Director of Program Marketing

The McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (UVA) seeks applications for a Director of Program Marketing reporting to the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing. Higher education enrollment marketing, or B2C experience, and experience in admissions are strongly preferred.

This position will be in-person in Charlottesville with occasional travel to program sites as necessary to inform marketing strategy and generate assets.

The primary function of the Director of Program Marketing is to conceptualize and implement comprehensive marketing efforts that directly impact tuition revenue by driving prospects to engage with McIntire and converting high-quality applicants across the School's programs. We seek an experienced, data-driven, strategic, proactive, and organized individual with demonstrated competencies in digital marketing, audience segmentation, and correlated analytics. The director will oversee the planning and production of digital ad campaigns, video content, lead magnets, landing pages, web pages, blog content, and print materials in support of marketing efforts for degree program segments and audiences. The position will also oversee the School's ongoing relationship with a digital advertising agency and be responsible for operating within the associated budget.

Through regular collaboration with admissions and academic program teams, the Director will develop and execute annual and seasonal marketing plans that contribute to achieving program objectives and enrollment targets. The Director will work directly with internal program clients on all tasks related to operationalizing the key stages, processes, and channels within the respective prospect journeys.To ensure development of deep expertise in the relevant markets, programs, and target student profiles, the Director will periodically participate in admissions-related activities such as admissions team meetings, prospect conversations, in-person and virtual recruitment events, and may sit in on yield activities such as file review and applicant interviews.

The Marcomm department functions as a full-service, in-house agency and supports all units of McIntire across a broad portfolio, including executive communications, creative services, website management, media relations, digital and email marketing, and much more.

About the School:

The McIntire School offers a portfolio of business offerings including undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as non-degree and online programs. Degree programs include the flagship B.S. in Commerce, three one-year specialized pre-experience masters programs, two one-year specialized professional masters programs, three undergraduate minors, in-person learning opportunities for high schoolers and executives, and an online learning platform called Commerce Essentials.

Specific duties and responsibilities:

• Develop and execute data-driven marketing plans designed to effectively drive student inquiries and enrollment, focusing on driving high-quality traffic and conversions
• Manage the relationship and contract with external agencies to ensure consistent tactical execution and alignment
• Continuously optimize campaigns for maximum ROI and effectiveness including conducting A/B testing to refine creative assets and messaging
• Lead the execution of digital marketing campaigns on platforms like Google Ads, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), LinkedIn, SEO, and paid media
• Generate and/or commission marketing and editorial content for program-related advertising, media relations, blog posts, social media, web sites, print collateral and more
• Develop and implement effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, including keyword research, content optimization, and link-building, to improve organic search rankings
• Collaborate cross-functionally with multiple staff peers within Communications & Marketing, Graduate Marketing and Admissions, and Student Success teams
• Generate product briefs, creative briefs, and personas for each program and leverage them to implement audience segmentation, messaging, and engagement strategies
• Drive the creative services process for program clients, helping them to articulate and submit their support requests into the Marcomm workflow
• Manage, edit, and update program-related website content in both Drupal and WordPress
• Market and promote program recruiting events, including webinars, virtual fairs, web-based chats and video conferences

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree
• At least eight years, or Master's degree with at least six years of marketing, journalism, or public relations experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Eight years of experience in digital marketing, preferred
• Experience developing marketing campaigns that drive financial results
• Experience with web-based applications, including Wordpress, Drupal, and social media
• Working knowledge of CRM platforms (Slate preferred)

The successful candidate will be a strong communicator, both in writing and in person, with solid analytical thinking and decision-making skills. We're looking for someone who's highly organized, takes initiative, and works well both independently and with a collaborative team. The ability to juggle multiple priorities and adapt to changing needs in a fast-paced environment is key.

This is an Exempt level, benefited position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits.

For additional information about the position, please contact Brooke Braun, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at bab2ab@virginia.edu.

Anticipated hiring range: $110,000 - $130,000 commensurate with education and experience

Review of applicants will begin June 16, 2025. Preference will be given to applications received by this date.

TO APPLY:

Please apply through Careers at UVA, and search for R0072744. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching 'Find Jobs'. Applications that do not contain all of the required documents will not receive full consideration. Please include:

• Cover letter to include your interest in the position and how your relevant experience pertains to this position
• Resume or CV

The selected applicant will be required to complete a background check prior to their first day of employment per university policy.

References will be completed via UVA's standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Karon Harrington, Academic Recruiter, at fak3ph@virginia.edu.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.