Director for Marketing

Tacoma, WA (Hybrid)

$108K/yr – $112K/yrDirector/Executive5+ years expFull time

Posted 5 days ago

Job Summary

Own and drive UW Tacoma’s marketing strategy across multi‑channel campaigns, partnering with Admissions, creative, digital, and analytics teams to grow enrollment, brand strength, and reputation.

  • Lead cross‑functional marketing plans and team development
  • Leverage data and AI-enabled tools to optimize reach and outcomes

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • What You Will Do Strategic Marketing Leadership (30%) - Develop and lead an integrated, multi-channel marketing strategy aligned with UW Tacoma’s enrollment, fundraising, brand and reputational goals. - Create and manage annual marketing plans that translate strategy into clear priorities, target audiences, channel approaches, budgets and measurable outcomes. - Serve as the primary marketing partner for the Office of Admissions, collaborating on strategy for undergraduate and graduate recruitment pipelines. - Ensure all marketing efforts are consistent with UW Tacoma’s brand positioning and the broader University of Washington brand framework. - Prioritize high-impact marketing initiatives and allocate team resources accordingly, balancing strategic long-term goals with urgent institutional needs to maximize measurable outcomes. - Provide strategic counsel to campus leadership; serve on divisional and university-wide committees. - Support institutional issues management and crisis response in partnership with campus leadership and Marketing & Communications. Content & Creative Direction (25%) - Brief, direct and review creative assets, including copy, design, photography and video, to ensure brand alignment and campaign effectiveness. - Partner with the Director of Communications and creative staff to surface and develop compelling stories about UW Tacoma’s people, programs and impact. - Maintain quality and consistency across all marketing team deliverables, from paid ads to print collateral to vendor-produced work. - Create content that reflects and celebrates UW Tacoma’s commitment to an inclusive, diverse campus community. Digital Marketing & Analytics (25%) - Own UW Tacoma’s digital marketing presence with trusted vendor partners: paid search (SEM/PPC), SEO, generative AI answer engines, social media advertising, programmatic display and email marketing. - Set performance benchmarks, monitor campaign analytics and produce regular reporting on reach, engagement, conversion and return on investment. - Use data-driven insights to continuously refine audience targeting, messaging, channel mix and budget allocation. - Oversee website marketing strategy in partnership with digital staff, ensuring content and UX support recruitment and brand goals. - Actively identify and evaluate emerging marketing technologies — including AI-powered tools — that could enhance reach, personalization, or efficiency; pilot and implement where appropriate. Team Leadership & Management (20%) - Directly supervise and mentor marketing staff; establish clear priorities, timelines, protocols and quality standards. - Foster a collaborative and innovative team culture where staff feel supported, challenged and valued. - Manage relationships with external agencies, media buyers, freelancers and consultants; oversee scopes of work, contracts and budgets. Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • Minimum Qualifications Applicants who do not meet these qualifications will not be forwarded to the Hiring Department. Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, advertising, journalism or related field AND five years of experience in marketing or related field.

Preferred

  • Preferred Qualifications - Proven success in integrated, multi-channel marketing and brand strategy. - Experience leading, developing and motivating high-performing marketing teams. - Strong expertise in paid search, SEO, social media, programmatic advertising and email marketing. - Proficient in marketing analytics and translating data into actionable insights. - Experience managing agencies, vendors and marketing budgets. - Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills. - Strong project management skills with the ability to balance multiple priorities. - Experience in higher education marketing, including recruitment, enrollment, or advancement communications. - Knowledge of brand governance within large organizations or institutions. - Proficiency with CMS platforms (e.g., Drupal, WordPress) and digital analytics tools.

Benefits

University of Washington logo

University of Washington

Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the preeminent research universities in the world. Located minutes from downtown Seattle, the main UW campus provides gorgeous views of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges and, every spring, attracts visitors from all over to world who come to witness the blooming of its cherry blossom trees.As the state’s flagship university, the UW serves more students than any other institution in the Northwest. In addition to its Seattle campus, the University has thriving campuses in Tacoma and Bothell and a robust professional and continuing education program. Anyone can enjoy and be enriched by all the UW has to offer, including world-class libraries, art, music, drama, sports and the highest quality medical care in Washington state.Being public also means being engaged with our communities, and through knowledge and discovery we are elevating the quality of lives of others.

Founded in 2010
Seattle, Washington, USA
32K employees (527 in marketing)

Salaries

Posted range

$108K/yr – $112K/yr

Taken straight from the job posting.

See all University of Washington salaries

Funding

Total Funding
$56.3M
Last Raise
$45M
Grant, 7 years ago

Funding History

  • Apr 2019
    Grant • $45M
  • Apr 2018
    Grant • $11.3M
  • Jan 2013
    Series Unknown

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
6.2M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$334.7K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
41.1%
Direct
50.3%
Referral
7.4%
Social
0.6%
Paid
0.4%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~31.7K

Recent News

University of Washington logo

Director for Marketing

University of Washington · Tacoma, WA · Hybrid