Executive Director of Marketing

Catholic University of America; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 160,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Catholic University of America is seeking an Executive Director of Marketing to build and lead a unified demand generation engine across paid media, social media, and owned media. The role partners with Brand/Creative and Communications to define, measure, and grow the University’s presence in AI-generated answers and search environments.

The position requires 8+ years of progressive marketing leadership, especially in higher education or multi-stakeholder settings, with strong budgets and

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience with ownership of paid media, social media, and SEO/content strategy.
• Familiarity with AI/generative search visibility concepts or a strong SEO/content foundation.
• Experience building this function elsewhere is a plus, not a requirement.
• Higher education marketing or complex, multi-stakeholder environments preferred.
• Proven ability to lead teams, manage large budgets, and translate data into strategic recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Direct paid media strategy and execution to increase inquiries, applications, and enrollment with budget ownership.
• Lead organic and paid social strategy across platforms to build audience engagement and brand affinity.
• Own SEO strategy and content marketing to grow organic visibility and traffic.
• Manage sponsorships end-to-end from evaluation to activation and measurement.
• Collaborate with Creative, Web, Enrollment, and Communications to align marketing and recruitment goals.
• Develop strategies to improve AI-generated representations of the University and content quality.
• Monitor AI visibility trends and report share-of-voice to leadership.
• Leverage analytics to optimize paid, social, owned, and AI channels.
• Oversee budgets, platforms, and external partnerships.
• Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing marketing team.
• Coordinate with Creative Services on video strategy and production planning.

Skills

Paid media

Social media

SEO/content strategy

Team leadership

Budget management

AI visibility

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Posting Title: Executive Director of Marketing Overview:

The Executive Director of Marketing builds and leads Catholic University's demand generation engine: paid media, social media, and owned media (SEO and content/blogs), unified under a single performance-driven strategy that drives enrollment and strengthens brand position. As prospective students, families, and researchers increasingly discover and evaluate universities through AI-driven search and generative answer engines rather than traditional search results alone, the University needs a deliberate strategy to ensure Catholic University is accurately represented, consistently cited, and competitively visible in these environments. The Executive Director will lead the marketing side of this build, working jointly with Brand/Creative and Communications to define, measure, and grow the University's presence in AI-generated answers.

The projected salary range for this position, which represents the full range of anticipated compensation, is: $160,000 to $165,000 annually

Responsibilities:

• 1. Paid Media: Direct paid digital and out-of-home advertising strategy and execution in partnership with Enrollment Management to increase inquiries, applications, and enrollment. Own budget allocation, media planning, and vendor relationships across paid channels.
• 2. Social Media Marketing: Direct organic and paid social strategy across platforms (LinkedIn, TikTok, Insta, FB, YouTube) to build audience engagement, community, and brand affinity. Ensure social content and campaigns reinforce cohesive brand messaging.
• 3. Owned Media (SEO & Content): Own SEO strategy and blog/content marketing to grow organic visibility, authority, and qualified traffic, with target search terms strategically mapped to drive traffic to program and school pages.
• 4. Sponsorships: Manage sponsorship relationships and agreements end-to-end, from initial evaluation through activation and performance tracking against enrollment funnel goals.
• 5. Collaboration: Lead collaborative marketing initiatives by working with Creative Services, social media, and Web teams to develop cohesive brand messaging and campaigns that drive engagement and enrollment, while coordinating closely with Enrollment Management to align marketing strategies with recruitment goals.
• 6. AI Visibility: Develop and execute strategies to improve how the University is represented, cited, and recommended in AI-generated answers, including content structuring, structured data/schema, authoritative source-building, and citation-worthy content practices (generative engine optimization/answer engine optimization).
• 7. AI Trends: Monitor the competitive landscape of AI visibility among peer institutions and report share-of-voice trends to leadership.
• 8. Analytics, Reporting: Leverage market research, analytics, and performance metrics across paid, social, owned, and AI visibility channels to inform strategy and optimize results.
• 9. Budgets: Oversee budgets, vendor relationships, technology platforms, and external partnerships.
• 10. Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing marketing team that fosters innovation and accountability. As a member of the leadership team, the senior director participates in talent searches and fills in leadership gaps during transitions as needed.
• 11. Video: Coordinate with Creative Services on video strategy and production planning, ensuring output is high-quality and on brand.

Qualifications:

Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree with:

• -8+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience, with direct ownership of paid media, social media, and SEO/content strategy.
• -Working knowledge of AI/generative search visibility (GEO, AEO, or equivalent emerging discipline), or a strong SEO/content foundation and a demonstrated ability to build new capabilities from scratch.
• -Direct experience building this function elsewhere is a plus, not a requirement.
• -Experience in higher education marketing, enrollment marketing, or another complex, multi-stakeholder consumer marketing environment preferred.
• -Proven ability to build and lead teams, manage significant budgets and vendor relationships, and translate performance data into executive-level strategic recommendations.
• -Strong cross-functional collaborator (Creative, Web, Communications, Enrollment, Advancement), comfortable presenting to senior governance bodies.