.  Our products and services cover a wide range of client banking needs including credit cards, basic banking, mortgages and investment advisory services.

To deliver on our brand promise, we operate as a truly client-centric organization, driving a high tech, high touch experience for the full Citi relationship, particularly in the U.S. To do so, we have aligned our structure with our strategy, to ensure we win in the U.S., our largest market, and drive greater client-centricity across product, segment and geography.

Media is a critical area of focus and growth for Citi U.S. Personal Banking.  The U.S. Personal Banking Media team is comprised of product and channel marketers who are responsible for driving growth while transforming our digital marketing capabilities to shift the quality and mix of digitally sourced accounts.  This includes profitably acquiring new accounts, managing key acquisitions channels, bringing new and refreshed products to market, partnering on through-the-line campaigns, testing new tactics, and driving marketing innovation.

The VP of Paid Search Acquisitions will serve as the lead operations and execution of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns for credit card and retail bank acquisitions, with an emphasis on managing the channel’s media, technical optimization, budgeting, testing and reporting processes. The candidate will be responsible for identifying and supporting new marketing channel opportunities, process improvements, channel expansion, restructures and QA. This role will work closely with the rest of the Digital Channels team, the broader Citi digital acquisitions team, data science, risk, fraud, legal, and compliance teams, as well as Citi’s digital media agency and vendor partners. Strong cross-functional capability a must.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with agency and industry partners, including media and analytics teams, to ensure that they provide maximum value to Citi by delivering flawless execution and value-add strategic support to Chanel Acquisitions team.
• Manage technical account restructures and audit programs for efficiency.
• Manage channel operations with line of business partners. Partner with internal control to ensure partner compliance to Citi terms and conditions.
• Own channel reporting outputs, ensure accuracy of measurement and that reporting adds value in practical insights and recommendations
• Lead the tracking, testing, and QA of all SEM campaigns for the accuracy, functionality, and documenting as necessary to ensure flawless execution.
• Manage oversight of the SEM channel’s compliance operations; ensure that the channel acquires and maintains required targeting, creative, and modeling compliance approvals
• Oversee end-to-end campaign management process across marketing campaigns from campaign setup to deployment to reporting & auditing, with an extreme focus on detail and flawless execution
• Collaborate with business partners to identify efficiencies and improve effectiveness in our acquisition channels through innovations in strategy, targeting, process and new capabilities.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and business planning teams on reporting, tracking and forecasting to help evaluate program performance, aiding in the development of future strategies
• Apply critical thinking skills to identify and size new acquisition opportunities, assess customer impacts, and make new recommendations to drive business growth.   

Qualifications:

• 6-10 years business experience in development of marketing, product or offer strategy, and/or actively managing channel(s) to target prospects. Search marketing experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of how the SEM ecosystem works, best practices and tactics leveraged, and ability monitor and make data-driven recommendations
• An understanding of channel tracking and measurement capabilities
• Previous hands-on experience with SEM campaign execution (either in house or agency) preferred
• Analytic mindset and knowledge of test and learn best practices
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills
• Effective communicator and ability to influence key stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize, prioritize and drive results with a high sense of urgency
• Experience in project management for marketing campaigns is essential
• Innovation experience originating new marketing channels, product launches, or complex projects
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills
• Strong proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint with an aptitude to quickly learn new systems, platforms and software
• Financial services industry experience preferred

Leadership Competencies:

• Self-starter who is able to be partner-focused, maintaining strategic vision while diving into the details of coordinating multiple projects with varying timelines simultaneously
• Ability to inspire, establish team priorities and allocate workload across multi-person internal and agency team
• Outstanding facilitator, able to partner with business products leads and stakeholders to brainstorm, evaluate, select, and implement solutions on affiliate marketing needs
• Resourceful and pragmatic problem-solver, forward thinker with independence of thought
• Superior attention to detail, with a process-oriented mindset
• Excellent interpersonal, listening, relationship building and negotiations skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks/projects simultaneously and drive solutions to complex problems
• Comfortable operating in a highly matrixed, complex environment
• Strong sense of accountability and decisiveness in a strong work ethic culture

Education:

• Bachelor’s/University degree, Master’s degree preferred

This job description provides a high-level review of the types of work performed. Other job-related duties may be assigned as required.

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Job Family Group:

Marketing

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Job Family:

Advertising, Branding and Media

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Time Type:

Full time

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Primary Location:

Wilmington Delaware United States

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Primary Location Full Time Salary Range:

$103,200.00 - $154,800.00

In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays. For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

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Anticipated Posting Close Date:

Apr 28, 2025

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