Full-Time | Christchurch or Remote (NZ/AU) | 2026 Team Empathy
Check out the JD presentation here: https://gamma.app/docs/AI-Search-Strategist-h86m5mmofwxw2i7
Please read that, watch the Loom, then email me with a video of your own if this calls to you!!
Most agency jobs ask you to be busy. This one asks you to be brilliant.
Team Empathy is a fast-moving ecommerce Search and AI agency based in Aotearoa New Zealand. We specialise in AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), AI search visibility, and content at scale powered by AirOps. We help real businesses build durable, sustainable growth in a world where AI is rewriting the rules of how people discover and buy things.
We are a small team with a big vision. We care about doing exceptional work, treating people well, and building something we are genuinely proud of. We believe purpose and profit are not in conflict. The better we do for our clients, the better we do for ourselves, and the more we can build a workplace that actually supports the humans in it.
We have spent a decade delivering exceptional SEO results, including an average 32X ROI for local businesses across Aotearoa. Now we are making our most exciting move yet: going all in on ecommerce AEO in partnership with Simon Phillips, who has scaled multiple brands to 7 and 8 figures across NZ and AU.
We are one of the only ecommerce-specific AEO agencies in APAC. We are early. We are fast. And the window is narrow.
This is not a normal agency job.
The AI Search Strategist is the heartbeat of our client experience. You are the person our clients trust, the strategist who keeps every engagement moving forward, and the connective tissue between what we promise and what we deliver.
This is a client-first, people-first role. You own the portfolio, lead the delivery pod, and make sure every client feels genuinely looked after, informed, and excited about what we are building together.
What makes this different from a traditional account management role is how you do it. AI is not an add-on here. It is the method. You will use Claude, AirOps, and whatever tools emerge to make your role faster, smarter, and more efficient over time. Reporting gets streamlined. Client comms get sharper. Your time stays protected so you can focus on what actually matters: strategy, relationships, and results.
You do not need to build the workflows. You just need to love using them.
One of our core interview questions will be: "What problems have you solved with AI recently?" We want someone who is already experimenting, already curious, already reaching for better tools before anyone asks.
We are building the kind of workplace that makes people want to stay.
That means flexible remote work across NZ and AU. It means a team culture built on trust, not micromanagement. It means celebrating wins, supporting each other through challenges, and being honest when something is not working.
Ben (our founder) describes himself as a chillpreneur. That is not code for doing less. It is code for doing meaningful work sustainably, without burning out. We move fast, but we pace ourselves. We build for the long term.
We believe a great workplace:
If those values resonate with you, you are already thinking like one of us.
1. Client Portfolio and Strategy Own the outcomes for every client. Lead strategy planning, keep the team accountable, and make sure every client is moving forward with clarity and momentum. Target: 80%+ retention of good-fit ecommerce clients. No client waits more than 24 hours to hear from you. You earn a 3% bonus on every client that stays with us for 12 months.
2. Revenue Growth Spot at least one upsell opportunity per client per quarter. Shape the conversation and close it with support from Ben on pricing. You earn a 5% bonus on every confirmed upsell.
3. Margin Protection Know what things cost and do not give work away for free. Target: 70-80% gross margin across the portfolio. Track team hours, protect scope, and flag deviations before they become problems.
4. Pod Leadership Coordinate Om (SEO), Nico (Content/AirOps), and Milda (QA/AirOps) without becoming the executor. Set priorities, run the cadence, and make sure the right people are working on the right things at the right time.
5. Reporting and ROI Visibility Clients always know what is happening and why it matters. 100% on-time monthly reporting, delivered in a way that makes our value undeniable. Client ROI clarity confirmed within the first 90 days of every engagement.
6. AI-Powered Efficiency Your job is to do this role better over time, not just maintain it. Use AI to reduce the admin load, sharpen client communication, and find the manual tasks worth eliminating. We provide the tools and the space. You bring the curiosity and the follow-through.
What you are NOT doing: Building AirOps workflows · Writing or producing content · Closing major new clients · Admin, bookkeeping, or invoicing
You might be one of two people.
The Experienced AM Ready to Unleash You have been in account management or client strategy for five or more years. You are genuinely good at it. Clients like you, you deliver, and you keep things moving. But you are quietly frustrated. Your current environment is too slow, too resistant to change, or just not interesting enough anymore.
You care about doing work that is meaningful, not just work that pays. You want to be part of a team that has a real point of view, backs its people, and is building toward something worth building. And you have been playing with AI tools on the side because you genuinely love figuring things out.
The AI-Native Hungry to Grow You are earlier in your career but you have been making up for it with curiosity and output. You have used Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and tools most people have not heard of yet. You want a team that will invest in you, give you real responsibility early, and promote fast when you deliver.
You are not just looking for a job. You are looking for a place where your values fit and your potential gets room to grow.
Phase 1 (months 1-3): $90,000 NZD base Phase 2 (from month 4, subject to KPI review): $100,000+ NZD
Retention Bonus: 3% of a client's total 12-month spend at their milestone, paid quarterly Example: 20 retained clients at $5,000/month = approximately $36,000 in annual bonuses
Upsell Bonus: 5% of confirmed upsell revenue, paid quarterly Example: A client moves into a full AI Transformation package ($40,000) = $2,000 in your pocket
The bigger picture:
We do not do long trials. 90 days is more than enough time to show us what you are made of.
Bonuses start from day one. Any clients you onboard yourself during Phase 1 count toward all bonus structures immediately.
What we need to see by month 3:
Are you quietly frustrated right now? Too good, too curious, in an environment that is not moving fast enough or does not seem to stand for anything?
That is exactly who this role is built for.
I am not hiring someone to fill a seat. I am hiring someone who cares about doing genuinely great work, who treats clients like people not accounts, and who gets excited about using the latest AI tools to make every part of this job better.
We are one of the only ecommerce-specific AEO agencies in APAC. We are early. We are doing work that most agencies have not even started thinking about yet. And we are doing it in a way that we are proud of.
You will work with me directly. I move fast, think out loud, and back the people around me when they back themselves. I want someone I can riff with. Someone who pushes back when something is not working and brings ideas I have not thought of. Someone who wants to be part of something, not just employed by someone.
If that is you, I genuinely hope you reach out.
Ben Male Founder, Team Empathy ben@teamempathy.co.nz
Watch the Loom walkthrough of this role, then send Ben a Loom or video back telling him why this role was written for you. No CV needed. Your energy and thinking will tell us everything.
This role is fully remote across NZ and AU. Christchurch-based candidates are a bonus as we are relocating there, but location is genuinely flexible. We have operated as a distributed team for six years and it works brilliantly.
Send me an email with a video introduction to ben@teamempathy.co.nz
Team Empathy is a fast-moving ecommerce Search and AI agency based in Aotearoa New Zealand. We specialise in AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), AI search visibility, and content at scale powered by AirOps. We help real businesses build durable, sustainable growth in a world where AI is rewriting the rules of how people discover and buy things.
We are a small team with a big vision. We care about doing exceptional work, treating people well, and building something we are genuinely proud of. We believe purpose and profit are not in conflict. The better we do for our clients, the better we do for ourselves, and the more we can build a workplace that actually supports the humans in it.