Senior Manager, Paid Search/Search Engine Marketing

Job Id: R0000444658

The pay range is $95,000.00 - $171,000.00

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

Target Marketing is well known for inspiring and surprising guests, and we pride ourselves on connecting them to the products and experiences they expect and love from Target. We study our guests to discover new insights and then craft every interaction to build brand equity and enterprise sales. We are marketing experts who insist on a clear and cohesive understanding of our business objectives, guest segments and behaviors, strategies and tactics, overcoming obstacles and measuring for continuous improvement. Leveraging our collective assets and fostering a healthy, supportive and open team culture, we deliver a holistically gratifying experience that guests can only get at Target.

A role within Target’s Media & Integrated Commerce team sits at the center of growth, driving profitable sales by increasing guest traffic, trips, and engagement across channels. You’ll partner cross-functionally with marketing, merchandising, analytics, and finance to translate media insights into actions that drive enterprise growth and customer engagement. As a trusted expert in paid performance media, you’ll influence strategy, guide investment decisions, and help shape how we activate across search platforms. In a fast-paced retail environment, you’ll also identify and scale innovative capabilities—from emerging channels to AI-driven solutions—ensuring Target remains at the forefront of media excellence and continues to strengthen its connection with guests.

As a Senior Manager, Paid Search/Search Engine Marketing, you will lead the strategy, execution, and optimization of Target’s digital media investments across paid search platforms, including Google, Bing, Pinterest, Apple, and OpenAI. In this role, you are accountable not only for campaign performance, but for shaping scalable, full-funnel media strategies that drive new customer acquisition, customer engagement, and measurable outcomes within our Home and A&A businesses.

You will oversee day-to-day activation while elevating the team’s approach through advanced optimization frameworks, test-and-learn agendas, and data-driven decisioning. This includes guiding bidding strategies, audience architecture, creative and content planning, and budget allocation to maximize efficiency and impact across channels.

You will translate complex data into clear, actionable insights, delivering executive-level reporting and recommendations to key stakeholders. You will also establish and evolve best-in-class processes, ensuring consistency and scalability across campaign setup, trafficking, measurement, and performance pacing.

You are expected to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving paid media landscape, proactively identifying emerging trends, platform innovations, and industry shifts, and translating them into forward-looking strategies that advance Target’s enterprise media capabilities. Additionally, you will play a key role in mentoring team members, influencing cross-functional partners, and driving alignment across broader marketing and business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own, define, and evolve the paid search performance media strategy, aligning to enterprise growth objectives and full-funnel outcomes
• Lead end-to-end execution across platforms—from strategic planning and activation through measurement, optimization, and closed-loop reporting
• Drive performance through advanced optimization strategies, including audience design, bidding frameworks, creative strategy, and budget allocation
• Build, manage, and influence strong relationships with internal and external partners, establishing trust, credibility, and accountability
• Influence senior stakeholders and cross-functional partners to evolve media strategies, measurement frameworks, and investment decisions that drive enterprise impact
• Serve as a subject matter expert in paid performance media, bringing forward innovative approaches across search platforms
• Partner cross-functionally with marketing, merchandising, finance, analytics, and product teams to develop integrated strategies that connect external media signals to internal business outcomes
• Champion a culture of inclusivity, connection, and drive while mentoring and developing team members
• Define and lead a robust test-and-learn agenda, identifying and scaling new opportunities to drive incremental performance and unlock new capabilities
• Evaluate, test, and scale AI-driven media solutions (e.g., Performance Max, Demand Gen, AI-powered bidding/creative, emerging platforms) to improve efficiency and business outcomes
• Establish, standardize, and scale best practices, processes, and frameworks to improve consistency, efficiency, and performance across campaigns
• Develop and operationalize multi-channel performance media roadmaps, ensuring alignment with broader marketing strategies and enterprise priorities
• Continuously monitor industry trends, platform changes, and competitive dynamics, translating insights into forward-looking strategies

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About you:

• 4-year degree with relevant business marketing experience or equivalent experience; MBA preferred
• 6+ years paid digital marketing experience; emphasis in paid search retail strategies
• Activation and media strategy experience with paid search and/or social platforms including, but not limited to: Google Ads, Pinterest, Meta Ads, Tiktok, Apple Search Ads, Snapchat, Microsoft Ads
• Detailed knowledge and experience with paid search bid management platforms (i.e. Search Ads 360, Skai, Marin, etc.)
• Intimate knowledge of technical aspects of data configuration, optimization and measurement of paid media campaigns activated to drive enterprise outcomes (i.e. pixels, attribution, CAPI, prospecting vs. retargeting, etc.)
• Experience in the retail style business is preferred
• Outstanding communication and relationship building, uniting teams towards common goals and outcomes
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to analyze data and effectively story tell
• Highly organized and detail oriented, with a lens towards streamlining and managing multiple projects
• Comfortable navigating through ambiguity with a strong sense of prioritization for action
• Ability to work with all levels of management with a high level of autonomy, motivation, and self-direction, tailoring messages as appropriate

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target. Click here if you are curious to learn more about Minnesota.

Benefits Eligibility

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.