Associate Director of Marketing Strategy
Department: Marketing
Division: Marketing & Communication
Reports to: Senior Director of Brand & Marketing Strategy
Position Summary
The Associate Director of Marketing Strategy is a leadership role within Rowan University's Division of Marketing & Communication responsible for leading the team that provides strategic marketing planning and consultation to academic and administrative units across the institution.
Reporting to the Senior Director of Brand & Marketing Strategy, the Associate Director oversees stakeholder engagement, portfolio management, and marketing planning for colleges, schools, departments, and institutional initiatives. The position leads the team responsible for partnering with campus stakeholders to identify opportunities, define objectives, and align marketing efforts with university priorities and audience needs.
The Associate Director leverages market research, audience insights, performance data, and institutional knowledge to guide marketing recommendations that support audiences throughout the engagement journey and collaborates closely with project management, creative, digital, web, social media, communications, email marketing, analytics, and research teams to support successful marketing initiatives.
This position requires an experienced marketing leader with exceptional relationship-building skills, strategic thinking capabilities, and a deep understanding of higher education.
Primary Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Supervision
• Lead, supervise, mentor, and evaluate the Marketing Strategy team.
• Oversee team workload, portfolio assignments, and stakeholder relationships to ensure consistent service and support across the university.
• Provide leadership related to strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, brand stewardship, and integrated marketing recommendations.
• Responsible for hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, professional development, and succession planning for assigned team members.
• Conduct performance evaluations, approve timesheets, and support employee development and training opportunities.
• Foster a collaborative, consultative, and service-oriented team culture.
Strategic Planning & Marketing Consultation
• Lead the development of integrated marketing strategies and recommendations for colleges, schools, departments, and institutional initiatives.
• Guide the creation of marketing plans aligned with university goals, audience needs, and organizational priorities.
• Translate stakeholder goals and business needs into actionable marketing recommendations informed by research, audience insights, performance data, and competitive analysis.
• Develop marketing recommendations that support audiences throughout the full engagement journey, from awareness and consideration to conversion, retention, advocacy, and other desired outcomes.
• Promote strategic thinking, brand alignment, and marketing best practices across the Division of Marketing & Communication.
• Monitor industry trends and emerging best practices and apply insights to strategic recommendations.
Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Management
• Serve as a senior point of contact for academic and administrative partners across the university.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with campus stakeholders to understand priorities, challenges, and opportunities.
• Lead strategic planning discussions and collaborate with the Marketing Project Management team during discovery and intake processes to align stakeholder goals, project scope, and execution requirements.
• Present strategic recommendations, marketing plans, and performance insights to stakeholders and leadership.
Brand Stewardship & Portfolio Management
• Serve as a champion of the Rowan University brand and ensure marketing recommendations align with established brand strategy, positioning, messaging, voice, and visual identity standards.
• Guide stakeholders in applying brand standards and marketing best practices across campaigns, initiatives, and communications.
• Maintain visibility across assigned portfolios to ensure alignment with university priorities and marketing objectives.
• Ensure consistency in strategic recommendations, stakeholder engagement, and service delivery across the team.
• Support the ongoing adoption and evolution of the university's brand platform through stakeholder consultation and education.
Collaboration & Cross-Functional Leadership
• Partner closely with the Associate Director of Marketing Project Management and collaborate with creative, digital media, web, social media, communications, email marketing, analytics, and research teams to ensure alignment between strategy and execution.
• Serve as a bridge between campus stakeholders and marketing teams throughout the planning process.
• Support division-wide initiatives, strategic priorities, and special projects as assigned.
Additional Responsibilities
• Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Required
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in marketing strategy, integrated marketing, stakeholder engagement, communications, enrollment marketing, or related functional areas.
• Minimum of 2–3 years of supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience working within higher education marketing and communications, including experience partnering with academic and administrative stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience developing strategic marketing plans and guiding integrated marketing initiatives.
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation, campaign planning, marketing analytics, market research, and brand strategy.
• Exceptional relationship-building, presentation, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders, build consensus, and navigate complex organizational environments.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred
• Master's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience leading strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, marketing consultation, or client service functions.
• Experience supporting institution-wide initiatives and high-profile projects.
• Familiarity with enrollment marketing, reputation marketing, and brand strategy.
• Experience utilizing CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and project management platforms.
Salary & Benefits:
In compliance with The State of New Jersey's Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is Managerial ($118,000.00 - $126,000.00), with placement within the range determined by candidate's qualifications, professional experience, internal equity, and other factors.
For internal applicants, salary is determined per the Pay Adjustment formula (NJAC 4A:3-4.9 & 4.10)
For eligible employees, benefits include: comprehensive NJ State health, dental and retirement benefits, extensive accrued time off/paid holidays, and tuition reimbursement for employee, spouse, and dependents to attend Rowan University, Glassboro. (Tuition reimbursement will apply to undergraduate degrees only for spouse and dependents).
For more detailed information, please visit: https://sites.rowan.edu/hr/benefits/
Notes:
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the US, and the university will not sponsor an applicant for a work visa for this position.
Only completed online applications submitted on or before the posted deadline will be considered.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Rowan University is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best available persons in every job. Rowan University prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender, gender identity, religion, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sex, genetic information, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. All such discrimination is unlawful and prohibited by Rowan University. It is also our policy to comply with all applicable state and federal laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions.