Senior Search Manager

Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship Sydney campus is uniquely Canva - an extension of our Surry Hills neighbourhood. It’s a thoughtfully designed space with plenty of room to collaborate, focus and connect.

This role is based in Sydney, and we’re looking for someone who calls it home. Our hybrid way of working gives you the flexibility to work remotely, and to come together on campus for meaningful in-person collaboration and connection when it matters most. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Owning a portfolio of Search accounts (SEM, PMax/Shopping, GAC, ASA, ChatGPT Ads) across your assigned markets, with full accountability for performance, campaign structure, and incrementality-informed budget decisions
• Being the go-to Search expert for your markets, leading stakeholder communications and partnering with regional and cross-functional stakeholders, educating them on how Search works and what it's contributing to their market.
• Going deep on your strategic focus areas, driving the global approach and strategy in that space
• Using AI as your default workflow accelerant - propose, build and maintain shared automation or process improvements, especially where manual, repeatable work is slowing the team down
• Supporting new market launches and major platform changes (eg. AI Max testing and rollout or responses to bidding algorithm updates), that affect the whole team's approach
• Partnering with measurement/data and AdTech teams on measurement and experimentation plans, flagging signal or tracking issues and communicating fixes clearly
• Staying ahead of platform and industry changes, including how AI is reshaping search, adjusting our strategy proactively

You're probably a match if

• You've run Search & Shopping accounts at genuine multi-market scale, with meaningful budget, in-house or agency-side.
• You're hands-on with Google Ads and Bing Ads, plus a bid management platform like SA360 or equivalent.
• You use AI tools to speed up reporting, analysis, testing and workflow automation.
• You have a natural curiosity for platform mechanics, auction dynamics and bidding algorithms, not just campaign management.
• You can dive deep enough into the numbers to spot when something doesn't add up, and diagnose why.
• You bring high attention to detail on account hygiene, structure, measurement setup and reporting.
• You can prioritise across multiple markets and workstreams at once.
• You communicate clearly with regional stakeholders who don't have deep Search expertise, translating technical mechanics into plain language.
• You build relationships across regional teams without formal authority, and work closely with Search, measurement/data and AdTech partners.
• You're comfortable working across timezones with a globally distributed team, including some evening calls for EMEA.
• You thrive in fast-paced, high-ownership, ambiguous environments, turning a loosely defined brief into a concrete plan.
• You're proactive by default, transparent about capacity and blockers, open to direct feedback, and you move at pace.

About the team

Canva's Performance Marketing Centre of Excellence sets global strategy and standards for paid channels including Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Programmatic, and Search, while country teams own local execution and creative.

The Search team sits within the Performance Marketing CoE and owns global strategy and execution for Search, which covers SEM, PMax/Shopping, Google App Campaigns, Apple Ads, and emerging AI-driven search surfaces like ChatGPT Ads. It's a small, technical team with points of contact covering North America, Europe, Latin America & South East Asia, working closely with regional marketing teams, measurement/data partners and AdTech teams. We move fast, work with a lot of autonomy, and build strong relationships across regions without needing formal authority to get things done. The bar isn't campaign management, it's genuine platform expertise, systems thinking, and the judgement to know what a metric is really telling you.

You'll report to the Search Lead, taking ownership of a portfolio of country accounts and key strategic pillars within the team. You'll work across genuinely large, global accounts, with an opportunity to shape the direction of how the team's newer surfaces (eg. AI Max, ChatGPT Ads) should be run, and a strong expectation that you bring craft expertise, systems thinking and automation to the table rather than just executing campaigns.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.