| Department Description: |
The University of San Diego, with its college and six schools, distinctive academic centers and institutes, proximity to Asia and Latin America, and commitment to Catholic traditions, offers students a unique educational experience. A USD education is characterized by academic rigor in its undergraduate and graduate programs offering transformative opportunities through student/faculty research, global experiences, community service learning and internships that develops the knowledge, values and skills needed to serve the global, civic and faith communities.
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| Detailed Description: |
The Senior Director of Strategic Marketing and Student Experience provides visionary leadership for marketing, communication, and user-experience strategies that drive undergraduate enrollment at the University of San Diego.
Reporting to the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and working in close partnership with the Office of University Marketing and Communications, this position serves as the chief architect of USD’s prospective student journey—designing how students discover, engage with, and ultimately choose the university.
Blending creativity, UX design, data insight, and brand strategy, the Senior Director ensures a unified, authentic, and compelling experience across every touchpoint, from digital ads and social media to email flows, web navigation, and application portals. While initially centered on undergraduate recruitment, this role will also help lay the groundwork for future integration of graduate program outreach, ensuring consistent brand and experience alignment across all enrollment pathways. This role advances USD’s visibility, strengthens brand affinity, and deepens connection with prospective students and families through intentional experience design.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership and Planning
- Develop and implement a comprehensive marketing and experience strategy that advances USD’s enrollment goals, aligns with institutional brand standards, and strengthens market position.
- Serve as the primary marketing strategist and experience designer for undergraduate enrollment, advising leadership on market trends, student journey insights, and emerging opportunities.
- Lead strategic planning for the undergraduate marketing and communications budget, ensuring optimal investment across digital channels, storytelling initiatives, and experience innovation.
- Champion a student-centered approach to marketing and communication that reflects USD’s Catholic mission and commitment to belonging and inclusion.
- In collaboration with graduate and professional program leadership, contribute to long-term strategies that align undergraduate and graduate marketing and communication efforts, fostering a cohesive institutional enrollment narrative.
Experience Design and Innovation
- Center the student experience through user-experience (UX) design and journey mapping, visualizing how students move through awareness, engagement, application, and enrollment stages.
- Design and oversee integrated communication ecosystems that connect emails, websites, digital ads, social media, print, and events into a cohesive and personalized experience.
- Collaborate with campus and vendor partners to ensure authenticity, tone, and alignment between institutional storytelling and digital campaigns.
- Lead cross-functional experience design sessions to identify friction points, elevate moments of delight, and ensure all digital and human touchpoints reinforce USD’s values and distinctiveness.
Integrated Marketing and Campaign Management
- Direct the strategy, design, and deployment of multi-channel campaigns that increase awareness, applications, and yield among first-year, transfer, international, and military-connected student populations.
- Oversee creative direction and storytelling for signature campaigns, integrating brand messaging with dynamic content tailored to audience insights.
- Partner with University Marketing and Communications on brand strategy, paid media, and content creation to ensure message consistency and maximize ROI.
Digital Strategy and CRM Integration
- Lead strategic use of the Slate CRM to deliver personalized, data-informed communications across the enrollment lifecycle.
- Partner with ITS and Marketing teams to optimize the admissions website, portals, and digital interfaces for usability, navigation, and accessibility.
- Oversee the integration of CRM data with digital advertising, social, and web analytics to enable real-time optimization and conversion tracking.
- Champion best practices in service design, accessibility, and inclusive communication across all platforms.
Collaboration and Campus Partnerships
- Build and sustain strong partnerships with campus stakeholders—including Student Financial Services, academic deans, Athletics, Student Affairs, and University Marketing and Communications—to ensure unified outreach and messaging.
- Provide strategic guidance for high-impact recruitment and yield events, including experience design, storytelling, and audience segmentation.
- Serve as the connective tissue between Enrollment Management and Marketing and Communications, aligning institutional reputation and branding work with recruitment imperatives.
Analytics and Continuous Improvement
- Utilize analytics, A/B testing, and UX research to assess campaign performance, website engagement, and communication flow effectiveness.
- Translate insights into actionable design and marketing improvements that enhance the prospective student journey.
- Monitor emerging trends in digital engagement, human-centered design, and Gen Z recruitment behaviors to keep USD at the forefront of enrollment innovation.
Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.
Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.
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| Job Requirements: |
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, UX Design, or a related field.
- 7+ years of progressive experience in marketing strategy, communications, or enrollment management.
- Demonstrated expertise in CRM-driven marketing (Slate experience highly preferred).
- Proven experience in user-experience design, journey mapping, or digital experience strategy.
- Strong writing, storytelling, and brand management skills.
- Ability to manage budgets, vendors, and cross-functional teams to deliver measurable results.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Marketing, Communications, or a related discipline.
- Experience in higher education marketing or agency environments serving educational clients.
- Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Figma, or related UX and digital design tools.
- Experience leading complex, multi-channel campaigns.
- Understanding of accessibility, data privacy, and inclusive communication best practices.
Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Deliver measurable growth in brand engagement, inquiry volume, and application conversion rates.
- Strengthen USD’s digital and user-experience reputation among prospective students and families.
- Develop high-performing, cross-functional partnerships with University Marketing and Communications and academic units.
- Maintain data-driven marketing practices with continuous performance review and adaptation.
- Advance inclusive, mission-aligned messaging that reflects USD’s values and commitment to belonging.
- Strategic thinker with both creative vision and analytical discipline.
- Collaborative and inspiring leader who builds trust across departments.
- Passionate advocate for the student experience and USD’s mission.
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity and leading innovation in a fast-paced environment.
- Deep understanding of enrollment marketing strategy, brand positioning, and audience segmentation.
- Expertise in CRM-driven communications (preferably Slate) and digital marketing analytics.
- Proficiency in UX and journey mapping methodologies, accessibility, and inclusive design.
- Strong leadership, project management, and change management abilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; adept at storytelling for varied audiences.
- Ability to balance strategic vision with operational execution and data-driven decision making.
- Collaborative mindset and the ability to inspire creativity and accountability across teams.
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