Forsyth Barnes Consultancy
Head of SEO (Ref: 197733)
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About the Role
About Us
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 organization 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 organization 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 organization through changes in search behavior, including the growth of AI-assisted discovery, while protecting accuracy, compliance, and the quality of the user experience.
Based in Nottingham, the role offers broad influence over how this organization presents its expertise and services online. The successful candidate will bring the judgment to set direction at a 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 organizational goals.
- Build and maintain a prioritized 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 behaviors for the organization’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 organization, multi-site environment, or highly regulated sector.
- Demonstrable success improving organic visibility, qualified traffic, and measurable digital outcomes through integrated SEO programs.
- 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 prioritized 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 optimization would be beneficial.
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Benefits
- A senior opportunity to shape organic search direction within an organization connected to pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare services.
- Meaningful influence over how patients, professionals, customers, and stakeholders discover trusted information and relevant services.
- Broad exposure to strategic planning, digital governance, technology delivery, and executive-level decision-making.
- The scope to establish scalable SEO processes, standards, and measurement rather than inheriting a narrowly defined channel.
- Access to specialist colleagues and delivery partners across marketing, technology, content, and healthcare-related functions.
- A Nottingham-based position offering the professional challenge of improving digital performance in a complex, purpose-led environment.
- Support for continued development in technical SEO, regulated content, analytics, and emerging search technologies.
- A role with visible impact, where well-prioritized work can improve discoverability, user journeys, and organizational outcomes.
Other
The appointment will suit an SEO leader who can bring structure to a complex agenda and build confidence among senior and specialist stakeholders. Experience in a regulated or technically demanding environment will be valued, but the strongest fit will be someone able to combine sound SEO judgment with commercial awareness, careful governance, and a clear commitment to useful digital experiences.
Applications should demonstrate ownership of strategy, evidence of measurable organic growth, and the ability to lead change across multiple teams. Nottingham is the primary location, with working arrangements and travel expectations to be discussed during the recruitment process.
Callum Bell
Divisional Manager, Technology
ETail Specialist
callum.bell@forsythbarnes.com
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