Regional Marketing Manager

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Professional 308Pay Range: $73,000.00 - $109,400.00

Job Description

Job Profile Summary

The Manager of Regional Marketing is an individual contributor responsible for working with the Director of Regional Marketing to develop and execute comprehensive, data-driven marketing strategies to support one of WGU’s seven geographic regions. This role is central to driving growth and expanding access to educational opportunities across WGU’s diverse portfolio of over sixty degree and certificate programs.

Operating in a highly matrixed and cross-functional environment, the Manager partners closely with regional leadership—including the VP of Regional Marketing—to shape and deliver marketing plans that meet ambitious enrollment and growth goals. With a regional marketing budget of ~$3-4M, this role will support the director with making tracking expenditures, implementing strategic media plans, and vendor management to maximize impact and ROI.

 The Manager leverages advanced research and analytical skills to enable  the regional marketing director in interpreting market trends, assessing competitive positioning, and identifying new opportunities for growth. This includes advancing ongoing evaluation of program performance, audience segmentation, and campaign effectiveness, as well as preparing and delivering actionable insights through Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and other leadership forums.

The Manager regularly partners with key stakeholders across Marketing, Enrollment, Strategic Partnerships, School Marketing, Alumni Engagement, and Outreach Analytics. They must be adept at navigating complexity, advocating for regional priorities, and driving operational alignment of in the full spectrum of marketing resources—from traditional and digital advertising to SEO, content, and event marketing.

In addition to strategic execution, the Manager has indirect responsibility for mentoring junior-level team members, including Regional Marketing Specialist, fostering professional development and ensuring alignment on best practices across regions.

The Manager serves as the strategic marketing lead for their assigned region, balancing long-term planning with day-to-day execution, and acting as a trusted liaison between regional leadership and the central Marketing organization.

Responsibilities

• Facilitates data-driven decision-making by analyzing, synthesizing, and reporting on regional marketing outcomes to measure impact and works with the director of regional marketing to optimize strategy, ensuring insights drive strategic recommendations and continuous improvement. Serves as a key strategic partner to the schools and regional supporting teams, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance regional impact through informed marketing initiatives. 
• Enables operational efficiency and service excellence by executing initiatives that optimize processes, improve performance, and elevate regional marketing effectiveness in partnership with the Director. 
• Manages assigned projects with accountability for effective execution, ensuring alignment with institutional goals, and measurable results in collaboration with the Director. 
• Advances the development and execution of a hyper-local, regional marketing strategy that aligns with the goals of the schools, Academy, and Craft Education.

• Partners with the Regional Ream and other teams to build a strong team culture while implementing marketing campaigns.  

• Supports cross-functional efforts, including alumni engagement, and enhancing community impact. 

• Works with the Regional Marketing Director to manage regional marketing budget.
• Facilitates brand building and lead generation efforts in partnership with central marketing teams, including Integrated Marketing (Media, Brand, Creative) and Marketing Operations (SEO, Web Ops, Email, and Project Management), facilitating alignment with regional goals and enterprise strategy. Collaborates with the Strategic Partnerships team to shape and support regionally driven initiatives, supporting strategic alignment and marketing execution. Acts as a contributor alongside the Director of Regional Marketing and other regional leaders in Government Relations, Advancement, Strategic Partnerships, and Communications to implement integrated outreach plans that support key institutional priorities. Interacts local media to implement the strategic media buys.
• Responsible for effective implementation of localized marketing tactics and campaigns to influence key regional audiences. Coordinates team efforts with region-based External Communications (PR), Government Relations, and Alumni teams; supports overall market plan that includes tactics from each of these areas
• Works with the Director of Regional Marketing to deliver regional, state, and DMA level forecasting, reporting, and root cause analysis within the region; coordinate efforts with College & Program Marketing to drive insights at the intersection of geography, audiences, and program offerings.
• Works with the Director of Regional Marketing to refine geography- and audience-specific messaging that powerfully communicates WGU’s positioning, attributes, and proof points in tailored, culturally appropriate ways.

Qualifications

• Client or key stakeholder management experience.
• Professional communication ability. Must be able to clearly and persuasively communicate both verbally and in writing with staff at all levels of the university.
• Drive and ability to influence others to act without direct reporting authority.
• Methodical, systematic, and highly organized
• Highly organized and methodical with exceptional project and time management skills; adept at prioritizing multiple initiatives in dynamic environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communicator capable of building strong relationships across contributors and teams.
• Deep expertise across a wide range of marketing disciplines, including traditional and digital media, SEO, content, brand development, creative, paid media, social, events, and analytics.
• Innovative and inclined to explore new approaches via constant learning and optimization
• Strong critical thinker capable of making smart judgments under pressure
• Ability to manage time and resources for multiple projects at one time
• Exceptional research, analytical, and critical thinking skills with an ability to source and synthesize a variety of data sources to create actionable strategies
• Advanced research and analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex data, assess market trends and competitive dynamics, and develop actionable strategies.
• Experience operating in a disaggregated marketing model; able to make decisions and drive business forward in a highly complex, multi-faceted organization
• Success working across marketing disciplines, including brand development, creative, paid media, social media, interactive products, email, field marketing, PR, and analytics
• Comfort working as part of a hybrid in-person/remote team
• Proven collaborator with a successful track record of leading and executing complex, cross-functional initiatives that drive strategic outcomes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage executive stakeholders, synthesize complex information, and present clear, actionable recommendations.
• Innovative and inclined to explore new approaches via constant learning and optimization
• Ability to manage time and resources for multiple projects at one time

• Demonstrated success in leading diverse teams, including hiring, coaching, and managing individual contributors and people leaders to achieve performance targets.

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or related field required

Experience

• 4+ years of marketing domain experience, including a broad range of tactics (i.e., television (DRTV, OTT, CTV), OOH, print, radio and digital audio, conferences/events, partner marketing, video, display, social media, email, SEM, and website
• Budget management experience, including responsibility for marketing budgets.
•  Extensive data and analytics experience to include deep knowledge of working with Excel, Tableau, Adobe Analytics, and Google Analytics

Preferred Qualifications

• Media buying experience
• Marketing budget management of $1M+
• Multicultural marketing experience
• Industry experience in higher education and/or areas relevant to WGU colleges (e.g., business, healthcare, K12 education, IT)
• Master’s degree

Working Conditions

• Some travel required (up to 10%)

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Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.