Learner Engagement Manager - Academic Programs

InStride • Los Angeles, CA

7d • Remote

About The Position

At InStride, people are our purpose. We believe that investing in people is the most powerful way to drive success—for individuals and organizations alike. As a public benefit corporation, we partner with leading employers to unlock opportunities for their employees, providing access to top-tier education programs that align with their employees’ career goals and the company’s business goals. Our mission goes beyond skill-building; we're here to empower our partners’ employees to advance their careers, elevate their expertise, and achieve meaningful personal and professional growth. No matter the team you’re on, our dedication to the success of our partners and their employees is what drives us. If you're passionate about making a difference and driving educational and professional advancement, InStride is the place for you. Candidates must be located in one of the following states to be considered eligible for employment: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, WI. InStride is seeking a Learner Engagement Manager – Academic Programs to lead learner marketing strategies that increase awareness, engagement, and enrollment across our portfolio of academic partners. You will own developing learner-centered positioning, messaging, and campaigns that help working adult learners discover and enroll in the right education opportunities. You'll use learner insights and performance data to optimize the learner journey, influence academic partner marketing strategies, and improve conversion and enrollment outcomes across our academic partner portfolio. This role reports to the Manager, Strategic Engagement Initiatives.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in strategic marketing, academic marketing, or product marketing roles, with experience marketing to both B2B and B2C audiences.
• Experience developing and executing multi-channel marketing campaigns that move learners from awareness to action, including campaign strategy, audience targeting, content development, and performance optimization.
• Keen eye for developing positioning and messaging that clearly communicates the value of academic programs and pathways, helping learners make informed decisions about advancing their education.
• Effective communicator who excels at building relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders, including senior leaders at colleges and universities.
• Curious about emerging technologies and enjoy experimenting with AI to improve how work gets done.
• Thrive in a dynamic environment, adapting quickly to changing priorities while maintaining a focus on delivering meaningful results.
• Use data, curiosity, and sound judgment to solve problems and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• High emotional intelligence and approach your work with a collaborative, "no job too small" mindset.
• Excited by the challenge of building a world-class business that delivers not only high revenue growth and compelling return on investment, but also has a meaningful impact on society.

Nice To Haves

• Campaign strategy and execution: You have a keen eye for identifying and leading marketing opportunities, leveraging marketing channels and assets (emails, landing pages, community and messaging platforms, testimonials, social media, newsletters) to drive learner engagement and enrollment outcomes.
• Driving funnel conversion: You excel at identifying and removing friction points in the user journey, partnering with academic institutions to optimize funnel performance and move learners from consideration to action to enrollment.
• Positioning and Messaging: You’re a natural with developing program positioning and messaging that resonate with first-time, transferring, and re-enrolling working adult learners.
• AI Fluency: You thoughtfully leverage AI and emerging technologies to improve marketing effectiveness, streamline workflows, uncover insights, and enhance learner and business outcomes
• Insight-driven decision making: You leverage learner research, market trends, and campaign performance data to identify opportunities, shape strategy, and confidently recommend actions that improve learner and business outcomes.
• Project leadership : You juggle competing priorities with ease, leading complex projects and multi-client initiatives across multiple teams with discernment and sound judgment. You own both strategic planning and hands-on execution when needed, ensuring successful outcomes.
• Influencing & Relationship Building : You build trusted relationships with academic partners and cross-functional stakeholders, using empathy, credibility, and clear communication to influence decisions and drive shared outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Increase academic partner enrollment: Improve inquiry-to-enrollment conversion rates through targeted learner engagement strategies and campaigns that help academic partners achieve their enrollment goals.
• Optimize the learner journey: Identify friction points and streamline the learner journey, reducing drop-off and accelerating time-to-enrollment.
• Increase program completion rates and re-enrollment : Develop targeted campaigns and communications that keep learners engaged throughout their education, celebrate milestones, and inspire them to continue lifelong learning through additional programs.
• Influence academic partner marketing strategy: Partner with academic institutions to recommend positioning, messaging, and learner engagement strategies that improve enrollment outcomes, partner satisfaction, and Net Promoter Score.
• Serve as the academic marketing expert: Develop learner-centered positioning, messaging, and recommendations that help learners choose the right academic program while equipping cross-functional teams to prioritize and market the right programs
• Develop repeatable processes: Build scalable processes that improve consistency, accelerate execution, and reduce manual effort, leveraging AI where appropriate

Benefits

• Employees are eligible to enroll in 2,800+ online certificate and degree programs through our Step Forward program. InStride covers your tuition upfront, regardless of your course of study, degree type, or school - eligible to employees starting Day 1.
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Flexible vacation policy
• Paid family leave
• Best-in-class health care benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed