Director of Strategic Marketing and Partner Growth

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.

Job Summary:

Working closely with the Senior Director of Product Marketing and Innovation, the Director of Strategic Marketing & Partner Growth will play a pivotal marketing leadership role for both the UK and EMEA markets and potentially other markets as opportunities emerge.

The position plays a key role in the unit to support business strategy to grow new and existing partners and programs. This growth will be attained by optimizing brand recognition and building product marketing capacity in region.  The role develops and implements marketing solutions designed to achieve university partnership growth targets as well as manage agency performance and outcomes.

Day In a Life:

The essential functions of this role are as follows:

Partnership & Program Growth:

• Accountable for overall partner/program health and performance for assigned partners - inclusive of lead generation and new student enrollment metrics.

• Lead marketing and product strategy and implementation for assigned partners including strategic guidance, risk mitigation and solutioning internally and externally.

• With an innovation mindset, monitor and leverage market research and student insights to lead efforts to identify growth opportunities and product and operational optimizations for assigned partners.

• Lead the development and execution of data-influenced marketing strategies and campaigns for both business development and existing partner optimization.

• Always monitor trends in the professional education and online higher education space to identify new marketing channel and campaign opportunities that drive growth for partners and/or corporate brand. This is inclusive of direct to consumer and B2B channels.

• Develop and implement key performance indicators to measure program impacts and university partner success.

• Responsible for building programmatic marketing budget, lead and start forecasts for business development team

• Design and propose changes to increase program performance and outcomes for partners.

• Leverage knowledge and research on university partners’ target audiences, brand/program positioning and operational processes.

• 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.

Innovation Leadership:

• Support the International and Innovation Department by exhibiting thoughtful leadership and pushing for not just continuous improvements and efficiencies but also come to all efforts with an innovation mindset.

Capacity Building, Operations, Communication and Team Development:

• Manage and coach team members to achieve objectives and goals as well as develop expertise and capabilities.

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

• Develop and maintain strong internal and external relationships for assigned partners and projects as well as internal teams in the UK and US teams.

• Provide regular communication and update opportunities to key members of US and UK teams.   

• 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.

Brand Recognition and Opportunity Awareness:

• Develop corporate brand strategy for EMEA region inclusive of website, marketing, PR and more to optimize the brand to be a key player in the space to attract new business to the company.

• Stay informed of the latest trends in related markets. 

• Identify new and emerging opportunities as well as potential risks.

Agency Optimization:

• Establish and manage annual marketing budgets. 

• On fee-for-service engagements, ensure pod is managing the marketing-related budget throughout the statement of work. Lead efforts to fully deliver on SOW commitments.

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

What You’ll Need for Success:

You must meet the following requirements to be considered for employment:

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.

• At least 7 years of experience in brand management, portfolio management, or product management.

• A minimum 3 years of experience in the higher education sector; ideally in marketing, enrollment or online higher education.

• Experience in managing, coaching and developing team members to achieve impact both internally and externally

• A strong understanding of digital marketing, including paid search, social media, and SEO.

• Excellent analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.

• Proven ability to collaborate, influence, and work effectively across all leadership levels—from the C-Suite to Director-level roles and equivalent positions in higher education institutions.

• Demonstrated success as a people leader, driving results within highly matrixed organizations.

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at every organizational level.

• Must reside in the United Kingdom.

• This remote role requires travel up to 25%.

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

This role is eligible for comprehensive benefits

Personal and Professional Development:

• Continuous Professional and Leadership Development Programs
• Tuition Reimbursement for employees and their dependents