SEO Lead, Philippines

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 take time — so we’ll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

This is a hybrid role based in Manila, combining the flexibility of remote work with in-person collaboration. We trust our Canvanauts to find the balance that helps them do their best work, while staying connected with their local team and stakeholders.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA — and that’s all part of the fun.

As the SEO Lead for the Philippines, you’ll define and lead a truly local SEO strategy — one that reflects how Filipinos search, discover, and create. This isn’t about translating global playbooks. It’s about building one for your market.

You’ll operate at the intersection of local expertise and global systems, owning end-to-end SEO strategy across content, technical, and authority pillars — driving measurable growth in sessions, signups, and engagement.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Owning and driving the Philippines SEO strategy end-to-end — You’ll define what success looks like for SEO in your market, from identifying the highest-value opportunities to building a clear, prioritized roadmap across content, technical SEO, and authority-building. You won’t be following a playbook — you’ll be creating one grounded in local search behavior and business goals.
• Translating local market insights into scalable growth initiatives — You’ll continuously analyze how Filipinos search, what competitors are doing, and where Canva is under- or over-performing. From this, you’ll identify actionable opportunities (e.g., new content categories, template gaps, keyword clusters, platform shifts) and turn them into experiments and execution plans.
• Leading execution across all SEO pillars (even before your team scales) — In the early stages, you’ll be hands-on: running audits, reviewing content, validating keyword strategies, and identifying technical improvements. As the team grows, you’ll shift toward enabling others while maintaining a high bar for quality and impact.
• Building and scaling a high-performing local SEO team — You’ll define hiring needs, interview and onboard talent, and create clear goals, rituals, and development plans. Your focus is not just output, but building a team that can operate autonomously and continuously improve how SEO is executed in-market.
• Partnering cross-functionally to unlock growth — You’ll work closely with Product, Engineering, Localisation, Content, and Design teams to land SEO initiatives. This includes influencing prioritization, aligning on trade-offs, and ensuring SEO is embedded early in decision-making — not added at the end.
• Driving measurable business impact through SEO — You’ll define and track country-level KPIs (sessions, signups, engagement, retention), build reporting frameworks, and clearly articulate how SEO contributes to Canva’s growth in the Philippines. You’ll regularly communicate progress, insights, and pivots to both local and global stakeholders.
• Building repeatable systems, not one-off wins — Beyond individual initiatives, you’ll create workflows, playbooks, and frameworks that make SEO execution faster, more consistent, and less dependent on individuals — setting your market up for long-term, scalable success.
• Elevating SEO as a strategic function within your country — You’ll act as the go-to SEO expert for the Philippines, influencing country planning, shaping growth strategy, and ensuring SEO is represented as a core growth lever — not just a channel.
• Exploring and adapting to the future of search and discovery — You’ll actively test and evaluate emerging channels like AI search (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews), social discovery, and other evolving platforms — determining where Canva should invest and how to win in these spaces locally.
• Contributing back to Canva’s global SEO engine — You’ll share learnings, experiments, and frameworks with regional and global SEO teams, helping scale what works in the Philippines to other markets — and adopting best practices from others when relevant.

 

You’re probably a match if

• You bring deep Philippines market expertise — You’re a native Filipino speaker with strong English, and you have a strong understanding of how Filipinos search, discover content, and engage online. You’re able to translate cultural nuance and user intent into clear SEO opportunities.
• You’ve led SEO strategy for complex, large-scale surfaces — You have hands-on experience driving SEO for websites with significant scale (500+ pages), and you understand how content, technical SEO, and authority-building work together to drive growth — not in isolation.
• You think strategically, but operate pragmatically — You can zoom out to define a clear market strategy, but you’re equally comfortable getting into the details — whether that’s running audits, reviewing content, or validating hypotheses with data.
• You’re highly data-driven and outcome-focused — You don’t just track rankings — you focus on business impact. You’re confident defining KPIs, building reporting frameworks, and using data to make decisions, prioritize work, and tell clear performance stories.
• You know how to prioritize in ambiguity — You’re comfortable working without a perfect playbook. You can assess opportunities, make trade-offs, and focus on what will drive the highest impact in your market — even when inputs are incomplete.
• You influence and collaborate effectively across teams — You’ve worked cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Content, or Marketing teams, and know how to bring people along, align on priorities, and land initiatives that require multiple stakeholders.
• You take ownership and move things forward — You don’t wait for direction. You proactively identify problems, propose solutions, and find ways to execute — even when there are blockers or constraints.
• You’re curious about the future of search — You’re actively exploring how discovery is evolving — from traditional search engines to AI-driven experiences — and are excited to test, learn, and adapt your approach as the landscape shifts.

 

About the team

At Canva, we’re on a mission to empower the world to design — and international growth is now one of our most important frontiers.

To get there, we’re evolving from simply translating what works in English to building truly local growth systems — where each market is owned, shaped, and scaled by people who deeply understand it.

You’ll be part of the Logged Out Experience (LOX) Group within the International Supergroup, where the focus is simple but powerful: 👉 Help anyone, anywhere in the world discover Canva — before they even sign up.

Within LOX, SEO plays a critical role in how millions of users first experience Canva — from templates and use cases to entirely new categories of design. It’s not just about traffic; it’s about shaping discovery at scale.

What’s in it for you?

We work hard to achieve our crazy big goals — but we also make sure there’s balance, growth, and connection along the way.

Here’s a taste of what’s on offer:

• Equity packages — share in Canva’s success

• Inclusive parental leave for all parents & carers

• Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing and workspace

• Flexible leave options to recharge and give back

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, and passion — and how you’ll help shape Canva’s culture.

Even if you don’t meet every requirement, we’d still love to hear from you.

Interviews are conducted virtually.