Manager of Digital Marketing

Wesleyan University•Middletown, CT

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Digital Marketing Manager executes, measures, and optimizes integrated digital marketing and communications initiatives for Wesleyan University. Reporting to the Director of Digital Marketing and Communications, the manager combines creative strategy with data analysis to strengthen the University’s brand and reputation and support Admission recruitment across web, search, email, social media, digital advertising, and emerging channels. The role is both hands-on and strategic, partnering with content, creative, web, and social media colleagues and turning audience and performance insights into recommendations about audiences, content, creative execution, channel mix, and investment. The manager also builds reporting systems and evaluates AI-enabled, automated, and business-intelligence tools with human validation and attention to privacy, security, accessibility, and University policy. The position leads integrated paid and organic campaign strategy, paid media planning and optimization, campaign measurement, cross-channel analysis, and reporting. It supervises the Social Media Manager and works with Admission to connect marketing engagement with recruitment milestones while protecting individual privacy. The role also monitors changes in digital advertising, analytics, privacy, search, SEO, and AI discovery, and recommends practical pilots and process improvements. Work is required to be 100% on campus.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or a related field and at least seven years of progressively responsible experience in digital marketing, integrated campaign management, marketing analytics, or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proficiency in social media platforms, publishing and management tools, content formats, audience engagement practices, and emerging trends sufficient to guide content development, evaluate execution, and direct the Social Media Manager.
Experience using audience and performance data to inform creative strategy and optimize integrated paid and organic digital campaigns tied to measurable organizational goals.
Hands-on experience with digital advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, or comparable tools.
Proficiency with GA4 and experience with Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio or another business-intelligence platform, and spreadsheet-based analysis.
Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, including combining data from multiple sources, identifying limitations, and turning findings into practical marketing, content, and creative recommendations.
Experience using AI-assisted or automated tools for marketing analysis, reporting, optimization, or workflow improvement, with judgment to validate outputs and protect sensitive information.
Ability to manage budgets, vendors, timelines, and multiple campaigns simultaneously with accuracy and attention to detail.
Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including the ability to translate complex data into clear recommendations for creative, content, channel, and leadership partners.
Ability to collaborate across creative, content, web, social media, and digital teams; influence and coordinate work in a decentralized organization; and supervise a direct report.
Demonstrated commitment to working within a diverse environment and interacting openly and respectfully with individuals of different backgrounds.
Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume.

Nice To Haves

Digital marketing or analytics experience in higher education, Admission or enrollment marketing, nonprofit communications, or another mission-driven organization.
Experience with Google Ads, Sprout Social, Slate, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Supermetrics, BigQuery, or comparable platforms and data connectors.
Experience designing or rebuilding cross-channel dashboards and automated reporting workflows using Looker Studio, Power BI, Tableau, or emerging AI-enabled analytics tools.
Experience with SEO, answer-engine optimization, content discoverability, conversion-rate optimization, and landing-page testing.
Knowledge of digital accessibility, privacy, consent, data governance, and responsible AI practices relevant to marketing and communications.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement integrated digital marketing strategies aligned with Wesleyan’s brand, reputation, and Admission recruitment goals, coordinating with web, social media, email, editorial, media relations, video, and creative colleagues.
Plan, launch, manage, and optimize paid campaigns across Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other appropriate platforms; recommend channel mix, targeting, creative, landing-page strategy, and investment levels.
Monitor campaign performance, identify opportunities or underperformance, and implement timely changes; manage budgets, media plans, forecasts, pacing, invoice documentation, and vendor and platform relationships while evaluating efficiency and return on investment.
Create campaign measurement plans and maintain tracking standards, including campaign naming, UTM governance, conversion definitions, GA4 and Google Tag Manager events, audience segmentation, attribution assumptions, and data-quality checks.
Design and assess A/B and multivariate tests for creative, messaging, calls to action, landing pages, email, and audiences, and translate findings into recommendations.
Lead cross-channel analysis and establish regular reporting using data from web, social media, paid media, email, and University systems, including GA4, Google Ads, Sprout Social, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and Slate.
Develop dashboards, campaign readouts, and leadership-ready reports that explain findings, limitations, and recommended actions.
Work with Admission to connect marketing engagement to recruitment milestones from awareness through enrollment while protecting individual privacy.
Supervise the Social Media Manager, set priorities, align organic and paid social strategy with University Communications goals, provide feedback and performance-data guidance, and support professional development.
Evaluate and implement AI-enabled analytics, reporting automation, forecasting, and insight-generation tools; validate outputs, document methodologies, and keep human judgment central.
Monitor changes in digital advertising, analytics, privacy, search, SEO, answer-engine and AI discovery, and recommend practical pilots and process improvements.
Ensure work follows Wesleyan brand standards and requirements for accessibility, privacy, data security, records management, and ethical use of data and AI.
Perform other duties as assigned.