Manager, Advancement Digital Marketing

Manager, Advancement Digital Marketing Job No: 499057 Work Type: Staff Full-Time Location: Denver, CO Categories: Alumni / Development / Fundraising, Marketing / Communications / Media, Business Operations / Services, 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 11,000 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 R-1 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 engagement, development, operations, and campaign leadership, DU Advancement is building and fostering a culture of deep engagement and philanthropy in support of our bold vision. About The Advancement Marketing and Communications Team The Advancement Marketing and Communications Team, led by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advancement Marketing and Communications, 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 marketing and communications-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 of Advancement Marketing and Creative, the Manager, Digital Marketing leads and executes digital marketing initiatives that support Advancement communications and engagement goals. This role manages email campaigns, landing pages, website content, paid media, social media, and content marketing efforts that enhance awareness of The Denver Difference campaign and strengthen relationships with alumni and donors. The Manager collaborates with partners across Advancement and the University to develop and execute communications for events, solicitations, campaign initiatives, leadership announcements, and other strategic priorities. This position also serves as a key contributor to Advancements Salesforce Marketing Cloud strategy, supporting audience segmentation, journey building, automation, A/B testing, AI-enabled tools, and campaign optimization. The ideal candidate is a collaborative and results-oriented digital marketer with experience in email marketing, marketing automation platforms, website content management, and multi-channel campaign execution. Required qualifications include a bachelors degree (or equivalent combination of education and experience), 2-3 years of digital marketing experience, experience collaborating with internal and external partners, experience with a marketing automation platform, and experience with Drupal, WordPres , or similar CMS platforms. Preferred qualifications include Salesforce Marketing Cloud experience, automated journey development, content marketing expertise, SEO knowledge, and experience in higher education or another complex nonprofit environment. This position is eligible for hybrid work. Travel is not expected, and evening or weekend work is limited to rare support of key Advancement initiatives or events. Essential Functions Leadership - Serve as one of the digital marketing leads for DU Advancement. - Work closely with 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 - Serve as a lead in 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, including The Denver Difference campaign site, ensuring alignment with the strategic goals of DU's billion-dollar fundraising campaign and regular review of analytics reports to