Director, Content Marketing & Strategy

Chapman University; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Chapman University is seeking a Director, Content Marketing & Strategy to lead the university’s content ecosystem and SEO strategy across chapman.edu. This role requires collaborating with web, brand, enrollment marketing, and agency partners to align content with enrollment priorities.

The position is fully on campus in Orange, CA, with expectations to be in the office 5 days a week, driving strategy, governance, and editorial excellence across all storytelling initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, design, or related field.
• 5–7+ years of progressive SEO/content strategy experience, with 2+ years in people management.
• Experience managing enterprise websites and organic search programs.
• Strong command of SEO tools and CMS platforms.
• Excellent editorial judgement and writing ability.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Proven project management and stakeholder management experience.
• Ability to document technical processes for others.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a university-wide content strategy balancing brand storytelling with SEO.
• Lead editorial vision and information architecture for Chapman’s storytelling platform.
• Own content management, sourcing, publishing cadence, tagging, and platform performance.
• Oversee content calendar balancing evergreen content with news updates.
• Set editorial standards and governance across web content.
• Write and edit compelling articles to strengthen Chapman’s brand.
• Ensure content reflects brand voice and accessibility.
• Coordinate with web, brand, enrollment marketing, and agencies.

Skills

SEO strategy

Content strategy

People management

Editorial judgment

Communication skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Google Search Console

SEMrush

Ahrefs

Moz

Screaming Frog

GA4

Job description

Position Information

• Position Title: Director, Content Marketing & Strategy
• Position Type: Regular
• Job Number: SA93024
• Full or Part Time: full-time 40 hours weekly
• Fair Labor Standard Act Classification: Exempt
• Anticipated Pay Range: $140,000-$160,000
• Pay Range Information: Chapman University is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this position. This range takes into account a variety of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. Salary offers are determined based on the final candidate’s qualifications and experience, as well as internal equity and other internal factors. The anticipated pay range is not a promise of a particular wage.

Position Summary Information

At Chapman University, we believe collaboration thrives through in-person engagement. This position is fully on campus, and employees work alongside colleagues, faculty, students, and staff each day to support our vibrant university community.

The Director, Content Marketing & Strategy, leads Chapman University’s organic search and content ecosystem, ensuring the university’s digital presence is discoverable, authoritative, and aligned with brand and enrollment priorities. This role sets the strategic direction for SEO and AI visibility performance and editorial content across chapman.edu. The Director partners closely with web, brand, strategic & editorial comms, enrollment marketing, and agency stakeholders to ensure content strategy is embedded into broader marketing, communications, and engagement initiatives, including publications.

This position is in person in Orange, CA and the candidate will be expected to be in the office 5 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Content Strategy & Leadership
  • Develop and maintain a university-wide content strategy that balances brand storytelling with SEO performance, ensuring content serves search and AI visibility.
  • Lead the editorial vision and information architecture of Chapman’s centralized storytelling platform connecting audiences with the people, experiences, and outcomes that make the university distinctive.
  • Own the ongoing content management of the storytelling platform including story sourcing, publishing cadence, tagging/taxonomy for discoverability, and platform performance against reach and engagement goals.
  • Oversee a content calendar and workflow that balances always-on organic content needs with news updates and other campaign-driven content.
  • Establish editorial standards, style guidelines, and a content governance model spanning web copy, blog/news content, program pages, landing pages, and Chapman’s storytelling hub.
  • Write and edit compelling articles and feature stories that strengthen Chapman University’s brand and support strategic storytelling initiatives.
  • Ensure all content reflects brand voice, accessibility standards, and institutional accuracy.
• SEO Strategy & Organic Growth
  • Own SEO strategy, including technical SEO, on-page optimization, keyword architecture, and organic search performance across chapman.edu properties.
  • Conduct ongoing technical audits (crawlability, site speed, structured data, mobile performance, etc.) in partnership with web, IS&T, and vendors.
  • Conduct content gap analysis and competitive research to identify underserved topics, ranking opportunities, and areas where competitor institutions are outperforming Chapman in search and AI visibility.
  • Build and maintain keyword and topic-cluster strategies aligned to institutional priorities and enrollment funnels, structuring content to establish topical authority across priority program and subject areas.
  • Monitor rankings, organic traffic, and conversion performance; report on KPIs and translate findings into actionable roadmaps.
  • Stay ahead of search algorithm changes (including AI-driven search/LLM discovery shifts) and adjust strategy and university education around these shifts proactively.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Governance
  • Serve as SMC’s subject-matter authority on SEO and content, ensuring organic strategy is represented in enrollment marketing initiatives rather than treated as an afterthought.
  • Partner with the web, brand, and digital strategy teams to ensure site architecture, campaign landing pages, and paid/organic efforts are integrated rather than siloed.
  • Advise academic units on content and SEO best practices for admissions and program pages.
  • Represent SEO/content considerations in brand governance conversations, protecting consistency and search equity during redesigns, rebrands, or campaign launches.
• Team Leadership & People Management
  • Manage, coach, and develop setting clear goals, workflows, and growth opportunities.
  • Establish processes for content production, SEO execution, and quality assurance.
  • Model SMC’s standards for cross-functional collaboration, mentoring the marketing coordinator on stakeholder management and prioritization.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (marketing, communications, design, or equivalent experience).
• 5–7+ years of progressive experience in SEO and/or content strategy, ideally with 2+ years in a people-management role.
• Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-scale websites and organic search programs (higher ed, complex multi-brand, or similarly matrixed organizations preferred).
• Strong command of SEO tools (e.g., Google Search Console, SEMrush/Ahrefs, Moz, Screaming Frog, GA4) and CMS platforms.
• Excellent editorial judgment and writing/editing ability, with experience setting style and governance standards.
• Strong interpersonal skills to work with a diverse group of individuals at all university levels.
• Demonstrated project management experience — managing timelines, stakeholders, and competing priorities.
• Strong ability to document technical processes and development notes for others to easily get up to speed.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional and agency partners without direct authority.
• Excellent communication skills; comfortable working with both technical (dev/IT) and non-technical (department) stakeholders.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with CRM/marketing automation integration (e.g., Slate, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, FormStack etc.).
• Experience in Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Data Studio and UTM tracking.
• Experience in web accessibility standards/guidelines.
• Experience in higher education marketing.
• Entrepreneurial, self-starter with tact and diplomacy skills.
• Experience in an editorial environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Chapman University is an equal opportunity employer that provides equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of their protected characteristics. All qualified applicants and employees are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Eligibility

Applicants for Staff and Administrator positions must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Employment Conditions

The offer of employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion and outcomes of a criminal background screening and returning to the Office of Human Resources a signed original acceptance of the Chapman University Agreement to Arbitrate.

References

Minimum Number of References: 3

Maximum Number of References: 5

Locations

Main Campus: One University Drive, Orange, CA 92866

Rinker Health Science Campus: 9401 Jeronimo Road, Irvine, CA 92618