Associate Director, Advancement Digital Marketing

Apply now Job no: 498022
Work type: Staff Full-Time
Location: Denver, CO
Categories: Alumni / Development / Fundraising, Marketing / Communications / Media, Business Operations / Services, Admin / Executive / Office Support, Advancement
Division: Advancement

About the University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU), a private university, is the oldest independent university in the Rocky Mountain region, with approximately 12,900 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. DU is classified as an R1: Doctoral University.

At the University of Denver, we’re doing higher education our way: authentic to the Rocky Mountain Wests confident optimism and pragmatic independence. It sets us apart. We’re preparing young people to be the solutions in their own stories, empowering them to face uncertainty with confidence and uncommon sense.

We’re fiercely ambitious and forward-thinking, surpassing all expectations to redefine success and how to achieve it. And we’re true to our mission as a top-tier private institution dedicated to making the world a better place – contributing to our communities and making positive change in the world.

About DU Advancement
The Denver Difference campaign is our most ambitious campaign yet. It marks a dramatic shift in conventional thinking about what the university experience can and should be. DU is setting the bar with our approach to higher education, developing and preparing students to be successful in life in every way. The University of Denver is building an advancement enterprise that mirrors the excellence and innovation of our great institution. Inclusive of alumni relations, development, and student and alumni career services, DU Advancement is building and fostering a culture of deep engagement and philanthropy in support of our bold vision.

The University of Denver and DU Advancement deeply value inclusive excellence, recognizing that its success depends on how well it values, engages, and includes the rich diversity of constituents. As a part of that effort, we are continuing to grow a team of inclusive, collaborative, inquisitive, innovative, ethical, and transparent advancement professionals who possess deep mutual respect for one another and for our shared profession.

About the Advancement Campaigns Team
The Campaigns Team, led by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Campaigns, plays a pivotal role in driving the success of the University’s comprehensive campaigns and beyond. This team is responsible for strategizing and executing all campaign-related activities, ensuring the institution’s goals are advanced externally. This is accomplished through crafting experiences that increase the philanthropic commitment and engagement of the University of Denver’s community, including students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends through strategic events and on-brand communications and marketing strategies.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director, Advancement Marketing and Creative, The Associate Director, Digital Marketing within DU Advancement will serve as a key partner in leading and executing digital marketing strategies that support a wide range of Advancement communications. This role encompasses the development and management of digital marketing projects across email campaigns, landing pages, website content, paid media, and social media platforms. The Associate Director will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to create and execute communication plans for events, solicitations, campaign messaging, leadership announcements, and more. Their expertise will be integral in ensuring that digital channels effectively promote The Denver Difference campaign to alumni and donor audiences, enhancing engagement and awareness while building meaningful relationships.

In addition to strategic digital marketing development and execution, the Associate Director will supervise the team’s Digital Communications Coordinator, supporting professional development and ensuring priorities are clearly communicated. This role will also manage external relationships with vendors when necessary, ensuring the timely and successful delivery of services and projects. This position requires strong collaboration with various stakeholders across both Advancement and campus to maintain a cohesive, compelling and consistent digital experience for constituents, ensuring that the constituent journey is seamless across all channels.

This position will also serve as a lead in executing the Salesforce Marketing Cloud roadmap built by the Advancement team as we continue implementation of the platform. The Associate Director will be working collaboratively with campaign team leadership to identify opportunities based on organizational goals, build and test within the platform and launch initiatives by the designated date. This will include journey building, audience development, AB testing, AI tools and more.

The Associate Director will play a pivotal role in developing and implementing content marketing strategies that align with the broader goals and objectives of DU Advancement and the University. This position requires a blend of creativity, analytical thinking, and interpersonal skills to quickly adapt to changing priorities while maintaining a high standard of work. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional problem-solving abilities and demonstrate a commitment to delivering impactful digital marketing solutions that drive engagement and support Advancements mission.

Essential Functions

Leadership

  • Serve as a digital marketing lead for DU Advancement.
  • Manage and mentor digital communications coordinator in email, web, content and social media marketing including data reporting for each area.
  • Manage external vendors when needed to produce content for Advancement campaigns.
  • Support the successful promotion of content to our alumni, donor and key constituent audiences for The Denver Difference campaign.
  • Keep abreast of emerging trends in digital marketing, specifically in marketing automation, always looking to remain at the forefront of best practices.
  • Engage across DU as a creative thinker, problem solver, partner manager and collaborative partner for external communications.
  • Oversee a robust and complex communications calendar, effectively managing priorities and deadlines for the digital marketing team.
    Ability to work closely with partners to ensure all projects are aligned with strategic goals and advancement objectives.

Email Marketing & Marketing Automation

  • Lead the strategy, development and execution of email marketing campaigns using Salesforce Marketing Cloud to engage alumni, donors, and other key constituents, driving philanthropic and engagement goals.
  • Collaborate with Advancement and campus partners to create targeted event marketing campaigns, ensuring a seamless digital experience for event promotion, registration, and post-event follow-up.
  • Leverage Salesforce Marketing Cloud to segment audiences, analyze campaign performance, create constituent journeys and optimize digital communication strategies for maximum reach and impact.
  • Develop and manage comprehensive email marketing workflows to support strategic advancement goals and The Denver Difference campaign, including automated communications, fundraising solicitations and alumni engagement initiatives.
  • Partner with Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation team to support the roadmap to ensure DU Advancement is able to utilize functionality available in the system at the right time based on department priorities.

Social Media & Paid Media

  • Develop and execute comprehensive content marketing and storytelling strategies across social media platforms, targeting donors, alumni, and key constituents to increase engagement and support philanthropic goals.
  • Work collaboratively with our partners in University Relations to ensure social media and paid media strategies compliment each other including scheduling, branding, targeting and messaging.
  • Maintain a detailed social media calendar, ensuring timely and consistent delivery of relevant, compelling and well-crafted posts that align with organizational priorities.
  • Strategically manage paid media campaigns, including monitoring budgets and performance, optimizing ads to maximize ROI, and ensuring alignment with overall campaign objectives.
  • Serve as primary point of contact for digital marketing vendors, ensuring top-quality results in work performed for the University.
  • Oversee the creation and scheduling of social media content, ensuring all products are completed on schedule, compelling, and contribute to the achievement of engagement and fundraising objectives.

Web Development

  • Oversee the maintenance, updating and optimization of Advancement’s web properties, includingThe Denver Difference campaign site, ensuring alignment with the strategic goals of DU’s billion-dollar fundraising campaign and regular review of analytics reports to track performance and inform improvements.
  • Serve as the Advancement lead for campus-wide web development meetings. Collaborate with various teams to ensure the strategic integration and functionality of digital assets across alumni, give and campaign sites.
  • Ensure all digital content across the alumni, give, and campaign sites is aligned with Advancement goals and objectives, effectively communicating with alumni and donor audiences to support engagement and giving.
  • Build and optimize landing pages with strong calls to action and lead capture features. Support the ambitious goals of the Advancement team while enhancing web presence to drive alumni engagement and campaign success. Ensure landing page development is in line with multi-channel campaigns developed in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
  • Event Registration: Serve as the lead in building and launching engaging event pages encouraging registration and attendance.

University Citizenship

  • Establish and maintain collaborative partnerships with peers, campus colleagues and senior leaders; strengthen ties across multiple departments.
  • Receive feedback from many sources, with divergent points of view, and synthesize into creative, on-brand solutions that bring messages and ideas to life.
  • Serve as an active and collaborative partner to all central and unit-based advancement functions and campus colleagues to foster strategic, effective, and collaborative digital marketing practices.
  • Represent the interests of University Advancement in a variety of marketing and communications roles, including serving on University Advancement and campus-wide cross-functional teams.
  • Model “One DU” leadership.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

  • Ability to lead and prioritize while working in a fast-paced, team environment.
  • Strong knowledge of digital marketing channels, including email, social media, paid media, and web development, with the ability to create and implement comprehensive campaigns that align with Advancement goals.
  • Deep understanding of email marketing best practices, ideally in the fundraising space.
  • Solid project management skills and proficiency in handling multiple projects within tight deadlines and delegating as needed.
  • Exceptional partner management, collaboration and active listening skills.
  • Strong understanding of and experience working in marketing automation platforms, ideally Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
  • Expertise in building audiences based on content, previous engagement and project goals and objectives.
  • Experience managing freelancers, ideally in web development and paid media.
  • Proficiency in analyzing campaign performance and web analytics to measure success, identify opportunities for optimization, and adjust strategies to maximize engagement.
  • Ability to develop compelling, audience-focused messaging and campaigns that resonate with alumni, donors and other stakeholders while aligning with the broader goals of the organization.
  • Deep understanding of audience building best practices based on project and/or channel.

Required Qualifications

We welcome applications from all candidates, including first-generation applicants and individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as veterans and those with disabilities. We welcome you to apply if you meet the minimum requirements listed below and are enthusiastic about the work.

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and work experience (Veterans with equivalent combination of military certification/education and experience may substitute for the degree qualification)
  • 3 years of experience in a digital marketing role with a heavy focus on email marketing.
  • Management experience (including personnel or projects).
  • Experience working within a Marketing Automation Platform (MAP), ideally Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
  • Experience working in web development platforms Drupal and WordPress or similar.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Supervisory experience.
  • Experience working in higher education or similarly complex non-profit organization.
  • Experience building journeys and automated campaigns within a MAP.
  • Strong content marketing experience.
  • Experience developing and executing multi-channel digital marketing campaigns.
  • Experience with content management systems (CMS) and familiarity with SEO best practices.

Working Environment

  • Standard open office environment
  • Noise level is quiet to moderate
  • Eligible for hybrid work

Physical Activities

  • Ability to use a computer for an extended period
  • Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs. with assistance

Work Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; some nights and weekends as required.  In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.

Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) June 23, 2025.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 12.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $75,000 - $85,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.

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