Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Insights

### General Information

Location

US-AZ - Phoenix Position Type

Full Time Virtual Eligible

Yes Ref #:

7628

### Description and Requirements

At the University of Phoenix, we are committed to the future of work by providing a fully remote, work-from-home environment. This strategy enables us to attract top talent nationwide. Are you looking for a rewarding and fulfilling position that offers challenging work and the opportunity to make a significant impact while collaborating with a team of fun, innovative individuals? Would you prefer to work with an organization that positively contributes to the world? If so, we would love to hear from you!

Are you searching for a rewarding, fulfilling position that offers challenging work and the ability to make a big impact while working side-by-side with a team of fun, innovative people? Ideally, would you like this position to be with an organization that makes a positive contribution to the world? If so…we would love to hear from you!

About Us

University of Phoenix is a leading higher education institution founded in 1976 by Dr. John Sperling. Our mission is to improve the lives of our students, their families and future generations through higher education. Our values (which hopefully you share) are: Brave. Honest. Focused.

Our University values and embraces all team members and their unique perspectives. We fundamentally believe in fostering an environment which deeply respects, celebrates, and actively encourages a diverse workforce. We are committed to hiring – and learning from – those who share our passion to help others achieve their educational aspirations.

We offer excellent benefits, an effective recognition program, and outstanding learning and development tools, including tuition vouchers for employees and their qualified family members. 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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Establish research and substantiation standards for marketing claims and proof points in partnership with appropriate stakeholders

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Develop executive-ready business cases for priority growth opportunities, covering the audience, value proposition, requirements, economics, risks, dependencies, tests, and success measures.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

#LI-remote

*University of Phoenix is an equal opportunity employer.**If you are an active-duty military member seeking employment when off-duty, compliance with Department of Defense Joint Ethics Regulation, 5500-7-R, is required prior to starting employment with University of Phoenix. You are advised to contact your base Judge Advocate General to seek such approval and answer any questions.* 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.

Individuals in this role are eligible for: * 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.*

Application Deadline is 11/13/2026.

*The University does not discriminate in its employment practices or in its educational programs or activities on the basis of sex/gender. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking are forms of sex discrimination, which are prohibited under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and by University policy. Reports of misconduct, questions regarding Title IX, and concerns about noncompliance should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator:*

*Kelly Hermann, Vice President, Accessibility & Student Affairs*

*4035 S. Riverpoint Parkway*

*Phoenix, AZ 85040*

*TIXC@phoenix.edu*

*602-387-9936 office /* *480-749-5515 mobile*

*For a complete copy of the University’s Equal Opportunity, Harassment and Nondiscrimination Policy and additional information on Title IX, please click the Title IX Information link at the bottom of the page.*