Senior Marketing Strategist - Online Education Unit

The Online Education Unit at Carnegie Mellon University offers a unique and outstanding opportunity to be part of an internal “start-up” dedicated to the successful launch and delivery of online graduate degree programs, certificates and professional education. This new unit will provide marketing, recruiting and student support services to schools across the university with ultimate responsibility for student enrollment and retention. As such, we are seeking individuals who can think strategically about launching and maintaining program enrollment while simultaneously rolling up their sleeves to get it done.

The Senior Marketing Strategist will report to the Business Director and plays a key role as the head of marketing strategy for all programs. They will have a deep understanding of the market and program offerings with a toolkit of validated strategies to generate leads that successfully meet enrollment goals. They will be passionate about collecting data and measuring progress, have the ability to change direction when necessary and possess outstanding communication and collaboration skills. As the lead for marketing, they will hire and empower a team of professional staff, manage the budget and report progress to senior leadership.

The ideal candidate has experience working across multiple marketing channels with a successful track record of exceeding marketing metrics and lead generation goals. They have exceptional communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills and an ability to prioritize multiple projects simultaneously without losing sight of the big picture. Excitement for creating a department from the ground up is critical.

Your core responsibilities will include:

• Lead and handle all aspects of a program’s public launch, including positioning, targeting, key selling points, to ensure relevance in the market.
• Build a comprehensive marketing strategy including digital advertising, search engine marketing and optimization, events, social media and content marketing crafted to generate quality leads to meet enrollment goals.
• Collaborate with the Online Education Unit Business Director on program strategy and portfolio growth.
• Liaise with Recruiting & Student Services Manager to align marketing and admissions campaigns to build transparency into full-funnel prospect behavior.
• Establish metrics for marketing/lead generation targets; monitor, report and revise as needed to ensure program enrollment goals are met.
• Create, update and refine marketing reports/dashboards to build visibility and valuable insights to improve marketing efficiency.
• Selecting and managing marketing vendors (agencies, contractors, internal partners), evaluating their efficiency and refining services and vendors as needed to meet marketing/lead generation targets and overall enrollment goals.
• Build positive relationships with the appropriate Academic Unit and University partners; collaborate on content and process to ensure accuracy and alignment.
• Lead all aspects of the creation and management of the website and landing pages; monitor for effectiveness/SEO and refine as needed to meet goals.
• Be responsible for the development of content and collateral for all marketing channels including website/landing pages, digital advertising, social media and content marketing, email communication; monitor for effectiveness.
• Hire, train and lead a team; identify additional team members as program growth precipitates increased headcount.
• Working with the Director and budget lead, create and monitor the budget to ensure spending is within predetermined parameters.
• Maintain current documentation of all projects and processes for transparency and scaling.

You should demonstrate:

• Deep knowledge of marketing best practices including digital advertising, paid and organic search and social media tactics, content marketing and other marketing channels and tactics as needed.
• Understanding of higher education, with knowledge of the application recruitment process.
• Experience with website content management and measurement with a solid understanding of how to use Google Analytics to analyze website performance.
• Validated successful history of generating leads through various sources with specific quality markers to meet predetermined targets.
• Exceptional communication and customer service skills; an ability to represent CMU, the schools, programs and unit at a high level at all times.
• Strong leadership and management skills; successful history of hiring, managing and motivating a team of marketing professionals.
• Strong critical thinking and problem solving skills; a bias towards action, even when faced with uncertainty and resistance.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5-7 years of experience leading marketing strategy for a product or program; 7-10 years preferred.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Marketing or related field of study required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience in higher education and enrollment marketing is helpful but not required.

Requirements:

• Successful background check

Additional Information:

• Work Posture: This position is operating in a hybrid work schedule, fully remote will be considered in the context of the mission

Interested in this new and exciting opportunity? Apply today!

CMU’s COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements: As a condition of employment, Carnegie Mellon University requires all staff and faculty working in the United States to be fully vaccinated, including a booster when eligible, against COVID-19. Prior to commencement of employment, new hires in the United States must provide proof of vaccination or obtain an approved exemption. (Exemptions may be requested for medical reasons or for religious or strong moral or ethical conviction.) Staff and faculty must comply with all applicable COVID-19 mitigation requirements. Please see Minimum Requirements to Return to Campus for details regarding the university’s current COVID-19 mitigation requirements.

Location

Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Marketing

Position Type

Staff – Regular

Full Time/Part time

Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

More Information:

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