Forsyth Barnes
Head of SEO (Ref: 197733)
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Head of SEO (Ref: 197733)
Location - Nottingham
Working Pattern - 2/3 days in office
Contact - callum.bell@forsythbarnes.com
About the company
Our client operates across pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare services, supporting the development, production and delivery of products and services that contribute to better health outcomes. Its work sits within a regulated, evidence-led environment where accuracy, trust and clear communication are essential to reaching patients, healthcare professionals and commercial audiences.
Based in Nottingham, this organisation is strengthening its digital capability to support sustainable growth across its healthcare-focused activities. Search performance has an important role in making authoritative information and relevant services easier to discover in a sector where credibility and user experience matter.
Job description
The Head of SEO will define and lead the organic search strategy for a healthcare-focused organisation operating across pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare services. This senior position will establish the priorities, operating standards and measurement framework needed to increase qualified visibility, strengthen digital authority and support commercial and service-related objectives.
Success will come from combining strategic direction with informed delivery. You will evaluate technical performance, search demand, content quality and competitor activity, then convert those findings into a clear roadmap for internal stakeholders and delivery partners. The role requires confident leadership across complex, regulated subject matter, with a disciplined focus on measurable improvements in reach, engagement and conversion.
Working across marketing, digital, technology and subject-matter teams, you will embed SEO into planning and governance rather than treating it as a standalone channel. You will also guide the organisation through changes in search behaviour, including the growth of AI-assisted discovery, while protecting accuracy, compliance and the quality of the user experience.
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Based in Nottingham, the role offers broad influence over how this organisation presents its expertise and services online. The successful candidate will bring the judgement to set direction at senior level and the practical understanding to ensure that recommendations become effective, sustainable improvements.
Key Responsibilities
- Set the organic search strategy across relevant pharmaceutical and healthcare service websites, aligning priorities with organisational goals.
- Build and maintain a prioritised SEO roadmap covering technical health, content, authority and user journeys.
- Lead technical audits covering crawling, indexation, information architecture, performance, mobile experience, internal linking and structured data.
- Shape content plans around patient, professional, customer and stakeholder search needs while maintaining appropriate standards for regulated information.
- Establish robust measurement for rankings, qualified organic traffic, engagement, enquiries, conversions and other meaningful outcomes.
- Use search data, audience insight and competitor intelligence to identify opportunities, risks and investment priorities.
- Partner with developers, content teams, UX specialists, communications colleagues and external suppliers to deliver agreed improvements.
- Advise senior stakeholders on SEO performance, business impact, emerging opportunities and decisions requiring investment.
- Develop practical governance for metadata, templates, redirects, content updates, technical releases and SEO quality assurance.
- Assess the implications of AI-generated search experiences, answer engines and changing discovery behaviours for the organisation’s digital presence.
- Manage agency or specialist partner relationships, ensuring clear briefs, effective delivery and accountable performance.
- Raise SEO capability across relevant teams through guidance, training, documentation and constructive challenge.
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Requirements
- Substantial experience leading SEO strategy for a complex organisation, multi-site environment or highly regulated sector.
- Demonstrable success improving organic visibility, qualified traffic and measurable digital outcomes through integrated SEO programmes.
- Advanced knowledge of technical SEO, including crawl management, indexation, site architecture, migrations, performance and structured data.
- Strong understanding of content strategy, search intent, editorial planning and the creation of authoritative online resources.
- Experience translating analytics and search intelligence into prioritised recommendations for senior decision-makers.
- Proficiency with tools such as Google Search Console, GA4, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, Semrush or comparable platforms.
- Confidence working with developers, content owners, UX teams, legal or compliance colleagues and external delivery partners.
- Ability to operate effectively where accuracy, evidence, privacy, governance and regulatory considerations influence digital communications.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues in commercially relevant language.
- Experience defining KPIs, producing executive reporting and demonstrating the value of SEO beyond rankings alone.
- Knowledge of healthcare, pharmaceutical, medical, professional services or another regulated environment would be advantageous.
- Familiarity with international SEO, enterprise CMS platforms, digital accessibility or AI search optimisation would be beneficial.
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