Head of Marketing

Kennedy University of Leadership; Los Angeles (CA); Remote; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Kennedy University is seeking an experienced marketing leader to own the end-to-end marketing strategy and execution for online, degree-granting programs. You will shift emphasis from paid ads to channel partnerships, self-serve enrollment, and automated outreach, aligning with a broader brand strategy.

You’ll bring structure with briefs, timelines and reporting, and work with sales, curriculum and partners to drive enrollments and measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in marketing with 3+ years leading a function or major program.
• Experience in higher education, edtech or another considered-purchase B2C market.
• Strong copywriting. You can write a clear email or landing page yourself.
• Proven project management. You run a calendar of moving parts and hit deadlines.
• Comfort with data. You set targets, read the numbers and change course.
• A record of improving lead quality or cost per acquisition, with numbers you can show us.
• A strong marketer first, who is highly capable with AI and automation across research, content, HubSpot, analytics and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Own the marketing strategy and execution from idea to measurable results.
• Lead and coordinate channel partnerships, partnerships with associations and referral partners.
• Develop annual marketing plans with budgets, targets and quarterly priorities.
• Oversee webinars, events, content and brand reputation.
• Manage a team and external agencies with clear briefs and timelines.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Higher-ed marketing

Copywriting

Project management

Data-driven

Lead quality improvement

AI automation

Tools

HubSpot Marketing Hub

Asana

Canva

Apollo

Outreach tools

Job description

Kennedy University, a US degree granting university, partners with innovative organizations and global leaders to deliver industry-relevant business education online. Our students are ambitious working professionals. They learn through real projects with real organizations, not case studies.

About the role

About us

Kennedy University, a US degree granting university, partners with innovative organizations and global leaders to deliver industry-relevant business education online. Our students are ambitious working professionals. They learn through real projects with real organizations, not case studies.

This role exists so one person owns marketing from idea to measurable result. Today our Founder sets most marketing direction, and execution is spread across specialists and agencies. We want someone who can take a business objective, choose the right approach, and run or direct the work through to measured results. This isn't a coordination role.

The higher education model of running paid ads and waiting for leads is losing ground. We're shifting toward channel partnerships, self-serve digital enrollment, personalized automated outreach and a stronger reputation. You'll lead that shift.

You’ll also bring structure. Clear briefs, approvals, timelines and reporting matter as much here as creative ideas.

What you'll own

Strategy and results

• Build and run an annual marketing plan with quarterly priorities, budget and targets
• Define audience profiles from our actual student base and sharpen paid and organic targeting
• Fix lead quality at the source, so prospects understand who we are, who each program is for and that it's fully online before they enquire
• Work with sales on what we're promoting, test two or three approaches in parallel and act on the results
• Develop channel marketing with industry associations, career colleges and referral partners, alongside sales
• Deliver a monthly performance report covering leads, qualified opportunities, applications, enrollments, cost per acquisition, conversion and campaign ROI

Go-to-market for every intake

• Own the go-to-market strategy and 120-day launch plan for every intake, with clear enrollment targets, audiences, channels, campaigns and conversion activity
• Work with the curriculum team to understand each program and what sets it apart, using a marketing questionnaire so detail arrives early
• Work with sales to understand what prospective students need, and turn that into campaigns that drive enrollments
• Own each launch from start to finish, and flag risks early when materials or information aren't ready

Creative, testing and quality

• Make sure every ad answers three questions in its first three seconds: Is this for me? Why should I care? What do I do next?
• Use real students, graduates and faculty in creative, not stock photography
• Run structured A/B tests on headlines, visuals, offers and email sequences, judged on conversions, not clicks
• Check every asset before launch: links, brochures, branding and pricing details. Nothing goes out broken

Webinars and events

• Own the webinar and event marketing strategy and calendar, including university information sessions, thought leadership, career strategy and partner webinars
• Make sure registration, promotion, delivery and post-event nurture run well
• Measure attendance, engagement and conversion, and hand qualified opportunities to sales

Content, brand and reputation

• Turn our faculty, students, graduations and corporate clients into a steady flow of content
• Build testimonial and case study programs, including with major corporate clients, keeping each brand's testimonials within that brand
• Grow Trustpilot and Google reviews, and monitor and respond on social media and review sites
• Identify and submit for awards and rankings
• Connect relevant news and trends to our programs
• Write or edit core copy for emails, landing pages and campaigns
• Keep each brand distinct and consistent, and make sure every claim is accurate and can be backed up

Operations and team

• Own the marketing priority list: rank requests, manage dependencies and deadlines, and make sure projects get finished
• Set up a clear marketing workflow: intake, briefs, feedback rounds, approvals and a change log
• Keep the asset library current so only approved brochures, decks and templates are in use
• Lead and brief our designer and paid social specialist, and manage agencies and freelancers to written briefs and agreed results
• Track all marketing work in Asana so everyone knows what's happening and when

How success is measured

Qualified lead rate

Share of leads who confirm interest on first contact rises from baseline

Cost per enrollment

Intake growth

Channel partnerships

New referral and association partners live and producing leads

Every live campaign has an active test

Quality

What you'll bring

• 7+ years in marketing, including 3+ years leading a function, team or major program
• Experience in higher education, edtech or another considered-purchase B2C market
• Strong copywriting. You can write a clear email or landing page yourself
• Proven project management. You run a calendar of moving parts and hit deadlines
• Comfort with data. You set targets, read the numbers and change course
• A record of improving lead quality or cost per acquisition, with numbers you can show us
• A strong marketer first, who is highly capable with AI and automation across research, content, HubSpot, analytics and reporting

Nice to have

• Hands-on HubSpot Marketing Hub skills: workflows, lists, emails, forms and reporting
• Partner or channel marketing experience
• Award and ranking submissions
• Experience managing agencies, freelancers and junior creatives with clear briefs
• Experience with Canva, Asana and outreach tools such as Apollo
• Short-form video direction, including AI-assisted video tools

How we work

Our team works remotely across the world, primarily in the US, UK and Australia.