Executive Director of Marketing

Responsibilities

• - Paid Media Direct paid digital and out-of-home advertising strategy and execution in partnership with Enrollment Management to increase inquiries, applications, and enrollment. Own budget allocation, media planning, and vendor relationships across paid channels.
• - Social Media Marketing Direct organic and paid social strategy across platforms (LinkedIn, TikTok, Insta, FB, YouTube) to build audience engagement, community, and brand affinity. Ensure social content and campaigns reinforce cohesive brand messaging.
• - Owned Media (SEO & Content) Own SEO strategy and blog/content marketing to grow organic visibility, authority, and qualified traffic, with target search terms strategically mapped to drive traffic to program and school pages.
• - Sponsorships Manage sponsorship relationships and agreements end-to-end, from initial evaluation through activation and performance tracking against enrollment funnel goals.
• - Collaboration Lead collaborative marketing initiatives by working with Creative Services, social media, and Web teams to develop cohesive brand messaging and campaigns that drive engagement and enrollment, while coordinating closely with Enrollment Management to align marketing strategies with recruitment goals.
• - AI Visibility Develop and execute strategies to improve how the University is represented, cited, and recommended in AI-generated answers, including content structuring, structured data/schema, authoritative source-building, and citation-worthy content practices (generative engine optimization/answer engine optimization).
• - AI Trends Monitor the competitive landscape of AI visibility among peer institutions and report share-of-voice trends to leadership.
• - Analytics, Reporting Leverage market research, analytics, and performance metrics across paid, social, owned, and AI visibility channels to inform strategy and optimize results.
• - Budgets Oversee budgets, vendor relationships, technology platforms, and external partnerships.
• - Team Leadership Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing marketing team that fosters innovation and accountability. As a member of the leadership team, the senior director participates in talent searches and fills in leadership gaps during transitions as needed.

Requirements

• Educational Requirements Bachelor's degree with
• - 8+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience, with direct ownership of paid media, social media, and SEO/content strategy.
• - Working knowledge of AI/generative search visibility (GEO, AEO, or equivalent emerging discipline), or a strong SEO/content foundation and a demonstrated ability to build new capabilities from scratch.
• - Direct experience building this function elsewhere is a plus, not a requirement.
• - Experience in higher education marketing, enrollment marketing, or another complex, multi-stakeholder consumer marketing environment preferred.
• - Proven ability to build and lead teams, manage significant budgets and vendor relationships, and translate performance data into executive-level strategic recommendations.
• - Strong cross-functional collaborator (Creative, Web, Communications, Enrollment, Advancement), comfortable presenting to senior governance bodies.