Status
Full Time - Exempt
Reports to
Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Position Summary

The Director of Marketing Strategy develops, manages, implements, and assesses multichannel strategic marketing initiatives, to help promote Bethel University and meet Bethel University’s undergraduate and graduate enrollment goals. The Director is the primary partner with recruiting departments to oversee the integration of Bethel’s marketing strategy, advertising, and overall vision ensuring that all marketing material is in line with Bethel’s brand identity.

Description of Key Responsibilities

Strategy

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive, integrated marketing plan for the institution, which includes such critical issues as brand, market position, and messaging for all institutional, undergraduate, and graduate/adult degree programs with a focus on engagement with prospective students, families, schools, and other key enrollment-specific constituents.
2. Fosters a highly-collaborative, engaged team of campus recruitment leaders; actively seeks their expertise and ideas in a spirit of both best practice and continual innovation.
3. Actively obtains market intelligence by monitoring program/project peers/competitors, conducting market research as it pertains to student recruitment, and sharing information with appropriate groups.
4. Partner with The Director of Communication and Media Services across all areas of marketing and communications—print, web, video, and digital media—to track deliverables, project information, vendors, and pricing through production.
5. Work with The Director of Communication and Media Services to generate copy consistent with the university’s writing style and branding, including print, web, advertisements, and promotional materials. Support overall marketing and communications efforts with writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
6. Partner with academic departments to evaluate and manage academic recruitment materials and assets, and to actively leverage elements of the university’s brand to attract and enroll students.

Advertising

1. Integrates technology by engaging the web and digital team and managing paid digital strategies and campaigns.
2. Oversee internal and external vendor relationships, including web development and digital marketing, to ensure maximum performance from purchased services and to track effectiveness.
3. Manages SEO optimization efforts and analytics to understand how campaigns are supporting recruitment. Manages and implements pay-per-click campaigns / Google Advertising.

Leadership and Campus Partnership

1. Collaborates with the media services team to include Digital Marketing Specialist, Marketing and Communication Specialist, Video Specialist, and Graphic Designer
2. Partners closely with the Director of traditional enrollment, BUx, and AGS Admissions and the Director of Financial Aid to align marketing initiatives appropriately with enrollment goals.
3. Collaborates with marketing personnel in admissions and advancement in a decentralized manner to support communication plans, events, etc. to extend the reach of marketing through department ownership and activation.
4. Manage budget and coordinate with traditional enrollment, BUx, and AGS leaders to effectively use resources to meet current and future marketing needs
5. Serve as a liaison for the Enrollment Management and Marketing division on various committees as assigned.
6. Seeks and promotes opportunities for professional development, particularly related to analytics/marketing dashboards, SEO writing, and digital campaign management.

Performs other duties as required or assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Seven or more years of experience in marketing and advertising, preferably in an academic environment
• Three to five years of experience in successfully developing and executing digital marketing (SEO) campaigns or managing and working with successful vendor partnerships to maximize growth
• A baccalaureate degree in marketing, business, communications, journalism-related, digital-related, interactive media-related, or similar field is required.
• Ability to apply strategic thinking to develop a marketing strategy in line with enrollment goals.
• Demonstrated project leadership skills, from conceptualization through development, execution, and measurement. Must be well-organized and detail oriented.
• Knowledge of brand marketing, print production, digital strategy, and web content integration. Understanding of search engine algorithms and ranking methods.  Experience with SEO industry programs, such as Google Analytics.
• Must have a strong customer service orientation, and possess effective, tactful, diplomatic, and positive interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and project management software.
• Ability to think creatively and provide innovative solutions.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to lead, direct, mentor, and motivate direct reports. Possess a strong demonstrated commitment to creating a diverse environment.

About Bethel University

The mission of Bethel University, affiliated with the Missionary Church denomination, is to be a community of learners building lives of commitment for leadership in the Church and world. Bethel's liberating academic programs challenge the mind, enlarge the vision, and equip the whole person for lifelong service. Launched in 1947, Bethel is urban-situated in the northern Indiana region hosting 250,000 residents, seven colleges (including Notre Dame), the 2nd largest shopping district in the state of Indiana, 15,000 businesses, 50 parks, and beautiful riverwalk developments in South Bend and Mishawaka. Resort venues on Lake Michigan are 45 minutes away. The university community is composed of about 1,500 traditional and adult/graduate students from 35 states, 90 students born outside the United States, and 225 full-time employees. Bethel also hosts more than 8,000 guests annually to arts productions, 25,000 annually in conference services, and many thousands of community members in support of 40 national athletic championships. Outside organizations recognize Bethel's quality: it is ranked as a Top Tier Midwestern College for 15 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report; r...anked No. 7 in the Midwest on the Washington Monthly "Best Bang for the Buck Colleges" list; No. 1 on Christian Universities Online 2016 list of "Top 50 Christian Colleges and Universities Exceeding Expectations." Bethel has also been named to Money Magazine's "Best Colleges for Your Money 2018" list. Bethel's 20,000 alumni occupy 49 states and 64 world areas, and enjoy a medical school acceptance rate double the national average, 100% job placement rate in Nursing whose program was ranked No. 7 in the United States, a Top 4% finish nationally in competitive math performance tests, and 100% pass rate every year on the national performance standard for a unique academic major in American Sign Language. Alumni professional achievements include the No. 1 rated School Superintendent in Indiana, the No. 1 rated School Principal in Indiana, a Top 1% pediatric surgeon in North America, the former Executive Director of the largest Youth for Christ district in the nation, the Chaplain of former President Barack Obama's childhood school, the lead in "South Pacific" off Broadway in Chicago, a laboratory director in sustainable energy, MLB All-Star Team representatives (Cleveland Indians Justin Masterson; MLB pitcher for the San Diego Padres Eric Stults), a senior Midwest manager for Blue Cross / Blue Shield, and among others the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Midwest Region, Don Clark. Faculty accomplishments from Bethel include: an average of more than 100 scholarly presentations and performances each of the last five years, reaching every corner of the United States (California, Oregon, New York, Washington, D.C., Georgia, Texas, etc.) and across the globe (e.g. Kenya, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, France, etc.), including elite sites such as Oxford, Cambridge, Aberdeen, and Carnegie Hall. Academic disciplines are deepened by Bethel projects on suffering, shame, the logic of forgiveness, Islam, mentoring, culture shock, health care among the Amish, eating disorders, home births, monotone mathematical triangles, top predator conservation, adolescent readers, capitalism, gene segregation, Great Lakes fisheries, social-linguistic patterns among the LGBT deaf, deviance in American political allies, ecological imagination in American fiction, Russian education, Latino values and education, theater sound and stage design, leadership pressure, the ethics of a Library Bill of Rights, non-violent resistance, simulation learning in Nursing, Shakespeare, depression in cancer patients, race-based tension, art exhibits in every medium, choral and instrumental productions of great variety, and more. In recent years, Bethel saw the strongest series of financial ratios in 25 years (as defined by the U.S. Department of Education), increased admissions visits by 60% and applications by 20%, doubled the number of fully online students and saw surges in programs like Math-Engineering (+24%), Christian Ministries (+53%), Biology (+118%), Kinesiology/Pre-Physical Therapy/Sport Management (+177%), and total Graduate Program increases of +47%. Students of color moved from 19% to 28% of the total population, with increases in retention and graduation rates. Traditional college-age students now rank mentoring as one of the most prominent traits of the environment, seen in part by a shift from 5 in 10 to 7 in 10 residential students voluntarily engaged in small group or one-on-one coaching by faculty-staff, and through alumni surveys showing very high faith-integration retention after their Bethel years (e.g. understanding Biblical texts, feeling equipped for the essential questions of life, strong critical thinking skills, etc.). Also during this time, $12M was applied to endowment, scholarships, and facility upgrades such as Academic Support Services Center, School of Nursing Simulation Lab, renewal of the largest lecture hall named for Brian & Paqui Kelly (Notre Dame head football coach), new entrances for the East campus and Athletic Park with three additional intramural fields, a new Softball stadium, and refreshed Weight Room, added a Kindergarten Lab School, refreshed Art Gallery, Acorn restaurant, Wi-Fi network and phone systems, and more. Work culture at Bethel also thrives, now meeting or exceeding industry average scores on 47 of 55 variables annually tracked by Best Christian Workplaces, who surveys 15,000 workers in Christian organizations annually. The employee experience at Bethel now leads national norms, to a statistically significant difference, in commitment to excellence, an environment for creativity and innovation, solving problems through supervision, the habit of receiving and using input, and demonstrating spiritual gifts throughout the workplace.

Show more

Show less

Connections working at Bethel University