Website Manager & Content Strategist

UNIVERSITY OF LYNCHBURG • Lynchburg, VA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Lynchburg, a private, regional university in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia, is seeking applicants for a full-time Website Manager position in the Department of Marketing and Communications. This position reports to, is supervised by, and evaluated by the Executive Director of Marketing. The evaluation of work performance will be ongoing and will be carried out by the Vice President for University of Outreach. It will include the specific duties and responsibilities of this position description plus employee attitude and general working behavior. Job Type: FT/RPT (Benefits Eligible) Job Purpose: The Website Manager & Content Strategist is the technical and editorial owner of the University of Lynchburg's digital presence. This is a strategic role responsible for the intersection of content strategy, web performance, and AI-driven discoverability. The Website Manager ensures our digital platforms serve prospective students, current students, faculty, and the broader community with clarity and speed, while serving as the bridge between creative marketing goals and technical execution.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in website management, digital content strategy, or web marketing, preferably in higher education or a mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated experience owning a large, multi-stakeholder website (500+ pages) from both a strategic and technical standpoint.
• Proven track record of developing and executing a content strategy that improved measurable outcomes such as traffic, leads, time-on-site, or enrollment inquiries.
• Background working in environments with decentralized content contributors and centralized governance, ideally in higher education, healthcare, or government.
• Advanced, hands-on experience with WordPress and Elementor, including custom CSS, template hierarchy, and plugin management.
• Proficiency with WP Engine's hosting platform, staging environments, CDN configuration, and performance tooling.
• Working expertise in technical SEO, including Core Web Vitals, schema markup, canonical tags, and XML sitemaps.
• Solid working knowledge of HTML and CSS sufficient to write and debug custom code within WordPress.
• Experience auditing and remediating WCAG 2.1 AA issues using tools such as Siteimprove, axe, or WAVE.
• Familiarity with AI writing assistants and emerging LLM-powered content tools such as Gemini, Notebook LM, ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper, or Surfer SEO.
• Experience with project management and intake tools such as Asana, Monday.com, or similar platforms.
• Prolonged periods of sitting and wrist movement
• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Information Science, or a related field. Equivalent experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in website management or digital content strategy.
• Advanced proficiency in WordPress and Elementor.
• Demonstrated knowledge of SEO best practices and GA4 analytics.
• Working knowledge of WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
• Strong written communication skills and ability to enforce editorial standards across a large organization.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a higher education marketing or communications environment, with fluency in the enrollment funnel as it applies to prospective students.
• Familiarity with CRM integrations such as Slate or Salesforce and how web forms connect to enrollment systems.
• Experience with heatmap and UX research tools such as Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity.
• Working knowledge of email marketing platforms and how web content connects to audience nurture campaigns.
• Experience with AI-powered SEO tools such as Surfer, Clearscope, or SEMrush AI, and an understanding of how large language models surface institutional content.
• Background in brand management or experience maintaining a design system or style guide at scale.
• Certifications in Google Analytics, HubSpot Content, or a recognized SEO platform.
• Experience with video, podcast, or multimedia content strategy as the University expands its content formats.

Responsibilities

• Content strategy & governance: Own the University's content strategy across the web — establishing voice, structure, and editorial standards. Develop and enforce a centralized intake and governance model to manage requests from 40+ departments.
• Centralized content execution: Serve as the hands-on creator and editor for website updates. Review intake requests, reorganize content for web best practices, and build pages using Elementor with an eye toward conversion and clarity.
• Information architecture: Audit, map, and continuously improve site navigation and page hierarchy to reduce friction for prospective students and key audiences. Lead periodic IA reviews tied to enrollment goals.
• AI-era SEO & discoverability: Ensure content is optimized for traditional organic search and emerging AI-discovery engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews). Implement structured data, FAQs, and entity-based content strategies.
• Platform & infrastructure administration: Manage the WP Engine hosting environment, including staging/production workflows, server-side performance optimization, and plugin governance.
• Design & brand governance: Establish and maintain design guidelines and global Elementor templates to ensure a cohesive brand presence across all web platforms.
• Accessibility & compliance: Ensure 100% of site content meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Own the annual accessibility audit process and remediation roadmap.
• Analytics & reporting: Own GA4 implementation and reporting. Deliver monthly dashboards to leadership connecting web performance to enrollment funnel metrics.
• AI tool integration: Identify and implement AI-assisted tools to accelerate content production, metadata generation, image alt-text, and A/B testing — while maintaining brand and accuracy standards.
• Supervise the student Digital Media Assistant and serve as a mentor for emerging web and content professionals.
• Develop and own the University's web content strategy, including voice, structure, and editorial standards across all digital platforms.
• Build and enforce a centralized content intake and governance model to manage requests from departments across the University.
• Execute hands-on website updates and page builds using WordPress and Elementor, reorganizing content for web best practices and audience clarity.
• Audit, map, and continuously improve site navigation and information architecture to reduce friction for prospective students and other key audiences.
• Manage the WP Engine hosting environment, including staging and production workflows, server-side performance optimization, and plugin governance.
• Establish and maintain global Elementor templates and design guidelines to ensure a cohesive brand presence across all web platforms.
• Ensure 100% of site content meets WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards and own the annual audit and remediation process.
• Optimize content for both traditional organic search and AI-discovery engines, including structured data, FAQ strategy, and entity-based content approaches.
• Own GA4 implementation and deliver monthly analytics reports to leadership connecting web performance to enrollment funnel metrics.
• Identify and implement AI-assisted tools to accelerate content production, metadata generation, and A/B testing while maintaining brand and accuracy standards.
• Maintain and develop an editorial calendar aligned to the academic year, admissions cycle, and University events.
• Supervise the student Digital Media Assistant and serve as a mentor for emerging web and content professionals.
• Collaborate across departments via Asana, email, and Google Workspace while enforcing centralized governance standards.

Benefits

• Generous paid vacation, personal days, paid sick time and family leave, comprehensive insurance (medical, dental, vision, etc.) and retirement plans, flexible spending account, tuition remission, life and long-term disability insurance, and more.
• Learn more about employment benefits at the University of Lynchburg.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees