Head of Performance

Job summary

Own paid search strategy and financial performance across the portfolio, primarily through Google Ads, while identifying growth opportunities and protecting profitability. Lead and develop the paid search team, manage platform relationships, coordinate with cross-functional partners, and report performance and recommendations to senior leadership.

Job details

Location: Montreal, Quebec Reporting Structure: Chief Operating Officer Direct Reports: Senior Performance Marketing Manager(s) and paid search specialists Summary We are looking for a Head of Paid Performance to own the strategy and financial performance of our paid search programs across the portfolio, with Google Ads as our primary channel. This is a senior leadership role for a commercially minded operator who thinks in margin, not just in clicks. You will set the direction for how we acquire traffic, manage our key platform and commercial partners, and lead the team that executes day to day. Your success will be measured by one thing: hitting and beating our revenue, profitability and efficiency targets. Responsibilities Strategy & Performance • Define and own the paid search strategy across the portfolio, with Google Ads as the core channel, Microsoft Ads as a secondary focus, and new high intent platforms (e.g., Chat GPT) as a growth lever. • Set account structure, bidding, keyword and audience strategies that scale volume while protecting margin. • Own the paid search financial results: revenue, spend, net revenue, ROAS • Find and prioritize the biggest levers to improve financial results - new verticals, GEOs, keyword expansion, bid strategy changes, funnel and landing page improvements. Partners & Commercial • Be the senior point of contact with Google (and other platform) account teams: drive beta access, quarterly business reviews and co-investment opportunities. Leadership & Operations • Lead, coach and grow the paid search team. • Set clear KPIs, testing roadmaps and ways of working; review performance weekly with the team. • Partner with analytics, product, content and finance to improve tracking, attribution, conversion rates and reporting.• Report performance, insights and recommendations to the General Manager and senior leadership. • Stay ahead of changes in search - AI-driven campaign types (Performance Max, AI Max), automated bidding, privacy and measurement shifts. Requirements • 5+ years in paid search or performance marketing, including 3+ years leading a team or channel. • Proven track record of owning large-scale Google Ads budgets and delivering against revenue and profitability targets. • Expert, hands-on command of Google Ads: Search, Performance Max, Smart Bidding, scripts, Google Ads Editor and Merchant Center where relevant. • Proficiency with building AI agents and leveraging AI to build systems and processes • Strong commercial and financial acumen: comfortable building forecasts, modelling margin and making spend decisions on unit economics. • Experience managing relationships with platform reps, partners and agencies, and negotiating commercial terms. • Advanced analytical skills with GA4, Excel/Sheets; SQL or BigQuery a plus. • Solid understanding of conversion tracking, offline conversion imports, attribution and incrementality testing. • Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to present to senior leadership. • Experience in fast-paced, digital-first or high-growth environments. Assets • Experience in insurance, banking, mortgage or other lead-generation / financial services verticals. • Experience with arbitrage or media-buying models where search traffic is monetized through partners. • Bilingual English/French. Built on Trust We operate with unwavering trust, uphold the highest standards of integrity, and deliver consistent performance. Our mission is to serve our audiences with transparency and measurable value, building long-term relationships grounded in results.

What you’ll do

Own paid search strategy and financial performance across the portfolio, primarily through Google Ads, while identifying growth opportunities and protecting profitability. Lead and develop the paid search team, manage platform relationships, coordinate with cross-functional partners, and report performance and recommendations to senior leadership.

Requirements

Requires at least five years of paid search or performance marketing experience, including three or more years leading a team or channel, with a proven record managing large Google Ads budgets and meeting revenue and profitability targets. Candidates should bring hands-on Google Ads expertise, strong financial and analytical skills, experience with AI systems, tracking and attribution, and the ability to lead teams and manage senior stakeholders.

Listed skills

• Team Leadership · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Paid Search Strategy
• Google Ads
• Microsoft Ads
• Performance Marketing
• Budget Management
• Revenue and Profitability Management
• Bidding Strategy
• Keyword and Audience Strategy
• Team Leadership
• Commercial Negotiation
• Forecasting and Margin Modeling
• AI Agents and Automation
• GA4
• Excel and Google Sheets
• SQL and BigQuery
• Conversion Tracking and Attribution
• ChatGPT
• Financial Acumen
• Relationship Management
• Advanced Analytics
• Bilingual (French/English)
• Media Buying
• AI Agents
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Artificial Intelligence
• Analytics
• Budgeting
• Bidding
• Google BigQuery
• Investments
• Communication
• Mortgage Loans
• Contextual Advertising
• Economics
• Finance
• Financial Services
• Forecasting
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Lead Generation
• Marketing Management
• Operations
• Conversion Tracking
• SQL (Programming Language)
• Stakeholder Management
• Advertisement

Job areas

• Marketing
• Management & Leadership
• Data & Analytics
• Finance & Accounting
• Performance Director
• Search Engine Marketing Specialist
• Advertising and Marketing Professionals
• Search Marketing Strategists
• Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

More jobs from Valnet