Director, Search

Overview

Fanatics Betting & Gaming is seeking a strategic Director, Search to lead paid search strategy, execution, and performance across our Online Sportsbook (OSB) and Casino (OC) businesses. This role will be responsible for building the search roadmap, managing investment across OSB and OC, and ensuring paid search drives measurable customer acquisition, revenue growth, and efficient payback.

The ideal candidate combines executive-level strategic thinking with hands-on channel fluency, thrives in an intense and fast-paced environment, is highly analytical, and is comfortable leading teams through complex performance marketing decisions. This individual will manage senior channel owners, agency partners, platform relationships, and cross-functional planning with Brand, Analytics, Product, Compliance, Finance, and the broader Marketing organization.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall paid search strategy, execution standards, and performance roadmap across Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino.
• Set channel-level goals, forecasts, budgets, KPI frameworks, and performance targets in partnership with Marketing leadership, Finance, Analytics, and business stakeholders.
• Lead investment allocation across OSB and OC, balancing acquisition scale, efficiency, payback, incrementality, and long-term brand and customer value.
• Oversee campaign architecture, bidding strategy, keyword coverage, creative testing, feed usage, audience strategy, and landing page optimization across Google, Microsoft, Apple Search Ads, and related search platforms.
• Manage, coach, and develop Senior Performance Managers, ensuring clear ownership, high-quality execution, and consistent operating rhythms across the team.
• Lead agency and platform partner relationships, including strategic roadmaps, quarterly business reviews, troubleshooting, and performance improvement plans.
• Partner with Analytics and Marketing Technology teams to strengthen attribution, true media contribution via MMM, incrementality testing, conversion tracking, reporting automation, and customer journey insights.
• Build executive-ready performance narratives that connect search results to customer acquisition, deposit behavior, revenue, market share, annuity, and payback outcomes.
• Drive structured testing roadmaps across bidding automation, match type strategy, creative, landing pages, local market opportunities, and emerging search formats.
• Develop lower funnel search initiatives to work with upper and mid funnel omnichannel campaigns, connecting demand capture to demand creation
• Monitor competitor activity, market dynamics, sports calendar moments, casino seasonality, and search demand signals to identify growth opportunities.
• Establish quality assurance processes for ad copy, destination URLs, state eligibility, responsible gaming language, tracking parameters, and budget controls.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in performance marketing, growth marketing, or digital media, with significant hands-on and leadership experience in paid search.
• 3+ years of people management experience, including experience developing managers or senior individual contributors.
• Proven ability to manage large, multi-market paid search budgets tied to acquisition, revenue, payback, and lifetime value goals.
• Deep expertise across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Search Ads 360, Apple Search Ads, emerging AI search inventory, analytics platforms, and search measurement tools.
• Strong understanding of CAC, CPA, ROAS, LTV, payback, incrementality, market share, and performance forecasting methodologies.
• Experience managing agencies, platform partners, cross-functional stakeholders, and executive-level business reviews.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex performance data into clear business decisions.
• Detail oriented, deadline focused, observant, adaptable, and innovative.
• Extensive knowledge of the sports betting and gaming industry preferred.
• Must be open to occasional travel to Fanatics Betting & Gaming offices in New York City and Denver as well as other locations for conferences, events, meetings, and team-building activities.