Director of Lifecycle Marketing

Job description

Accountabilities: Own the end-to-end prospective-student lifecycle strategy across inquiry, application, admission, enrollment, re-inquiry, alumni, and long-term nurture stages. Design, configure, and continuously optimize always-on, triggered, and term-based automated journeys that guide prospects toward the next best action. Drive measurable improvements in inquiry-to-application, application-to-enrollment, and overall inquiry-to-enrollment conversion across different programs, audiences, sources, geographies, and consideration cycles. Develop differentiated nurture and re-engagement strategies for high-intent prospects, stalled applicants, future-term prospects, no-contact leads, and other audience segments. Build and manage a structured experimentation roadmap covering messaging, cadence, channels, offers, creative, calls to action, and enrollment handoffs. Lead segmentation and personalization using behavioral, demographic, program-interest, funnel-stage, engagement, and acquisition-source data. Partner with paid media and analytics teams to activate first-party audiences, suppress converted or ineligible prospects, and create a connected acquisition-to-nurture experience. Establish lifecycle performance standards, dashboards, and operating reviews that connect engagement metrics to applications, enrollments, cost per enrollment, and incremental business value. Own the hands-on marketing automation architecture, including workflows, triggers, decision logic, integrations, data dependencies, governance, documentation, QA, deliverability, and data hygiene. Maintain strong stakeholder relationships across Enrollment, Marketing, Technology, Analytics, and external partners, establishing shared priorities, decision rights, service expectations, and feedback loops. Create and maintain journey maps, lifecycle roadmaps, technical requirements, playbooks, campaign briefs, measurement plans, and operating processes. Partner with Enrollment leadership to align contact strategies, lead prioritization, messaging, service levels, and feedback between marketing and enrollment teams. Ensure lifecycle communications comply with applicable privacy, consent, accessibility, and institutional requirements, including email and SMS standards. Continuously identify opportunities to improve automation, personalization, operational efficiency, and the overall prospective-student experience. Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, analytics, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent professional experience may be considered. 7+ years of progressive experience in lifecycle, CRM, conversion, or related marketing, including at least 3 years of hands-on ownership of complex email and SMS automation programs. Deep expertise in lifecycle automation, including journey configuration, segmentation, triggers, decision logic, branching, personalization, experimentation, QA, troubleshooting, and channel orchestration. Demonstrated success improving conversion across multi-step customer journeys with long or variable consideration cycles; higher education or another lead-to-sales environment is strongly preferred. Advanced knowledge of enterprise CRM and marketing automation platforms, with experience translating strategy into configured workflows and independently diagnosing execution issues. Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Marketo, Click Dimensions, or comparable platforms is preferred. Strong analytical judgment and the ability to evaluate cohorts, funnel progression, incrementality, cost efficiency, conversion, and broader business outcomes rather than relying solely on channel-level metrics. Proven ability to establish lifecycle strategy, visualize end-to-end customer journeys, prioritize roadmaps, and translate strategy into technical requirements, campaign briefs, measurement plans, and operational processes. Strong understanding of email deliverability, consent management, data governance, CAN-SPAM, TCPA, FERPA, and accessibility considerations relevant to prospective-student communications. Excellent stakeholder leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence Marketing, Enrollment, Technology, Analytics, and executive stakeholders without relying on direct authority. Highly organized, self-motivated, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple priorities and tight deadlines with limited supervision. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to move comfortably between strategic planning and hands-on execution. Collaborative mindset with a demonstrated ability to create alignment, establish standards, and drive decisions across cross-functional teams. Passion for improving student experiences and an ability to anticipate customer needs while balancing organizational and commercial objectives. Comfortable working effectively in a remote-first environment and collaborating through digital tools and real-time communication. Able to work from a location with reliable internet connectivity; the role requires a minimum of 50 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speeds. Must be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship. Candidates residing in Alaska, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, South Dakota, or Alabama are not eligible for consideration. Benefits: Starting salary of $130,000, with eligibility for an annual bonus. Medical, dental, and vision insurance. HSA and FSA options. 401(k) plan with employer match. Paid parental leave and paid volunteer time. Generous paid time off. Tuition reimbursement and tuition reduction programs. Full-service wellness and Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Employer-paid life and AD&D insurance. Employer-paid long-term disability coverage and short-term disability benefits. Employee recognition and awards programs. Remote-first work environment with a strong focus on virtual collaboration. Inclusive, supportive workplace culture centered on belonging, diversity, professional development, and employee well-being. Opportunities to contribute to a mission-driven organization focused on accessible, affordable, and high-quality online education. How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best! Why Apply Through Jobgether? Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time. #LI-CL1 This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of Lifecycle Marketing based in United States. This is a senior individual-contributor role responsible for building and owning a sophisticated lifecycle marketing engine that moves prospective students from initial inquiry through enrollment and beyond.You will shape the end-to-end customer journey, combining automation, segmentation, personalization, experimentation, analytics, and multi-channel engagement.The role offers significant ownership, with responsibility for translating growth objectives into scalable lifecycle strategies and measurable conversion improvements.You’ll work closely with Marketing, Enrollment, Technology, Analytics, Product, and external partners to align strategy and execution.The environment is highly collaborative, remote-first, and focused on continuous optimization, with substantial autonomy to define the roadmap and operating model.Your work will directly influence inquiry-to-application and inquiry-to-enrollment performance while creating more relevant experiences for prospective students.This is an opportunity for a hands-on lifecycle leader to build systems, establish best practices, and drive meaningful outcomes in a mission-driven education environment.