Director, Marketing Financial Performance & Optimization

American Public Education, Inc. (APEI)•,

11h

About The Position

The Director, Marketing Financial Performance & Optimization leads a new team responsible for marketing financial performance and optimization. Reporting to the CGMO, with a dotted line to the VP Finance, APUS, this role owns the marketing budget from planning through reporting and is accountable for maximizing the return on marketing investment across Health+, Military+, and B2B. The Director applies financial discipline to marketing decisions, evaluates spending alternatives, and reallocates funds toward activity that drives profitable starts. The role partners with Finance, Marketing Intelligence & Data, pillar leaders, and business functions to guide budgets, forecasts, investment decisions, vendor governance, and financial reporting. It also leads the Vendor & Consultant Management Lead and marketing finance analysts, builds financial acumen across Marketing, and performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

At least 10 years of experience in FP&A, marketing finance, or commercial finance, including at least 5 years partnering with marketing leaders.
Deep expertise in budgeting, forecasting, and marketing investment economics, including CAC, LTV, and ROI.
Proven track record negotiating agency, media, and technology contracts.
Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills.
Familiarity with ERP and BI tools, such as Tableau.
Owner mentality and an approach that treats every dollar as their own.
Constructive challenger who asks why before spending.
Collaborative partner who enables growth with discipline.
Data-driven judgment that weighs ROI alongside brand considerations.
Ability to make decisions quickly while maintaining rigor.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education or subscription businesses.
CPA, CFA, or MBA (preferred, not required).

Responsibilities

Lead the annual marketing budget and quarterly reforecasts with Finance by division, channel, team, and vendor.
Track actual spending against budget monthly, flag variances, and recommend corrective actions to the CMO.
Own marketing financial reporting for leadership and reconcile it with Finance.
Set budget guardrails and approval thresholds to establish spending accountability for pillar leaders.
Define growth unit economics, including cost per lead, cost per start, lifetime value, and payback, with Marketing Intelligence & Data.
Translate ROI and marginal-return insights into in-year budget changes in partnership with the Data Leader.
Build business cases for new investments, such as channels, programs, tools, and headcount, and track returns.
Conduct zero-based reviews of non-working spend, including agencies, tools, and consultants, to fund higher-return activity.
Own vendor and consultant governance, including sourcing, negotiation, contracts, statements of work, and performance reviews.
Lead insource-versus-outsource decisions with pillar leaders and consolidate agencies where scale can reduce costs.
Ensure compliance with APEI procurement, legal, and finance policies, including approvals, invoicing, and audits.
Partner with FP&A, Enrollment, Operations, and Academic leadership to connect marketing spend to start and revenue plans.
Build financial acumen across Marketing and coach leaders to evaluate spending with an ownership mindset.
Lead the Vendor & Consultant Management Lead and marketing finance analysts.
Perform other duties as assigned.