Director, Strategic Marketing

Position Summary

The Director, Strategic Marketing develops, creates, and executes innovative strategies to grow new, retain existing, and cultivate long-term relationships with customers through marketing initiatives and earned media programs. Initiatives can include, but are not limited to, referral programs, media relations, link building, community and partnership engagement, organic social, and internal communications. The Director utilizes a strong understanding for various audiences and reaching them relevantly across marketing channels. Skilled in innovation, they contribute new ways to build the brand reputation, accelerate brand awareness, and customer acquisition. Thrives on working with teams cross-functionally to deliver on business objectives and goals. With strategic leadership, they will support the development and productiveness of two or more direct reports. Sets standards for marketing, defining, and developing new processes and procedures intended to increase productivity, brand value, and client satisfaction. Serves as a visionary marketer who navigates the complexities of marketing educational technologies and services to a diverse range of stakeholders, including schools, districts, organizations, and families.

Essential Functions

Collaborate with senior leadership on multi-channel marketing strategies and earned media initiatives. Work closely with the product and sales teams to refine and promote our educational products, ensuring that all initiatives are aligned with market needs and sales strategies. Develop materials and programs to empower the sales team and improve sales effectiveness in both B2B (schools, districts, organizations) and B2C (families) markets.Develop new marketing programs focused on managing the brand’s reputation and awareness, including referral promotions, community engagement initiatives, and strategic partnerships to deliver against KPI’s and lead the successful rollout across all customer touchpoints.Expand the reach/value of the brand story to drive ongoing customer acquisition and encourage active program participation from existing customers.Effectively manage and optimize existing initiatives, working cross-functionally with internal and external key partners as needed.With a dotted-line reporting relationship, direct at least four teams within the Marketing department responsible for brand reputation and awareness, partnerships, student retention, and internal communications.Collaborate with the full marketing team (Accounts, Creative, Marketing Services, Performance) to manage all core communication programs.Lead cross-functional implementations partnering with internal groups from Marketing Automation, Brand and Product Marketing, Paid Media, Creative, Enrollment, as well as external groups (i.e., Office of Communications, Workforce Education Solutions, Student Experience, Finance, Accounting) and vendors.Proactively seeks to understand and reach audiences relevantly from research to outreach.Provides client with strategic solutions or ideas based on specialized knowledge of industry and cultural trends, audiences, and competitors.Works with internal teams to build and maintain student and prospect segments, map out target personas and enable personalized campaigns for all stages in the student journey.Develop and roll out timely and KPI-driving training related to referral and engagement programs, focusing on the Enrollment team.Develop and maintain reporting and analysis to deliver actionable insights to measure program/initiative performance and inform future plans and initiatives.Maintain key performance metrics/reports, including a weekly scorecard with KPI tracking.Contribute to annual planning, budgeting, and monthly re-forecasting for referral and community engagement programs.Present marketing strategy and brand building opportunities to key stakeholders to strengthen word-of-mouth and propel the brand forward.Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Supervisor duties to include:Hire, train, and develop one (1) to two (2) direct reports.Provide effective dotted-line management for the assigned Strategic Marketing team, including coaching and mentoring as necessary to assist them in achieving professional and career growth objectives.

Requirements

Education & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, or a related field, required.A minimum of twelve (12) years of experience that involved primary or secondary responsibility for the creation, development, implementation, and execution of strategic marketing.Or equivalent combination of education and experience.Experience within the K-12 industry preferred.Experience in higher education preferred.Experience working in a technology-driven enterprise preferred.All skills, abilities and education will be considered for minimum qualifications.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills

Brings a proven track record in marketing within the EdTech and SaaS sectors, demonstrating a capability to engage both B2B and B2C audiences effectively.Acts as a role model. Anticipates and plans for change. Communicates vision to the team. Ability to lead, direct and/or influence others to obtain results using a wide degree of creativity and latitude. Working knowledge in building teams. Actively seeks opportunities to influence, build effective relationships and gain alignment with peers, functional partners and/or external partners to accomplish business objectives. Ability to participate as an active member of the team and organization and work toward a common goal.Accepts personal accountability, proactively seeks resolution for personal limitations head-on; and supports honesty and respect towards others, the company and oneself.Develops specialized knowledge of products, markets, customers, industry & cultural trends, and competitors in support of sales and marketing management. Keep abreast of key developments in the relative markets served by the department and the activities of the competition to create responsive strategies.Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes. Ability to generate and/or recognize imaginative or creative solutions that generate successful outcomes.Knowledge of principles and practices of marketing, creative writing, email, and social media campaigns; basic understanding of multi-channel media strategy. Knowledge of overall digital agency structure and processes with an understanding of creative and development workflow.Ability to track campaigns and report outcomes using software applications like Salesforce and Google Analytics, desirable.Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals of constituencies in a diverse community. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures, while working in a fast-paced environment with multiple deadlines and frequently changing priorities.Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, set and reach goals, self-motivated; detail-oriented with the ability to look at the big picture, goal, and service oriented; professional image and demeanor.Solid understanding of marketing, advertising, and digital marketing, as well as the ability to develop a thorough understanding of admissions procedures, National University and affiliate organizations, programs, and services, both degree and non-degree programs and elements of educational programs including certifications, accreditation, program requirements and financial aid.Aptitude to drive towards achieving measurable and challenging goals to support organizational success. Demonstrate the ability to focus on achieving results consistent with the organization’s vision, mission and strategic goals and objectives.Basic knowledge of project management and tools such as Jira, Basecamp, Trello, or Teamwork, a plus; highly organized with solid time management and prioritization skills. Advanced use of computers and Microsoft Office Suite Applications such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, and enterprise resource planning application software such as Tableau and other analytical tools used in business research and reporting such as Google Analytics.

Location: Remote

Travel: Some Travel Required; up to 25% travel required

Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies. Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family. For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

Compensation Range

Annual Salary: $79,930.00 - $107,900.00

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality, diverse workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 5,000 faculty and staff and serves over 41,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community and a commitment to diversity. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our diverse student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University offers an opportunity to work in an innovative environment that supports diversity.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a diverse mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University. We are focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, color, ancestry, age, family care status, veteran status, marital status, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and other legally protected group status.