We will only consider candidates that are physically located in the following States (no exceptions)

CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI

We do not sponsor work visas/OPTs/CPTs/Perm. Res. etc.

WHO WE ARE (Why you will LOVE us)

Academic Programs International (API) encourages students of all ages to embark on a lifelong experiential educational journey that enriches lives, communities and organizations and helps every student, college and company to achieve their goals.

Through the creation of APIConnect, an experiential education technology platform, the company helps colleges, universities and students create and discover learning experiences customized to meet their needs. APIConnect offers a vast library of destinations, accredited courses, internships, and original programming geared toward maximizing students’ college experiences so they are better prepared for the workforce upon graduation.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, US, API sends thousands of students on hundreds of programs both virtually and in more than 60 cities in nearly 25 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East.

If you are someone who thinks differently, is passionate about serving students, and wants to be a part of a fun and hard-working culture, then this is the company for you.

What you will be doing

As the Senior Manager, Direct Marketing, you will work with key stakeholders to attain the financial and strategic objectives of API’s “direct to student” business. You will be responsible for owning demand generation, lead nurture, and acquisition of new students and driving them toward application. In addition, you will be responsible for owning the growth, development, testing, and optimization efforts of an integrated customer journey, owning touch points across direct marketing channels, including email, 3rd party referral sites, social media, and more.

This individual will work with cross-functional teams, including but not limited to: Member Marketing Services, B2B marketing, Alumni Relations, and University Relations teams. You must be data-driven and experienced at building customer journey and demand generation strategies both online and offline, managing the success of marketing programs, driving efficiencies across all direct marketing channels, and building clear reporting for the executive team.

How you will get the job done

Primary responsibilities include:

• Own lead generation, lead nurture, and sales conversion strategy for our direct to student business.
• Develop a strategic digital marketing plan with measurable impact that provides visibility into the 360-degree view of a student’s experience from initial engagement to consideration and decision-making, to application.
• Lead integrated strategy for direct-to-student marketing campaigns from top of the funnel to application, creating scalable, data-driven, multi-channel programs. 
• Message appropriately to students based on in-depth segmentation strategy that includes:
  • Their age and stage in life. 
  • Their stated preferences for location and areas of study
  • The timing of their session
• Collaborate within the marketing team to deliver content that increases brand awareness, improves the customer journey, drives high valued engagements and ultimately revenue.
• Constantly measure and communicate performance against expectations; make data-driven decisions to heighten campaign success; suggest and implement additional strategies to assist sales in creating more opportunities.
• P&L responsibility with proven success in managing the financial performance of the department.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze financial reports, revenue, and other expenses to find ways for increasing profits and reducing costs. Interpret financial data to assist with operating the department with efficiency. 
• Optimize campaign performance through analytics, testing and experimentation.
• Build and design easy-to-understand reports that communicate key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Responsible for enhancing user experience on the API website and reporting on campaign impacts and referrals on a daily basis.
• Stay abreast of new technologies and advise marketing leadership on the latest trends, best practices and standards. Proactively scope and present new ideas to improve our customer journey for prospects, leads and customers.
• Research, analyze, benchmark, test and manage new marketing channel opportunities, such as paid search, display advertising, and others, as the budget allows.
• Develop, test, and optimize integrated marketing campaigns and meet or exceed all acquisition, financial and student engagement goals.
• Manage 3rd party partners and agencies, including contract negotiation and management.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

What experience you should have

• Experienced in the development and implementation of integrated digital marketing strategies.
• Experience with upper and lower funnel campaigns to generate brand awareness/consideration and/or generate demand and leads. 
• Experience with paid advertising on social media platforms, display advertising, and retargeting preferred.
• Strong understanding of integrated and automated marketing and reporting tools.
• Attention to detail and effective communication are essential, as you balance creativity and analytical thinking.
• A strong technical background is highly valued. Your ultimate goal is to guarantee the seamless functionality and efficiency of the web infrastructure.
• Strong relationship management skills and ability to think strategically and creatively.
• Keen understanding and deep experience in use of digital promotion in owned channels to generate awareness and demand.
• Ability to organize, facilitate, communicate, and present information effectively.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and communication skills.
• Ability to work within specific timeframes to meet deadlines

KEY EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in business management, Marketing, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in B2C digital marketing, demand generation, and/or email marketing.
• P&L Experience required.
• 2+ years of successfully managing full-time, wage-earning staff preferred.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Customer Focus | Problem-Solving | Communication | Team Approach