Marketing Strategist, Graduate Enrollment

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business is adding a Marketing Strategist (Graduate Enrollment) to support enrollment growth for select Professional Graduate Programs (PGP). In this hybrid role based at University Park, you will plan, execute, and measure audience-centered marketing that helps move prospective students from early consideration through application and enrollment.

You will be accountable for program-level performance, partnering closely with program stakeholders to refine positioning, optimize journeys, and ensure college-level spend is delivering measurable ROI across high-impact channels.

What you will do

• Create data-driven marketing plans designed to improve conversion for assigned graduate programs.
• Collaborate with program stakeholders to refine value propositions and craft positioning that differentiates each program from peer institutions competing for the same candidates.
• Evaluate inquiry pools to understand prospective-student needs, interests, and readiness; use findings to build audience personas that guide messaging and channel strategy.
• Recommend budget allocations across assigned programs and channels, coordinating with enrollment marketing leadership to prioritize resources where enrollment impact is strongest.
• Define and direct nurture and yield campaign strategy and architecture, managing execution across email, paid digital, and retargeting channels.
• Develop journey logic and messaging frameworks for automated lifecycle journeys segmented by program, audience, and funnel stage, commissioning content production through internal teams or external vendors.
• Set requirements for landing pages, video, ads, and other multimedia that meet University brand standards while emphasizing each program’s competitive advantages, including briefing and evaluating content teams or vendors as needed.
• Partner with PGP program managers on recruitment events, information sessions, and open houses, providing direction on collateral and digital promotions to support those efforts.
• Establish program-level KPIs and measurement frameworks and own reporting to the Director of Enrollment Marketing, including inquiry-to-application rate, yield rate by program, and cost per enrolled student.
• Analyze data to determine which Smeal interventions (emails, ads, events) contribute most to enrollment, supporting ROI for college-level spend.
• Run A/B tests on Smeal-specific messaging and landing pages to optimize performance while protecting the broader university applicant experience.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, or a related field.
• 3+ years of relevant experience, preferably in enrollment marketing, performance marketing, or within a complex matrixed organization.
• Proven ability to collaborate across centralized and decentralized teams, balancing shared goals with local program needs.
• Proficiency with digital marketing channels and analytics tools.
• Experience working within a large university or decentralized organizational structure.
• Ability to connect university-level brand strategy with college- and program-level marketing.
• Experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and CRM integration.

Technologies

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud
• CRM

Compensation and benefits

• Salary range: USD 65,508 - 94,980 per year (including all possible grades).
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Robust retirement plans
• Substantial paid time off including holidays, vacation and sick time
• Generous 75% tuition discount (available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children)

Work arrangement and role details

• Location: University Park, PA (hybrid).
• Occasional evening or weekend support may be needed for recruitment events.
• Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.
• Successful completion of background checks in accordance with University policies is required, including a credit history check due to the financial and fiduciary responsibilities of this position.
• Penn State does not sponsor or take over sponsorship of a staff employment Visa. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.

Education, experience, and certifications

• Minimum education: Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum experience: 3+ years of relevant experience (or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted)
• Required certifications: None

How to apply

• Current Penn State employee: login to Workday to complete the internal application process (do not apply here).
• Current Penn State student: login to Workday to complete the student application process (do not apply here).
• Not currently employed or a student: click Apply and complete the application process for external applicants.