Director of SEM

At Preply were all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor craft a personalised learning journey and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led tech-enabled - and its creating real impact.

Weve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led AI-enhanced learning. Today 100000 tutors teach 90 languages to learners in 180 countries - and were only getting started. As a category-defining company were shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale.

Every Preply lesson sparks change fuels ambition and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale and building something that truly matters for millions of people every day.

As we scale globally performance marketing has become the primary engine of that growth. Search is at the core of how learners find us - and SEM is our largest and highest-impact acquisition channel with a nine-figure annual spend and growing significantly YoY. To continue outperforming we need a world-class leader to own it.

Were now looking for a Director of SEM to own strategy performance and the future of our search acquisition channel. This is a senior strategic role for a performance marketing leader who has operated SEM at scale inside a high-growth consumer tech or marketplace/e-commerce business.

Youll lead a growing team of specialists and partner with Data Science MarTech Brand and a dedicated double-digit team at Google to push the boundaries of whats possible in search. Youll also be among a select group of advertisers piloting a new ad offering with a leading AI platform shaping how SEM evolves at a global scale.

This role is not about managing day-to-day execution. Its about designing the best system setting the strategy and making sure Preply keeps winning in search - at scale across markets globally and at the cutting edge of automation and AI.

Own the channel strategy

• Define and own Preplys global SEM strategy across Google Search PMax and emerging AI-powered ad formats

• Set the vision for how we grow the channel - expanding keyword coverage improving bidding sophistication and deploying budget with increasing efficiency

• Decide how to balance automation with human judgment and where to invest in new capabilities vs. doubling down on what works

• Stay at the frontier: shape how Preply thinks about the future of search as AI reshapes user behaviour and ad formats

Drive performance and scale

• Own the channel KPIs while maintaining or improving ROI

• Oversee keyword architecture and automation across keywords languages and markets

• Lead LTV-based bidding strategy in partnership with the Data Science team pushing the state of the art in how we value and bid for users

• Expand SEM coverage into non-language subjects as Preply grows beyond its core vertical

Build and lead the team

• Lead a team of specialists setting direction developing capability and creating clear accountability

• Define how the team operates: priorities org structure and collaboration model with enabling functions

Shape how we use AI

• Define and embed an AI vision for the SEM team: from how individual team members leverage AI tools to increase personal productivity to designing agentic systems for campaign management workflows.

• Youll set the standard for what AI-enabled SEM looks like at Preply and continuously push the teams ambition for whats possible.

Lead through influence

• Partner cross-functionally with teams in the business to build infrastructure that enables scale not just campaigns

• Align Brand and Growth teams around how SEM and PMax work together for maximum impact

• Translate channel performance into clear business impact for the VP of Performance Marketing & Growth and senior leadership and build data-driven cases for investment.

• Director-level experience in SEM or Performance Marketing with a track record of channel ownership at significant scale & double-digit million budget

• Deep hands-on understanding of Google Search Smart Bidding and PMax - including how to structure feed and govern PMax campaigns at scale.

• Experience designing or overseeing SEM automation at scale - you understand how the system works not just what it produces

• Proven ability to operate in a high-growth e-commerce or consumer tech environment where targets are ambitious and the pace is fast

• Experience working with data science or engineering teams on performance systems - LTV bidding prediction models or automation pipelines

• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect long-term vision to day-to-day execution and remove blockers

• Comfortable stepping into an existing team and earning credibility - leading through expertise and direction not task ownership

• Experience working in or across multi-language multi-market environments

• Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing.

• We do it for learners - For both Preply and tutors learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience.

• Keep perfecting - To create an outstanding customer experience we focus on simplicity smoothness and enjoyment continually perfecting it as every detail matters.

• Now is the time - In a fast-paced world it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen.

• Disciplined execution - What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals focus on what matters and utilize our resources efficiently.

• Dive deep - We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions.

• Growth mindset - We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe todays best performance becomes tomorrows starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks.

• Raise the bar - We raise our performance standards continuously alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high-performing teams that can make a real difference.

• Challenge disagree and commit - We value open and candid communication even when we dont fully agree. We speak our minds challenge when necessary and fully commit to decisions once made.

• One Preply - We prioritize collaboration inclusion and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together we support and celebrate each others progress.

is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe that the presence of different opinions and viewpoints is a key ingredient for our success as a multicultural Ed-Tech company. That means that Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race color religion gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin disability age or veteran status.

Required Experience:

Director