Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Insights

University of Phoenix; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 119,000 - 239,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus award

Annual equity award

Deferred compensation plan

Job summary

University of Phoenix seeks a Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Insights to identify growth opportunities and guide investments. You will partner with executive leaders across Marketing, Academic, Product, Finance, Analytics and Communications to translate market signals into prioritized initiatives and measurable actions.

You will build repeatable research capabilities, set performance standards, oversee budgeting and team development, and deliver executive-ready business cases for growth

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field.
• 10+ years in growth, marketing, research, or analytics with leadership.
• Experience in higher education or regulated categories preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the University’s strategic growth initiatives and prioritize opportunities.
• Analyze consumer behavior, AI trends, and education competition to shape direct demand.
• Set strategy for Fields of Study, programs, and new revenue opportunities.
• Lead Strategic Growth and Research, allocating resources and developing talent.
• Establish research standards and partner with stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

Strategy

Market research

Analytics

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

General Information

Location: US-AZ - Phoenix

Position Type: Full Time

Virtual Eligible: Yes

About the Position

The Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Insights. identifies and advances the University’s next growth opportunities. Working with executive and functional leaders, this role decides where to play, what to prioritize, and what evidence is needed to win. The role leads strategy for direct channels, Fields of Study (FOS), academic programs and segments, new revenue, and single-course growth. It also builds repeatable research and survey capabilities, leads positioning work, and turns insight into choices for acquisition, retention, brand, customer experience, and portfolio. The Senior Director partners closely with the VP, Brand & GTM bringing market depth, analytical rigor, and execution discipline. Across Marketing, Academic, Product, Finance, Analytics, Communications, and University leadership, this leader turns complex questions into clear priorities, business requirements, and measurable action.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the development of the University’s strategic growth initiatives. Size and prioritize opportunities, set growth hypotheses, and set strategic requirements and success criteria, and oversee translation into executable plans. Recommend where to start, stop, scale, or invest.
• Stay ahead of changes in consumer behavior, search, AI, and education competition. Turn marketplace signals into strategies to grow direct demand and reduce reliance on traditional search. Define the role of owner, partner, referral, community, and other direct pathways, and partner with Growth Activation and channel leaders on measurable acquisition plans.
• Set strategy and requirements for Fields of Study (FOS), academic programs and segments, new revenue opportunities, and single-course growth. Combine demand, audience needs, competition, economics, dependencies, and launch needs to guide investment.
• Lead the Strategic Growth and Research function, setting team priorities, allocating resources, developing talent, and integrating strategy, competitive intelligence, and research around the University’s highest-priority growth opportunities.
• Lead the development of a scalable market and audience research capability, establishing research priorities, methodologies, and processes to deliver timely, actionable insights that inform strategic business decisions.
• Establish research and substantiation standards for marketing claims and proof points in partnership with appropriate stakeholders
• Lead University positioning and differentiation strategies, including Skills to Opportunity, leveraging market, audience, and competitive insights to guide brand, portfolio, customer experience, messaging, and growth priorities.
• Lead market, audience, category, and competitive research for acquisition, retention, brand, customer experience, and portfolio decisions. Turn changing behavior and competitive dynamics into a focused agenda and concise recommendations.
• Partner with PR, SEO, Content, Social, and other channel leaders on AI Discovery and EDU Authority. Set topic priorities, proof requirements, research input, and measures that improve visibility and credibility.
• Develop executive-ready business cases for priority growth opportunities, covering the audience, value proposition, requirements, economics, risks, dependencies, tests, and success measures.
• Establish performance measures, scorecards, review cadence, and decision criteria Set measurement, operating cadence, scorecards, decision criteria, and governance for the growth and research portfolio. Lead the team and external partners from insight to decision to measurable execution.
• Select, mentor, coach, and evaluate staff; establish and monitor employee performance objectives; conduct performance discussions and regular check-ins; and provide coaching, development, and corrective action, as appropriate.
• Perform other duties as required or apparent.

NOTE: The Primary Accountabilities above are intended to describe the general content and requirements of the position and are not intended to be an exhaustive statement of duties. Incumbents may perform all or most of the Primary Accountabilities listed above. Specific goals or responsibilities will be documented in incumbents’ performance objectives as outlined by the incumbents’ immediate manager.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Leads direct reports and may oversee external research, strategy, or partnership resources

Minimum Education and Related Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, Strategy, Market Research, Analytics, Communications, or related field
• Ten (10) years of progressive experience in growth, commercial, marketing, research, insights, or a related field including at least five (5) years of leadership experience, including teams and complex cross-functional work.

Additional Qualifications

• Experience in higher education or another competitive, regulated category preferred
• Demonstrated knowledge of market trends, consumer behavior, search, and emerging AI applications
• Can turn market and audience insight into commercial strategy, positioning, business requirements, and clear recommendations for senior leaders.
• Can identify, size, prioritize, and build new growth opportunities, markets, channels, segments, partnerships, or revenue models.
• Strong understanding of consumer behavior and acquisition strategy and quantitative and qualitative research skills; can quantify complex dynamics, run surveys and tests, size markets, assess competition, and synthesize evidence.
• Ability to independently manage priorities, evaluate ambiguous business challenges, and advance initiatives in a changing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships, influence stakeholders, and lead cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
• Clear and direct, with sound judgment: quantitatively minded, makes complex analysis simple and balances speed and innovation with legal, privacy, regulatory, compliance, and reputational requirements.

Pay Range

The annual pay range for this position is $118,600 (minimum), $178,900 (midpoint), and $239,200 (maximum).*

*Typical hiring range is between the minimum and midpoint of the above pay range. Actual starting base pay may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, location and budget. Compensation above the midpoint is generally associated with experienced, long-tenured employees who have demonstrated sustained performance and expertise in the role.

• Annual Bonus Award
• Annual Equity Award
• Participation in the Deferred Compensation Plan

Your work is critical to helping adult learners achieve their dreams, and we’re committed to rewarding you for your efforts. We offer a competitive, comprehensive total rewards package designed to help you achieve your health, financial, educational and work-life balance goals.

Full-time employees are eligible for:

• Medical, dental and vision plans; Flexible Spending Accounts; Health Savings Accounts; Life and Disability insurance; and our Wellness incentive program;
• Competitive 401(k) employer match;
• Substantial tuition discount for you and eligible dependents; and,
• A generous time off package, including paid vacation, sick time and company holidays.*

University of Phoenix is an equal opportunity employer.