Director GEO Strategy & Operations, CNN Digital Products & Services

Director Of Geo Strategy & Operations

The Director of GEO Strategy & Operations leads CNN's strategy for generative and evolving discovery platforms. This role defines how CNN competes across evolving landscapes, AI-driven answer engines, and video-first ecosystems, ensuring technical readiness, measurement clarity, and strategic alignment across teams.

This is a platform strategy and operations leadership role responsible for how CNN is discovered across emerging and hybrid search environments.

Your role accountabilities include:

• GEO Strategy & Platform Direction
• Define CNN's overarching GEO strategy across traditional search engines, generative AI platforms, hybrid search experiences, and video-driven search ecosystems (YouTube, TikTok)
• Translate platform evolution into strategic implications for CNN
• Establish priorities and explicit tradeoffs across discovery surfaces
• Technical Readiness & Systems Oversight
• Oversee technical GEO readiness in partnership with Engineering and Product
• Define requirements for schema, metadata systems, indexing readiness, and platform compliance
• Ensure CNN is positioned competitively in AI citation and emerging ranking systems
• Oversee Technical GEO contractor work
• Measurement & Impact Framework
• Define how GEO impact is measured across platforms
• Develop frameworks for AI citation tracking, platform inclusion analysis, visibility benchmarking, and cross-platform topline audience contribution
• Partner with Data & Insights to formalize dashboards and performance readouts
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Governance
• Serve as the primary GEO partner to editorial leadership, product & engineering, distribution strategy, and partnerships teams
• Balance internal priorities with external platform requirements
• Represent CNN's discoverability strategy in partnership discussions
• Operational Discipline
• Establish cadence for GEO monitoring and platform sensing
• Ensure action-oriented insight delivery (daily/weekly/monthly)
• Prioritize high-leverage initiatives over diffuse support
• Maintain clear definitions of done and measurable outcomes

Qualifications & Experience include:

• 10+ years in technical search, platform strategy, digital product, or discovery-focused roles, with demonstrated evolution beyond traditional SEO
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives spanning editorial, product, engineering, and distribution
• Proven track record developing platform strategies in fast-changing ecosystems (search, AI, video, social, or adjacent discovery environments)
• Experience building or overseeing technical optimization programs (schema, indexing, metadata systems, content structuring)
• Deep understanding of traditional search ranking systems, generative AI discovery models and answer engines, hybrid search experiences, video-first search ecosystems (YouTube, TikTok)
• Working knowledge of structured data/schema implementation, indexing and crawl systems, core web performance metrics, AI citation and inclusion dynamics
• Strong analytical orientation; able to define measurement frameworks and interpret complex performance signals
• Comfortable working with data platforms, dashboards, experimentation frameworks, and visibility benchmarking tools
• Demonstrated ability to translate platform evolution into organizational strategy
• Experience defining priorities and tradeoffs under resource constraints
• Strong governance instincts — able to set cadence, definitions of done, and accountability structures
• Proven ability to reduce diffuse activity and focus teams on high-leverage work
• Executive presence; able to communicate platform shifts clearly and credibly
• Comfortable representing the organization in external platform or partnership conversations
• Ability to balance external platform requirements with internal editorial and business priorities
• Experience serving as connective tissue across technical and editorial stakeholders