Director, Digital Marketing

Northwestern University; Evanston (IL); On-site; USD 102,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern University, Kellogg Digital, seeks a Director of Digital Marketing to evolve and optimize Kellogg's digital marketing ecosystem. You will lead paid and social channels, drive enrollment, and strengthen brand in a dynamic AI-influenced landscape.

You will translate IMC initiatives into future-ready programs, manage budgets, and provide strategic guidance to senior leadership, with a focus on performance and innovation across platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, communications, or a related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in digital marketing, with team leadership, channel strategy, and performance-driven execution.
• Expertise in digital advertising, social media strategy, content marketing, and analytics.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive collaboration across departments.
• Experience managing budgets and optimizing digital marketing spend for maximum ROI.
• Strong ability to communicate complex digital strategies to senior leadership in a clear and impactful manner.

Responsibilities

• Lead the evolution of Kellogg's paid and social digital marketing strategy in response to platform shifts, AI mediated discovery, and changing audience behaviors.
• Design and steward Kellogg's paid and social digital ecosystem, aligning channel mix, funnel architecture, creative strategy, and investment pacing to address performance needs and changing market conditions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership and business leads, translating emerging digital risks and opportunities into clear recommendations, tradeoffs, and forward looking roadmaps.
• Oversee performance and optimization across search, social, programmatic, and emerging channels, adjusting investment, targeting and channel mix based on performance and audience behavior.
• Lead organic and paid social media strategy across the portfolio, ensuring alignment with brand positioning while adapting to platform specific shifts.
• Partner with internal teams to support content and SEO strategy, ensuring discoverability and relevance across both traditional search and AI driven discovery environments.
• Provide digital marketing direction to cross-functional teams developing high-impact content and creative assets.
• Guide the evolution of Kellogg's digital measurement and reporting ecosystem, ensuring analytics, attribution, and experimentation frameworks keep pace with automation and AI driven optimization.
• Partner with IT, data, and CRM teams to enhance reporting, insight generation, and performance visibility for digital marketing efforts.
• Partner with IMC Seniors Director to align priorities with institutional objectives; provide leadership, coaching, and direction to staff and vendors.

Skills

Digital marketing leadership

Channel strategy

Performance optimization

Cross-functional leadership

Budget management

Senior stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing/business/communications

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Department: Kellogg Digital

Salary/Grade: EXS/10

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Sr. Director, Digital Strategy, the Director, Digital Marketing is responsible for the continuous evolution of Kellogg's digital marketing ecosystem, ensuring the school remains at the forefront of innovation in an increasingly complex, AI influenced, and rapidly changing digital landscape. This role is responsible for designing, adapting, and optimizing Kellogg's digital marketing to drive enrollment, strengthen brand reputation, and sustain performance amid shifting platforms, privacy constraints, and evolving prospective student behaviors.

The Director oversees the execution of digital advertising and social media channels; ensures measurement platforms accurately inform reporting; evolves and optimizes paid and social channels for peak performance; and shapes digital analytics and measurement frameworks. Acting as a subject matter expert and thought partner, this role translates IMC, ARD, and academic initiatives into actionable, future ready programs for Kellogg.

*Note: Not all aspects of the job are covered by this job description.

Please Note: A well-qualified candidate within this department or unit has been identified and will be considered for the position alongside other qualified candidates identified through a competitive recruitment process. The University reserves its right to give priority consideration to internal qualified candidates.

Specific Responsibilities:

Channel Strategy & Digital Innovation

• Lead the evolution of Kellogg's paid and social digital marketing strategy in response to platform shifts, AI mediated discovery, and changing audience behaviors.
• Design and steward Kellogg's paid and social digital ecosystem, aligning channel mix, funnel architecture, creative strategy, and investment pacing to address performance needs and changing market conditions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership and business leads, translating emerging digital risks and opportunities into clear recommendations, tradeoffs, and forward looking roadmaps.

Channel Optimization

• Oversee performance and optimization across search, social, programmatic, and emerging channels, adjusting investment, targeting and channel mix based on performance and audience behavior.
• Lead organic and paid social media strategy across the portfolio, ensuring alignment with brand positioning while adapting to platform specific shifts and content consumption trends.
• Partner with internal teams to support content and SEO strategy, ensuring discoverability and relevance across both traditional search and AI driven discovery environments.
• Provide digital marketing direction to cross-functional teams developing high-impact content and creative assets.

Marketing Technology & Digital Analytics

• Guide the evolution of Kellogg's digital measurement and reporting ecosystem, ensuring analytics, attribution, and experimentation frameworks keep pace with automation and AI driven optimization.
• Partner with IT, data, and CRM teams to enhance reporting, insight generation, and performance visibility for digital marketing efforts.

Leadership

• Partner with the IMC Senior Director of Digital Strategy and other stakeholders to align digital marketing priorities with broader institutional objectives
• Provide leadership, coaching, performance management, and development for direct report(s).
• Provide direction and functional oversight to contract and auxiliary staff supporting digital marketing initiatives. Oversee agency and vendor partnerships with a focus on goal alignment, innovation, and performance accountability

Miscellaneous

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Education, Experience, Certifications, Skills)

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, communications, or a related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in digital marketing, with a strong track record of team leadership, channel strategy, and performance-driven execution.
• Expertise in digital advertising, social media strategy, content marketing, and analytics.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive collaboration across departments.
• Experience managing budgets and optimizing digital marketing spend for maximum ROI.
• Strong ability to communicate complex digital strategies to senior leadership in a clear and impactful manner.

Preferred Qualifications (Education, Experience, Certifications, Skills)

• Master's degree in marketing, business, or a related field.
• Experience within the higher education sector or a similar complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Demonstrated ability to create compelling and effective marketing communications content that engages target audiences.
• Demonstrated experience managing marketing communications projects in a timely, efficient, and effective manner.
• Strong leadership skills with a focus on coaching, mentorship, and team development.

Target hiring range for this position will be $102,000 - $115,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:

• At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave; tuition benefits for the employee and dependents; pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care; generous retirement savings options; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:

• Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:

• Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.