Head of Media and Communications

National University; California; Remote; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

National University is seeking a Manager, Emerging Media to lead paid media initiatives across PPL partnerships, emerging media, and audience testing to support enrollment goals.

You will manage, optimize, and test campaigns with external partners, develop growth opportunities, and translate performance insights into strategic recommendations for the Demand Capture media mix.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in paid media, digital marketing, or Demand Capture.
• Experience managing external media or lead-generation partners.
• Experience optimizing campaigns for lead generation and conversion.
• Experience testing new media opportunities and audiences.
• Knowledge of paid search, paid social, display, video, and programmatic channels.
• Strong collaboration and cross-functional work.

Responsibilities

• Manage assigned PPL partners and campaigns from planning to optimization.
• Improve lead quality, conversion, and campaign efficiency with partners.
• Evaluate new concepts, placements, products, and growth opportunities.
• Identify and test emerging channels and partnerships.
• Develop structured tests and pilots for new media opportunities.
• Monitor audience performance and apply learnings to improve results.
• Communicate performance insights to marketing leadership.
• Collaborate with creative, web, and analytics teams to support campaigns.
• Provide guidance and coaching as the team grows.

Skills

Paid media strategy

Campaign optimization

Partner management

Audience testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Project management

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Advertising, Communications, Marketing, Management, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

The Manager, Emerging Media leads paid media initiatives across PPL partnerships, emerging media, and audience testing to support National University's enrollment goals. This role manages and optimizes PPL campaigns while identifying and testing new media partners, channels, and audience opportunities that expand National University's ability to reach and engage prospective students.

Working cross-functionally with internal teams and external partners, the Manager, Emerging Media is responsible for campaign execution, partner performance, and ongoing optimization while bringing forward new opportunities that can expand and strengthen the Demand Capture media mix.

PPL & Emerging Media

• Manage assigned PPL partners and campaigns, including planning, execution, performance monitoring, optimization, and ongoing partner communication.
• Work with PPL partners to improve lead quality, conversion, efficiency, and overall campaign performance.
• Partner with PPL and other media partners to evaluate new campaign concepts, placements, products, and growth opportunities.
• Identify and test emerging channels, platforms, and partnerships that complement established Demand Capture efforts.
• Develop structured tests and pilots to evaluate new media opportunities and determine their potential for optimization and scale.
• Stay informed about evolving media platforms, technologies, partner capabilities, and industry trends to identify new opportunities.
• Identify and test new audience segments, targeting approaches, data sources, and media capabilities to expand prospective student reach.
• Partner with media platforms and external partners to identify new and incremental audience opportunities.
• Analyze audience performance and apply learnings to improve lead quality, conversion, and media efficiency.
• Recommend future audience tests and investments based on performance insights and evolving media capabilities.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with assigned media partners, establishing clear expectations around campaign objectives, deliverables, lead quality, and performance.
• Manage campaigns from planning through execution, including asset coordination, tracking, timelines, stakeholder communication, and optimization.
• Collaborate with creative, web, analytics, and other team members to support effective campaign execution.
• Proactively work with partners to surface new ideas, capabilities, and opportunities while holding partners accountable for performance.

Performance & Growth

• Monitor PPL and emerging media performance, including lead volume, lead quality, conversion, efficiency, and other key performance indicators.
• Translate campaign and audience performance into actionable recommendations for marketing leadership.
• Use performance insights to recommend where investment should be optimized, scaled, shifted, or discontinued.
• Share learnings from PPL, emerging media, and audience tests to inform broader Demand Capture strategy.
• This position may have supervisory responsibilities as the team evolves and may be responsible for providing guidance, coaching, and performance management to direct reports.

Bachelor's degree in advertising, Communications, Marketing, Management, or a related field.

• 5+ years of experience in paid media, digital marketing, performance marketing, Demand Capture, or a related area.
• Experience managing external media or lead-generation partners, including performance-based or PPL campaigns.
• Experience managing and optimizing paid media campaigns against lead generation and conversion goals.
• Experience testing new media opportunities, audiences, targeting approaches, or emerging digital channels.
• Working knowledge of paid search, paid social, display, video, programmatic, and other digital media channels; Experience with audience segmentation, targeting, testing, and campaign measurement.
• Experience leading projects and working cross-functionally.
• Strong understanding of paid media and Demand Capture principles, including lead generation, audience targeting, campaign measurement, and multi-channel media strategy.
• Strong understanding of performance-based and PPL media models, including lead quality, conversion, optimization, and partner performance.
• Ability to analyze performance and translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Strong partner and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.
• Ability to balance ongoing campaign performance with innovation and experimentation.
• Strong collaboration, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite with the ability to learn and adapt to new systems and technologies.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.

Location: Remote, USA

Travel: LI-Remote

Base pay is one component of National University's total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the "whole you" with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 4,500 faculty and staff and serves over 45,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University.