Director, Product Marketing

Risepoint assists primarily regional universities in increasing their access and impact by making their academic programs available to students online. Founded in 2007, Risepoint's mission is to expand access to high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant education, especially for working and adult students. Risepoint brings single-minded dedication to student success, an integrated set of services, and data-driven performance to our collaboration with university partners.

The Director, Product Marketing serves as the marketing leader for a group of assigned university partners, driving business performance through data-driven insights, strategic marketing execution, and cross-functional collaboration. This role is accountable for ensuring the team develops and executes integrated marketing strategies and campaigns to achieve student enrollment and portfolio growth goals.

This is a people leader role that reports directly to a Vice President, Product Marketing and collaborates closely with channel leaders, Managing Directors / VPs of Partner Management, Partner Support and the Student Success Center.

The ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills, a deep understanding of marketing strategy and execution, and the ability to translate performance insights into clear narratives and action plans. Experience in program/portfolio marketing and student recruitment in a higher education setting is also highly valued.

Main Responsibilities

Business Performance

* Accountable for the delivery of new and ending enrollments and overall partner/program health and performance for assigned partners.

* Provide performance oversight for partners and programs, ensuring direct reports are actively monitoring and analyzing lead volume, quality and conversions. As necessary, assisting with analyses; proactively informing manager, channel leaders and cross-functional leaders of key findings; and strategizing on action items and solutions.

* Leverage market research and student insights to identify growth opportunities and product and operational optimizations for assigned partners.

* Build and deliver effective presentations to communicate marketing strategies, product and program expansion pitches, performance issues, competition and program improvement opportunities and more to key stakeholders including executive team, partner institutions, and internal partners.

Program and Partner Management

* Lead account management for assigned partners including strategic guidance, risk mitigation and solutioning internally and externally.

* Collaborate cross-functionally to develop and shape strategic account plans and partner reviews.

* Understand university partners' target audiences, brand/program positioning and operational processes. Influence changes to those that impede optimal program performance.

* Oversee new partner/program launches, including productive discovery and kick-off meetings, to ensure near flawless execution and on-time in-market delivery.

* Develop new program forecasts.

* Develop and maintain strong internal and external relationships for assigned partners and projects.

Marketing Strategy and Campaign Development

* Guide the development of creative briefs and marketing assets ensuring that creative and messaging highlights unique value proposition, benefits, and aligns with the partners' brands.

* Lead the development and execution of data-influenced marketing strategies and campaigns.

Team Leadership

* Coach and develop team members to strengthen bench, develop expertise, and achieve goals.

* Manages and monitors team activities to meet deadlines and objectives.

* Leads working weekly performance marketing meetings and participates in partner meetings, as needed.

* Support the Marketing Department by exhibiting thought leadership and pushing for continuous improvements, efficiencies and innovations in strategies, processes, etc.

* Lead planning and execution of assigned special projects.

Budget and Vendor Management

* Steer the development of annual marketing budgets in partnership with channel marketing and analytics teams.

* Manage agency and vendor relationships and negotiate contracts, as needed.

Job Requirements

* Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required; Master's degree (MBA) strongly preferred

* 7-10 years of experience in brand management, portfolio management or product management experience.

* Agency marketing account management experience highly desirable.

* Higher education marketing or enrollment experience highly desirable. Online higher education subject matter expertise preferred.

* Leader-level marketing communications and marketing planning skills

* Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving capabilities (advanced level business acumen)

* Experienced people-leader and proven success in driving results in highly matrixed organizations.

* Excellent communication and presentation skills across all levels of an organization

* Solid understanding of digital marketing (paid search, social media, SEO)

* Demonstrated ability to develop strong internal and external relationships with a focus on strategic influence and consultation.

* Big picture thinking with the ability to identify commercial opportunity within markets, competition and target audience in the execution of strategic marketing initiatives.

* Ability to thrive in a highly ambiguous, fast-paced environment with changing priorities

* Excellent MS Office with special emphasis on Excel and PowerPoint skills; Tableau skills a plus

Other

Internal Notes:

* Senior level role with 1-5 direct reports

* Some travel may be required

Risepoint is an equal opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce.