Associate Head of Content, SEO

Headquarters: San Diego, California URL: https://animalz.co We're looking for a sharp writer and strategic thinker to join our SEO team as an Associate Head of Content. This is a high-level individual contributor role that sits between our Senior Content Marketers and Heads of Content, and it requires someone who can move fluidly between hands-on content creation and strategic account management. First and foremost, this is a writing role. We need someone who produces exceptional content—clear, compelling, and editorially rigorous—not someone who simply knows how to assemble keywords into a blog post. You'll write content that ranks, but more importantly, content that's genuinely worth reading. Your SEO expertise should elevate your writing, not replace it. The balance of your work will shift based on agency needs. When managing fewer accounts (2-3), you'll carry a heavier writing load, producing multiple pieces per month and serving as a primary content creator for key accounts. When managing more accounts (4-5), you'll shift toward strategic account management, freelancer oversight, and quality control. This flexibility is central to the role; you need to thrive in both modes. You'll report to a Head of Content who serves as your strategic partner and consultant. You'll also work closely with our SEO and content engineering teams to ensure content strategies account for traditional search, AI-powered discovery, and emerging content production workflows. What You'll Do Content Creation & Quality Research, outline, and write high-quality SEO content (blog posts, guides, landing pages, and more) that balances search intent with editorial excellence Refresh and optimize existing content to improve rankings, engagement, and visibility across both traditional search and AI-powered discovery tools Maintain Animalz's standard of writing quality across all content you produce and oversee, ensuring every piece is clear, well-structured, and genuinely useful to the reader Strategy & Account Management Create and optimize content strategies for your accounts with input from your Head of Content, incorporating SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), and content performance data Manage content calendars that align with each customer's goals, search landscape, and competitive positioning Generate strategic content ideas and craft comprehensive briefs that account for keyword targeting, search intent, SERP features, and AI search visibility Serve as a consultative partner to customers, offering expertise on how their content performs across organic search and AI-driven channels Proactively identify risks to account health—whether that's declining performance, misaligned expectations, or gaps in delivery—and flag them early Report on content performance monthly, using tools like GA4, GSC, Ahrefs, and Clearscope to communicate results and surface opportunities Content Operations & Freelancer Management Manage and assign work to freelance writers: preparing briefs, tracking deadlines, reviewing drafts, and providing editorial feedback to ensure quality and consistency Collaborate with design on graphics and visuals for your content deliverables Contribute to team knowledge-sharing, internal initiatives, and cross-functional projects as time and primary responsibilities allow SEO, AEO & AI Workflows Apply SEO best practices across all content work, including keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO considerations, and competitive analysis Stay current on how AI search tools (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews) surface and cite content, and factor this into content strategy and execution Work with our content engineering team to understand and contribute to AI-assisted content workflows. You don't need to build these systems, but you should understand how they work and how to leverage them Use AI tools responsibly to support research, ideation, and content production without sacrificing quality or voice What We're Looking For Exceptional writing ability: You're a writer first. You produce publication-ready content with minimal revisions, writing with clarity, precision, and editorial judgment across formats — from long-form thought leadership to concise, conversion-focused copy. You adapt your voice to match different brand personas while maintaining high standards Strong editing and editorial oversight: You can review freelancer work with a sharp eye, elevate drafts to meet our quality standards, and provide clear, constructive feedback. You know what good looks like, and you can get other writers there 5+ years of experience in content marketing, preferably in B2B SaaS or an agency setting 2+ years of customer-facing experience at a B2B marketing agency or within an in-house marketing team, managing accounts and customer relationships Strong SEO knowledge: You understand keyword research, on-page optimization, content audits, and competitive analysis, and you can diagnose wh