Market Growth Strategy, Manager

Penn Foster Group; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401K with company match

Paid time off

Volunteer opportunities sponsorship

Free access to online programs

Job summary

Penn Foster Group is seeking a Manager of Market Growth Strategy for High School Partnerships to build and lead a new growth function. You will translate commercial priorities into proactive marketing plans, working with cross-functional teams to accelerate enrollment and revenue in priority HSP states.

The role requires strong analytical rigor, strategic thinking, and the ability to shape the HSP marketing agenda across school counselors, administrators, students, and families.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Education, Higher Education, or related field preferred.
• 7+ years in strategic marketing, product marketing, or market intelligence.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify emerging HSP market opportunities and regional growth trends.
• Monitor trends to inform HSP marketing and growth strategy.
• Develop market assessments and recommendations for priority states and regions.
• Partner with Marketing, Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Sales to coordinate strategies.
• Translate insights into go-to-market opportunities and campaigns.
• Build business cases supported by data and market understanding.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Ambiguity tolerance

Market insights

Business judgment

Creativity and synthesis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Education or related field

Higher Education background

Job description

Posted Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 4:00 AM

Position Summary

The Manager, Market Growth Strategy for High School Partnerships will establish a new function responsible for identifying growth opportunities, developing proactive marketing strategies, and translating commercial priorities into coordinated plans that support HSP growth at scale. This role requires deep understanding of the HSP business, the school-year cycle, priority states and regions, and the needs of school counselors, administrators, students, and families. The ideal candidate blends analytical rigor, commercial mindset, and creative strategy, and is comfortable leading planning conversations, recommending priorities, and shaping the HSP marketing agenda.

Who You Are

You are a builder who enjoys creating structure where none exists. You are energized by data, curious about the K–12 landscape, and motivated by the opportunity to shape how Penn Foster grows in priority HSP states and regions. You bring strong judgment, analytical rigor, and creativity to translate insight into action.

You thrive in roles where you can influence the business at scale. You like working across functions, building strategic partnerships, and helping transform market opportunities into meaningful business outcomes. You are at your best when you can bring order to complexity, create opportunity, and build something that has lasting impact.

Core Responsibilities

• Identify emerging HSP market opportunities, regional growth trends, and strategic partnership opportunities aligned to business objectives.
• Monitor customer, competitor, workforce, school, and industry trends to inform HSP marketing and growth strategy.
• Develop market assessments and recommendations for priority states and regions.

Business Partnership

• Serve as the strategic marketing partner for High School Partnerships.
• Develop a deep understanding of the HSP business, school-year cycle, counselor and school dynamics, and commercial priorities.
• Translate business objectives into marketing recommendations and go-to-market opportunities.
• Lead HSP marketing planning conversations with a clear point of view, agenda, and recommendation.

Strategic Planning

• Develop annual and quarterly HSP marketing strategies aligned to commercial priorities.
• Build state- and region-specific growth plans that support enrollment and revenue growth.
• Prioritize opportunities based on market potential, business impact, and organizational readiness.
• Shape conference and field engagement strategies that support HSP business goals.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner across Marketing, Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, RevOps, Sales, and other internal teams to develop coordinated strategies.
• Facilitate alignment across stakeholders to ensure HSP priorities are reflected in messaging, campaigns, and commercial programs.
• Build relationships with external organizations, school partners, industry associations, and community stakeholders as appropriate.
• Analyze market trends, customer behavior, campaign performance, and commercial data to identify growth opportunities.
• Translate quantitative and qualitative insights into strategic recommendations.
• Build business cases supported by data, customer insight, and market understanding.

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Identification of new HSP market opportunities
• Development of strategic growth initiatives
• Quality of HSP market and business recommendations
• Cross-functional alignment and stakeholder trust
• Adoption of strategies by commercial teams
• Growth in priority states and regions
• Strategic partnership development
• Commercial impact of HSP initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; background in Education, Higher Education, or a related field strongly preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in strategic marketing, product marketing, commercial strategy, market intelligence, business development, or a related function.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable business recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information into clear strategic direction.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity, establish structure, and build new capabilities from the ground up.

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking
• Analytical rigor
• Customer and market insight
• Cross-functional influence
• Business judgment
• Creativity and synthesis
• Comfort with ambiguity

• Role Assessment:Candidates will be required to complete a role-specific assessment as the first step in the hiring process. Assessment results will be used to evaluate alignment with the position and determine next steps in the process.
• Recorded Video Interviews:All video interviews conducted during the hiring process will be recorded to support internal hiring consistency and process improvement.
• Background Checks:Employment with Penn Foster Group is contingent upon successfully completing applicable pre-employment screening requirements, which may include verification of employment history, education, and criminal background, where permitted by law.
• Identity Verification (Form I-9):As part of our onboarding process, all hires must complete employment eligibility verification in compliance with federal law. This includes remote Form I-9 verification, which may require an in-person identity verification step with an authorized representative.
• On-Camera Work Environment:We operate in a highly collaborative, remote, on-camera culture when working remotely. Employees are expected to be on camera during meetings unless extenuating circumstances apply.

About Us:

At Penn Foster Group, we are transforming online learning to help learners by uniting Penn Foster, CareerStep, Ashworth College, James Madison High School, the New York Institute of Photography, the New York Institute of Art and Design, and other education platforms. Together, we create an accelerated path to greater economic mobility through real-world skills and knowledge that enable them to achieve long-term success in the workplaces of the future. Our history dates back to 1890 when our founder, Thomas Foster, pioneered distance education by offering training by mail for coal miners to get the necessary skills for safer jobs. Today, with the partners who use our education and training programs, we continue that mission of providing accessible training and education for in-demand skills and are building a workforce that’s prepared for the future job market.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

We strive toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Penn Foster Group by intentionally building teams that are diverse – in identities, lived experiences, and ideas to create a culture where people feel connected to each other and have a sense of belonging. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion because it is the foundation that enables us to achieve what we set out to do as an organization – from maximizing the number of learners who can reach their goals while giving them the kinds of experiences we want them to have, to becoming the type of company we want to work in.

What We Offer:

We offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, generous paid time off, sponsored volunteer opportunities, a 401K with a company match, plus free access to all of our online programs.