Performance Marketing Manager, North America

nexforduniversity; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Nexford University seeks a hands-on Performance Marketing Manager to grow qualified demand and improve enrollment outcomes across North America. You will own paid media strategy, execution, and funnel optimization, collaborating closely with Sales, Admissions, Marketing Operations, and Creative.

The role emphasizes cross-functional ownership, adapting to a changing environment, and taking accountability for driving enrollment results through coordinated campaigns and experiments.

Qualifications

• At least four years of hands-on performance marketing or demand generation experience.
• Proven ability to manage paid campaigns targeting U.S. or North America audiences.
• Strong working knowledge of Google Ads and Meta Ads; LinkedIn Ads a plus.
• Experience improving downstream conversion and acquisition efficiency beyond lead volume.

Responsibilities

• Plan, launch, manage, and optimize campaigns across Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and other channels.
• Own campaign structure, targeting, bidding, budget pacing, and tracking.
• Build monthly media plans aligned with enrollment priorities and seasonality.
• Coordinate with Sales, Admissions, and Creative to improve enrollment outcomes.
• Monitor funnel from lead gen to enrollment and identify drop-off points.

Skills

Performance marketing

Demand generation

Campaign management

Analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Sales alignment

Creative briefing

Communication

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Tools

Google Ads

Meta Ads

LinkedIn Ads

GA4

HubSpot

CRM

Job description

Nexford University is seeking a hands‑on Performance Marketing Manager to join a motivated, highly creative, and innovative marketing team, grow qualified demand, and improve enrollment outcomes across North America.

You will manage paid media day to day while taking ownership of how campaigns connect to the broader enrollment funnel. Success requires strong campaign execution, analytical judgement, and close collaboration with Sales, Admissions, Marketing Operations, and Creative.

Cross-functional ownership is a core expectation of this role. We are looking for someone who follows performance challenges beyond the ad platform, brings the right people together, and drives agreed actions forward. Whether the opportunity involves lead quality, nurture, application completion, creative, or Sales follow‑up, you will be expected to contribute proactively and coordinate improvements across teams.

Adaptability is equally important. Nexford operates in an evolving environment where business priorities, programs, messaging, and enrollment needs can change. You must be comfortable working through ambiguity, reassessing plans as new information becomes available, and communicating tradeoffs clearly. We value someone who raises concerns constructively, proposes solutions, and follows through when priorities shift.

This is an individual contributor position with direct responsibility for execution and project ownership. You will work with internal specialists and external partners, respect their expertise, and remain accountable for moving your initiatives forward. You do not need to execute every function yourself, but you must be willing to work across functions to deliver enrollment results.

What you will own

Paid media strategy and execution

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  Plan, launch, manage, and optimize campaigns across Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and other relevant channels.
• 
  Own campaign structure, targeting, bidding, budget pacing, tracking requirements, and ongoing optimization.
• 
  Build monthly media plans aligned with enrollment priorities, historical performance, seasonality, and the applicant decision cycle.
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  Allocate spend based on qualified demand, downstream conversion, and acquisition efficiency.
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  Maintain a prioritized testing plan for audiences, creative, offers, and landing pages.
  

Funnel performance and demand generation

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  Monitor the journey from lead generation through application starts, completed applications, and enrollment.
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  Identify where prospects drop off and coordinate improvements with the teams responsible.
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  Own NAM campaign and audience requirements for nurture initiatives, including segmentation, messaging, and conversion goals.
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  Partner with Marketing Operations on implementation, testing, and measurement of nurture and automation.
• 
  Evaluate campaign performance beyond lead volume and cost per lead.

Sales and Admissions alignment

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  Maintain regular communication with Sales and Admissions on lead quality, follow‑up, objections, and conversion barriers.
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  Use feedback and funnel data to recommend campaign, messaging, and targeting adjustments.
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  Coordinate campaign launches with team capacity and relevant enrollment dates.
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  Bring clear recommendations and follow through on agreed actions.

Creative and conversion optimization

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  Develop clear creative briefs with audience insights, hooks, messaging, calls to action, and testing hypotheses.
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  Work with Creative to produce and improve campaign assets.
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  Partner with the website and digital teams on landing pages, forms, and conversion experiments.
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  Share performance feedback that helps teams understand what to improve and why.

Reporting, forecasting, and accountability

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  Maintain accurate dashboards and deliver reporting on the agreed cadence.
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  Explain results in the context of spend, seasonality, attribution, campaign maturity, and conversion timing.
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  Contribute to enrollment forecasts and clearly communicate assumptions, risks, and resource needs.
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  Translate reporting into decisions, experiments, and next steps.
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  Keep Asana tasks, documentation, deadlines, and project status current.

Vendor and cross-functional project ownership

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  Manage relevant paid media and demand generation vendors, including briefs, deliverables, timelines, and performance.
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  Own assigned initiatives from planning through completion, coordinating contributions from other teams.
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  Flag blockers early and propose practical solutions.
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  Support enrollment‑focused webinars, partnerships, and events where campaign expertise is needed, with responsibilities and priorities agreed in advance.

AI-enabled efficiency

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  Use appropriate AI tools to support research, analysis, campaign development, and routine workflows.
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  Review outputs for accuracy, brand alignment, and suitability before use.
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  Assess AI applications based on their contribution to efficiency and marketing outcomes.

What you bring

• 
  At least four years of hands‑on performance marketing or demand generation experience.
• 
  Demonstrated experience managing paid campaigns targeting U.S. or Canadian audiences.
• 
  Strong working knowledge of Google Ads and Meta Ads; experience with LinkedIn Ads is a plus.
• 
  Evidence of improving downstream conversion and acquisition efficiency, beyond generating inexpensive leads.
• 
  Experience working with Sales on a considered‑purchase journey or a multi‑stage conversion funnel.
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  Proficiency with HubSpot or a comparable CRM, GA4, campaign attribution, and reporting tools.
• 
  Strong analytical skills and the ability to build realistic plans from historical data.
• 
  Experience briefing creative teams, coordinating vendors, and managing projects across functions.
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  Clear communication, reliable follow‑through, and comfort raising concerns constructively.
• 
  Higher education or adult learner acquisition experience is preferred.

How success will be measured

Targets will be established using historical performance, available budget, sales capacity, and conversion timing. Measures will include:

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  Qualified lead and application generation.
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  Application completion and lead‑to‑enrollment conversion.
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  Cost per qualified lead, completed application, and enrollment.
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  Budget pacing and forecast accuracy.
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  Results from creative, audience, landing page, and nurture experiments.
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  Timely delivery, documentation, and completion of agreed projects.
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  Effective collaboration with Sales, Admissions, and Marketing Operations.

What to expect

You’ll join a motivated, creative, and innovative marketing team that enjoys testing ideas, solving challenges, and finding better ways to reach learners. You’ll have room to bring your perspective, shape campaigns, and see the impact of your work.
At Nexford University, you’ll help expand access to education built around the needs of today’s learners and employers. As an online university serving a global community, Nexford brings together people who believe education can open doors to new opportunities. For a marketer, that means meaningful stories to tell, new ideas to explore, and the chance to connect learners with programs that support their ambitions. You’ll join an international team where creativity, fresh perspectives, and collaboration help shape what comes next.

Collaboration goes beyond Marketing. You’ll work closely with Sales, Admissions, Creative, and Marketing Operations to turn ideas into action and improve the enrollment journey.

As Nexford grows, you’ll help the team explore new opportunities and adapt campaigns to changing learner and business needs. The Head of Marketing provides strategic direction and helps align priorities, while you bring initiative, hands‑on execution, and ownership of your projects.