Working in close collaboration with academic and administrative colleagues in Open Campus and across the University, the Senior Director of Marketing and Outreach at Open Campus will lead the development of integrated marketing plans, including the tactical management of the marketing mix (including web presence and website oversight, digital and traditional marketing efforts, and email communications). In collaboration with IT Services, the Senior Director will oversee the functioning of the customer relations management system (CRM) and work closely with the Senior Director of Enrollment Management and Student Services to track inquiry conversion to enrollment. Additionally the Senior Director will contribute to shaping continued innovation and portfolio development by providing regular market research, reporting, competitive analysis, and intelligence about industry trends, and drive insight creation from this data to respond to audience educational needs. The Senior Director will work closely with the Director of Finance to analyze return on marketing investments and strategize future marketing spends.
The position will have the following responsibilities:
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT:
• Collaborate with and support Open Campus leadership in defining and delivering on the overall vision for Open Campus’s unique contribution to the larger University.
• Provide market context and leadership to annual business and academic planning processes to support Open Campus and university strategic goals and make budget and strategy recommendations to deliver on business objectives.
• Develop marketing budget tied to key business objectives and provide market research on student and labor trends to inform business strategy.
• Communicate and disseminate key marketing priorities and activities within Open Campus to key partners across the University.
• Make recommendations on systems and infrastructure improvements necessary to advance Open Campus revenue goals, especially in the areas of marketing, market research, audience insight, and data collection, management, and analysis. Assist with or oversee implementation efforts or make recommendations on implementation plans.
MARKETING AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS:
• Lead and oversee substantial insight creation from competitive analysis, assessment of market trends and deep audience intelligence to guide academic planning and innovation. Partner with academic program directors and Open Campus Dean/VP to provide essential marketplace data and insight to build new programs and ensure ongoing relevance of all program offerings.
• Provide primary and secondary market research support for new program development as well as portfolio assessment to identify areas of optimization, new opportunities and candidates for reevaluation, repackaging, and /or other forms of optimization.
• Utilize relevant research, internal knowledge and competitive landscape analysis to set and execute on marketing strategy and vision, including effective management of the Open Campus website for maximum communication and ease of enrollment for prospective students.
• Work with dedicated Open Campus marketing and recruitment personnel, while closely collaborating with central Marketing and Communications, Strategic Enrollment Management, and other university partners as appropriate, to develop audience insight, marketing strategy and differentiating positioning for integrated plan/activities for Open Campus portfolio.
MARKETING PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION:
- Lead annual strategic marketing planning for key audiences and offerings, setting strategic priorities and goals based on unit’s business plan, and program growth and revenue targets. Working with Marketing & Communications, integrate into and with overarching university strategic marketing plans and brand and degree-program efforts.
- Management resources to develop communications that establish and maintain a consistent, positive and differentiating story for Open Campus and programs therein, in concert with and in context of the image and branding of The New School and its colleges developed and designed by Marketing & Communications.
- Oversee sustaining initiatives and channels in support of portfolio, such as effective leadership and maintenance of dedicated Open Campus website, email marketing operations, social media strategy, etc., while making recommendations and actively leading out new strategies and areas of growth in step with market trends.
- Support Marketing & Communications in development of creative materials, strategies and assets, including advertising and collateral for Open Campus.
- Insure maximum effectiveness and user experience of the Open Campus CRM and website, key tools for prospective students to become informed, engaged, and enrolled in classes. Strategize marketing functionality and framework for site and establish system for rapid troubleshooting and fast response.
- Analyze and summarize effectiveness of marketing programs, including ROI and other relevant business metrics. Provide recommendations to improve effectiveness.
OUTREACH AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT:
- Manage and direct the dedicated Open Campus marketing and outreach team. Recruit and train new staff as necessary, including cross-training on the full Open Campus portfolio.
- Develop outreach initiatives (e.g. events, email outreach), including the streamlining of current operations, consolidations of resources, and implementation of recruitment systems (CRM) and lead nurturing best practices.
- Oversee lead development and nurturing from initial inquiry to enrollment. Build process and protocols for coordinating with outside providers and partners, as required.
- Remain keenly attentive to service and performance metrics and establish scheme of key benchmarks.
- Identify and implement best-in-class recruitment systems, such as CRM, chat bots, and other emerging technologies. Lead staff to run these systems on an ongoing basis. Oversee tracking and management of the recruitment pipeline to pre-set goals and revenue targets based on business plan and priorities.
- Establish and manage the practice of marketing automation.
- Supervise the operation and management of the CRM in close collaboration with colleagues in IT services and the University’s Marketing and Communications team.
- Establish service metrics and key enrollment benchmarks, including inquiry to enrollment conversions, in close collaboration with the Senior Director of Enrollment Management and Student Services.
- Oversee tracking and management of outreach pipelines to meet enrollment and revenue goals based on the Open Campus business plan and priorities.
- Establish and deliver on return on investment (ROI) metrics regarding marketing and outreach investments. Work closely with the Director of Finance to track and correct ROI.
- Collaborate effectively with the University’s Marketing and Communications team on discrete activities. Lead Open Campus staff in these engagements and resolve issues that may arise.
- Collaborate effectively with the marketing and communications staff of the various colleges and programs within The New School in order to ensure common messaging to students and clients.
- Ensure effective collaboration with Strategic Enrollment Management, Registrar, Student Accounts and/or dedicated school teams as appropriate to discrete initiatives. Establish effective processes, direct staff in these engagements, and resolve issues that may arise.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree.
- 7-10 years of developing and leading marketing and outreach functions, including hiring, training, and directing team members responsible for recruitment and supporting the development of new marketing programs.
- 3-5 years’ experience marketing educational or related programming especially online offerings, professional education, and pre-college experiences.
- Experience applying market research and market analytics to identify growth areas and market desirability of current offerings.
- Experience leading web site redesign and web-based marketing.
- Experience designing and leading digital marketing initiatives (such as social media and search engine-driven marketing), including identification of vendors and analysis of performance and return on investment.
- Experience implementing and overseeing the functions of a customer relations management system (CRM).
- Experience establishing and managing marketing automation practices, such as chat bots.
- Management and supervisory experience in a multi-office environment
- Ability to work well both independently and as part of a team.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Business, management or marketing-relevant Master’s degree.
- Central supervisory and management experience in marketing revenue-generating education, whether continuing, online, pre-college or executive education.