Enrollment Marketing Manager

Founded in 1975 and located in the heart of Silicon Valley, PAU offers graduate and undergraduate programs in psychology, counseling, social work, and behavioral science, including the PAU-Stanford PsyD Consortium with Stanford Medicine. Grounded in human dignity, PAU's scholars, clinicians, educators, and learners share a single conviction: that understanding how people think, feel, behave, relate, heal, and make meaning is among the most essential work of our time.

The university enrolls over 1,200 students, has a network of more than 4,200 alumni, and employs over 150 faculty and staff united by a mission-driven commitment to advancing human understanding. PAU enters its sixth decade at a defining moment: a new president, a new provost, a bold new vision and strategic plan, and an urgent opportunity to shape how behavioral science responds to the challenges of an increasingly changing world. You will join a mission-driven community with the ambition to make a measurable impact on the human condition.

The Role

Enrollment does not happen by accident at Palo Alto University. It happens because the right prospective students find PAU at the right moment, through the right message, in the right channel, and are guided through a thoughtful, data-informed journey from first awareness to submitted application to enrolled student. The Enrollment Marketing Manager is the person who designs and delivers that journey.

Reporting directly to the Vice President for Enrollment Management, the Enrollment Marketing Manager owns PAU's enrollment marketing function, from lead generation and audience segmentation through campaign execution, prospect conversion, and admissions funnel analysis. This is not a support role. It is a strategic, data-driven, results-oriented function that directly determines the volume, quality, and diversity of applicants across all of PAU's academic programs.

The role carries a dotted-line relationship to the Director of Brand within the Division of Strategic Partnerships and University Relations, ensuring that enrollment marketing campaigns are always grounded in PAU's institutional voice, visual identity, and strategic narrative. The Enrollment Marketing Manager works in close collaboration with the Director of Admissions, Director of Financial Aid, Director of Student Experience, and the University Registrar within the Enrollment Management division, and with academic program directors across the university to ensure marketing strategies reflect the depth, nuance, and genuine appeal of PAU's programs.

This role demands someone who understands data and technology as fluently as they understand human motivation, and who brings genuine curiosity about behavioral science, mental health, and the field PAU serves. The best enrollment marketing for PAU is not generic higher education advertising. It is mission-aligned communication that speaks directly to students who are drawn to this work and helps them see themselves in a PAU program.

Responsibilities

Enrollment Marketing Strategy and Campaign Management

Develop and execute comprehensive, multi-channel enrollment marketing campaigns for all PAU academic programs, from initial brand awareness through lead generation, prospect nurturing, and application conversion. Build and maintain a multi-year enrollment marketing plan aligned with PAU's enrollment goals, program priorities, and institutional strategic plan, with clear campaign calendars, channel strategies, and performance benchmarks. Partner with the VPEM and Director of Admissions to align marketing strategy with enrollment targets, application timelines, and yield goals for each program and each recruitment cycle. Develop program-specific marketing approaches that reflect the distinct identity, audience, and competitive positioning of each of PAU's graduate, doctoral, and undergraduate programs.

Lead Generation and Audience Segmentation

Design and implement lead generation strategies across digital, social, search, and content channels that expand PAU's prospective student reach and produce qualified, mission-aligned applicants. Develop sophisticated audience segmentation models that identify, target, and engage distinct prospective student populations based on program interest, career stage, geography, demographics, and behavioral indicators. Build and manage paid media campaigns, including search engine marketing, social media advertising, programmatic display, and retargeting, optimized continuously for cost per lead and cost per application. Develop organic and content-driven lead generation strategies, including SEO, blog content, social media presence, and email nurture campaigns, that build long-term awareness and pipeline for PAU's programs.

Prospect Conversion and Enrollment Funnel Management

Own the prospect-to-applicant conversion funnel, designing and executing communication strategies, drip campaigns, and personalized outreach that move prospective students from inquiry through application submission. Develop and manage automated email communication sequences, SMS campaigns, and personalized digital touchpoints that maintain prospect engagement throughout the admissions cycle. Analyze funnel performance at each stage, from inquiry to application to admission to enrollment, identifying conversion gaps and designing targeted interventions that improve movement through the pipeline. Partner with the Director of Admissions to integrate marketing-driven prospects into admissions workflows, ensuring a seamless handoff from marketing engagement to admissions counseling.

CRM Integration and Marketing Technology

Lead the integration of enrollment marketing tools and campaigns with PAU's CRM platform, ensuring accurate lead capture, attribution, tracking, and reporting across all marketing channels. Manage and optimize the marketing technology stack, including CRM, marketing automation, email platforms, analytics tools, and digital advertising platforms, to drive efficiency and insight across the enrollment marketing function. Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide the VPEM, Director of Admissions, and Cabinet with real-time visibility into marketing performance, lead volume, cost per acquisition, and campaign ROI. Ensure data integrity across all marketing systems and alignment with institutional data definitions, enabling reliable attribution and forecasting that informs enrollment planning.

Digital Communication and Content Strategy

Develop and execute a digital communication strategy that reaches prospective students across email, social media, search, video, and emerging digital channels with compelling, mission-aligned content. Create and manage program-specific landing pages, digital prospectus materials, virtual tour experiences, and other digital assets that convert website visitors into qualified leads. Collaborate with the Director of Brand and the Content and Creative Manager within SPUR to ensure all enrollment marketing content reflects PAU's institutional voice, visual identity, and brand standards, while being optimized for enrollment conversion. Develop content that authentically represents PAU's behavioral science mission, the career impact of its programs, and the student and alumni experiences that distinguish the institution in a competitive market.

Event Marketing and Virtual Engagement

Design and execute marketing strategies for enrollment events, including open houses, information sessions, virtual programs, admitted student days, and program-specific recruitment events. Build pre-event awareness campaigns, during-event engagement strategies, and post-event conversion follow-up sequences that maximize the enrollment impact of every event investment. Develop virtual engagement experiences that bring PAU's campus culture, faculty expertise, and student community to life for prospective students who cannot visit in person. Partner with academic program directors to develop discipline-specific events and outreach that speak directly to prospective students in each field.

Admissions Marketing Audit and Continuous Improvement

Conduct regular audits of PAU's enrollment marketing practices, materials, channels, and competitive positioning, identifying gaps, opportunities, and areas for improvement across the full marketing function. Benchmark PAU's enrollment marketing performance against comparable institutions and industry best practices, bringing forward data-driven recommendations for strategy refinement. Test and iterate on messaging, creative, channel mix, and campaign structure through structured A/B testing and analytics-driven optimization, ensuring PAU's marketing investment continuously improves in efficiency and effectiveness. Develop and maintain a comprehensive library of enrollment marketing materials, templates, and brand-compliant assets for use across programs, channels, and recruitment cycles.

Collaboration with Academic Programs and Enrollment Management

Build strong working relationships with academic program directors, faculty, and department chairs to develop program-specific marketing narratives grounded in the genuine academic and career value of each program. Partner with the Director of Financial Aid to integrate financial aid messaging, scholarship opportunities, and affordability communications into enrollment marketing campaigns, ensuring prospective students understand PAU's full value proposition from first contact. Collaborate with the Director of Student Experience to incorporate student life, community, and outcome stories into recruitment marketing, bringing the authentic PAU student experience to life for prospective students. Work with the University Registrar to ensure marketing materials accurately reflect program requirements, application processes, enrollment timelines, and degree information. Develop a deep, genuine understanding of PAU's culture, programs, faculty, students, and alumni, and of the broader field of behavioral science, mental health, and psychology, so that every marketing message is grounded in institutional truth and speaks to the students who are drawn to this work.

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, digital media, or a related field; master's degree preferred. Five or more years of progressive experience in digital marketing, enrollment marketing, or higher education marketing, with demonstrated success generating leads and driving application conversion. Strong command of digital marketing strategy, including paid media, SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and marketing automation. Demonstrated experience with CRM platforms and marketing technology integration, including campaign tracking, attribution modeling, and performance reporting. Proficiency with data analytics tools and the ability to translate marketing performance data into actionable strategy and clear executive reporting. Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling, audience-specific messages across multiple channels and formats. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple campaigns and priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. Genuine curiosity about and respect for behavioral science, mental health, psychology, and the communities PAU serves. Ability to work in person on campus as part of PAU's residential culture.

Preferred

Experience in higher education enrollment marketing, student recruitment, or admissions communications. Familiarity with HubSpot, Salesforce, or comparable CRM and marketing automation platforms used in higher education. Experience with graduate and professional program marketing, especially within psychology, counseling, social work, or behavioral science. Background in paid media management including Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, or programmatic advertising platforms. Experience with video production, podcast marketing, or other multimedia content strategies for student recruitment. Knowledge of higher education enrollment management principles, admissions cycles, and the graduate student decision journey.

Leadership Qualities

Strategic and analytically grounded, with the creative instincts to bring data-informed campaigns to life in ways that genuinely resonate with prospective students. Deeply collaborative, comfortable working across enrollment management, academic affairs, and brand and communications functions without losing strategic focus. Entrepreneurial and self-directed, energized by the opportunity to build an enrollment marketing function from the ground up at a mission-driven institution. Genuinely curious about behavioral science and the field PAU serves, with the intellectual humility to learn from faculty, students, and alumni. Integrity, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to authentic, mission-aligned marketing that serves students rather than simply selling to them.

Work Hours and Location

This is a full-time, residential position based at PAU's campuses in Palo Alto and Mountain View, California. Regular in-person presence is expected and essential to the collaborative, mission-driven culture of the Enrollment Management division. Occasional evening and weekend availability may be required during peak recruitment periods, enrollment events, and campaign launches. Remote work arrangements will not be accepted.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations

Palo Alto University is an equal opportunity employer firmly committed to non-discrimination in its hiring and employment practices. In compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, marital status, citizenship status, military service status, sexual orientation, medical condition, disability, or any other status protected by law.

As provided by law, PAU will offer reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of the position without undue hardship to the university.

PAU is committed to building a high-quality work environment that attracts and welcomes employees from a wide range of backgrounds. In your application or cover letter, please share how your background and experience have prepared you to work at a high level with colleagues from a variety of different backgrounds.