Enrollment Marketing Manager

Palo Alto University•Palo Alto, CA

7d•$90,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

Palo Alto University (PAU) is seeking an Enrollment Marketing Manager to design and deliver the journey for prospective students, from initial awareness to enrollment. This strategic, data-driven role owns the enrollment marketing function, focusing on lead generation, campaign execution, prospect conversion, and admissions funnel analysis. The position requires a strong understanding of data, technology, and human motivation, with a genuine curiosity for behavioral science and mental health. The goal is to create mission-aligned communication that resonates with students drawn to PAU's programs. The role involves close collaboration with various departments within Enrollment Management and academic program directors to ensure marketing strategies accurately reflect the university's offerings.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, digital media, or a related field; master's degree preferred.
Five or more years of progressive experience in digital marketing, enrollment marketing, or higher education marketing, with demonstrated success generating leads and driving application conversion.
Strong command of digital marketing strategy, including paid media, SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and marketing automation.
Demonstrated experience with CRM platforms and marketing technology integration, including campaign tracking, attribution modeling, and performance reporting.
Proficiency with data analytics tools and the ability to translate marketing performance data into actionable strategy and clear executive reporting.
Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling, audience-specific messages across multiple channels and formats.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple campaigns and priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Genuine curiosity about and respect for behavioral science, mental health, psychology, and the communities PAU serves.
Ability to work in person on campus as part of PAU's residential culture.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education enrollment marketing, student recruitment, or admissions communications.
Familiarity with HubSpot, Salesforce, or comparable CRM and marketing automation platforms used in higher education.
Experience with graduate and professional program marketing, especially within psychology, counseling, social work, or behavioral science.
Background in paid media management including Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, or programmatic advertising platforms.
Experience with video production, podcast marketing, or other multimedia content strategies for student recruitment.
Knowledge of higher education enrollment management principles, admissions cycles, and the graduate student decision journey.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute comprehensive, multi-channel enrollment marketing campaigns for all PAU academic programs, from initial brand awareness through lead generation, prospect nurturing, and application conversion.
Build and maintain a multi-year enrollment marketing plan aligned with PAU's enrollment goals, program priorities, and institutional strategic plan, with clear campaign calendars, channel strategies, and performance benchmarks.
Partner with the VPEM and Director of Admissions to align marketing strategy with enrollment targets, application timelines, and yield goals for each program and each recruitment cycle.
Develop program-specific marketing approaches that reflect the distinct identity, audience, and competitive positioning of each of PAU's graduate, doctoral, and undergraduate programs.
Design and implement lead generation strategies across digital, social, search, and content channels that expand PAU's prospective student reach and produce qualified, mission-aligned applicants.
Develop sophisticated audience segmentation models that identify, target, and engage distinct prospective student populations based on program interest, career stage, geography, demographics, and behavioral indicators.
Build and manage paid media campaigns, including search engine marketing, social media advertising, programmatic display, and retargeting, optimized continuously for cost per lead and cost per application.
Develop organic and content-driven lead generation strategies, including SEO, blog content, social media presence, and email nurture campaigns, that build long-term awareness and pipeline for PAU's programs.
Own the prospect-to-applicant conversion funnel, designing and executing communication strategies, drip campaigns, and personalized outreach that move prospective students from inquiry through application submission.
Develop and manage automated email communication sequences, SMS campaigns, and personalized digital touchpoints that maintain prospect engagement throughout the admissions cycle.
Analyze funnel performance at each stage, from inquiry to application to admission to enrollment, identifying conversion gaps and designing targeted interventions that improve movement through the pipeline.
Partner with the Director of Admissions to integrate marketing-driven prospects into admissions workflows, ensuring a seamless handoff from marketing engagement to admissions counseling.
Lead the integration of enrollment marketing tools and campaigns with PAU's CRM platform, ensuring accurate lead capture, attribution, tracking, and reporting across all marketing channels.
Manage and optimize the marketing technology stack, including CRM, marketing automation, email platforms, analytics tools, and digital advertising platforms, to drive efficiency and insight across the enrollment marketing function.
Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide the VPEM, Director of Admissions, and Cabinet with real-time visibility into marketing performance, lead volume, cost per acquisition, and campaign ROI.
Ensure data integrity across all marketing systems and alignment with institutional data definitions, enabling reliable attribution and forecasting that informs enrollment planning.
Develop and execute a digital communication strategy that reaches prospective students across email, social media, search, video, and emerging digital channels with compelling, mission-aligned content.
Create and manage program-specific landing pages, digital prospectus materials, virtual tour experiences, and other digital assets that convert website visitors into qualified leads.
Collaborate with the Director of Brand and the Content and Creative Manager within SPUR to ensure all enrollment marketing content reflects PAU's institutional voice, visual identity, and brand standards, while being optimized for enrollment conversion.
Develop content that authentically represents PAU's behavioral science mission, the career impact of its programs, and the student and alumni experiences that distinguish the institution in a competitive market.
Design and execute marketing strategies for enrollment events, including open houses, information sessions, virtual programs, admitted student days, and program-specific recruitment events.
Build pre-event awareness campaigns, during-event engagement strategies, and post-event conversion follow-up sequences that maximize the enrollment impact of every event investment.
Develop virtual engagement experiences that bring PAU's campus culture, faculty expertise, and student community to life for prospective students who cannot visit in person.
Partner with academic program directors to develop discipline-specific events and outreach that speak directly to prospective students in each field.
Conduct regular audits of PAU's enrollment marketing practices, materials, channels, and competitive positioning, identifying gaps, opportunities, and areas for improvement across the full marketing function.
Benchmark PAU's enrollment marketing performance against comparable institutions and industry best practices, bringing forward data-driven recommendations for strategy refinement.
Test and iterate on messaging, creative, channel mix, and campaign structure through structured A/B testing and analytics-driven optimization, ensuring PAU's marketing investment continuously improves in efficiency and effectiveness.
Develop and maintain a comprehensive library of enrollment marketing materials, templates, and brand-compliant assets for use across programs, channels, and recruitment cycles.
Build strong working relationships with academic program directors, faculty, and department chairs to develop program-specific marketing narratives grounded in the genuine academic and career value of each program.
Partner with the Director of Financial Aid to integrate financial aid messaging, scholarship opportunities, and affordability communications into enrollment marketing campaigns, ensuring prospective students understand PAU's full value proposition from first contact.
Collaborate with the Director of Student Experience to incorporate student life, community, and outcome stories into recruitment marketing, bringing the authentic PAU student experience to life for prospective students.
Work with the University Registrar to ensure marketing materials accurately reflect program requirements, application processes, enrollment timelines, and degree information.
Develop a deep, genuine understanding of PAU's culture, programs, faculty, students, and alumni, and of the broader field of behavioral science, mental health, and psychology, so that every marketing message is grounded in institutional truth and speaks to the students who are drawn to this work.