Associate Director of Digital Media

Overview

• This position is open until filled with an initial candidate selection to take place after July 30, 2025.
• The salary range for this position is $6,970 - $8,166 per month depending upon qualifications and internal equities and is non-negotiable.

Global Campus at San Diego State University strives to be a world leader in delivering innovative educational experiences to all learners, expanding opportunity and transforming lives. SDSU Global Campus serves as a primary University liaison with the greater San Diego community and provides a wide variety of academic and professional, credit and noncredit educational experiences designed to fit the lifestyle and expectations of international students, working adults and other lifelong learners. SDSU Global Campus provides a range of academic and career-training programs in online and hybrid modalities.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Marketing, the Associate Director of Digital Media will be responsible for developing and executing digital advertising strategies, managing campaigns across all channels (SEM, Programmatic, Video, Display, Social Media, etc.), analyzing and optimizing performance, maximizing budget efficiency, and supporting lead generation goals. In addition, this role will include leading and managing the digital marketing team. The Associate Director of Digital Media will identify, implement, and optimize new paid media opportunities, ensuring a cohesive and integrated approach across all paid channels. This position is essential to the organization's growth and will oversee the end-to-end management of all paid media campaigns, with a focus on maximizing ROI and brand visibility.

The Associate Director of Digital Media must possess a keen understanding of the digital marketing landscape. This role requires the ability to operate on both a strategic and tactical level, the ability to manage vendors and consultants/agency, manage multiple campaigns, deadlines, and budget, and the ability to contribute to creative and engaging brand expression.The Associate Director of Digital Media will also manage advertising on platforms such as Google Ad Network, Meta, LinkedIn, etc. and contribute substantively to the digital innovation and brand growth of SDSU Global Campus.

It is expected the candidate will have strong analytical, communication, and critical thinking skills with the ability to manage a diverse workload.

Responsibilities

The following information is intended to be representative of the work performed by incumbents in this position and is not all-inclusive. The omission of a specific duty or responsibility will not preclude it from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical extension of position responsibilities. Job descriptions may be changed at any time based on the needs of the department. The Associate Director of Digital Media is responsible for but not limited to:

Strategy & Implementation (55%)

• Develop, implement, and evaluate strategic digital marketing initiatives to drive increased enrollment and brand awareness
• Accountable for KPIs associated with display advertising, search engine marketing, and social media advertising performance including click-through rates, interaction rates, lead generation, CPC, CPL, CPA, and ROI
• Execute day-to-day tactics that increase revenue, site traffic, conversion, and margins.
• Manage paid media campaigns across platforms (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, affiliates) and oversee landing page management, and ensure data flows correctly into software systems
• Assist in managing the digital marketing budget, including allocations, and monitoring.
• Investigate emerging interactive media and best practices. Identifies opportunities for new, innovative programs/products and makes strategic recommendations to executive management and other key managers as needed.
• Maintain consistency with brand identity and messaging across all digital channels. Ensures design and content meet brand and legal standards, adhering to best practices in usability
• Responsible for proper campaign code tagging using Google Tag Manager (GTM).
• Support link-building strategy.
• Grow and optimize the keyword portfolio through testing (A/B and Multivariate) with ad copy, landing pages, bidding strategies, negative keywording, etc.

Data & Analytics (25%)

• Monitoring the online presence and customer perceptions of market competitors, utilizing measurement tools and analysis to identify growth opportunities. 
• Leverage data and analytics to help identify new audience segments and refine messaging strategies that resonate with key demographics, driving engagement and conversion.
• Optimize ad copy and landing pages for relevant metrics, including click-through rate (CTR), return-on-ad-spend (ROAS), cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
• Identify, track and report on key performance indicators, develop insights, and optimize strategies to maximize return on investment.  

Project Management & Innovation (15%)

• Facilitate strategic coordination and communication between Global Campus marketing and other university departments.
• Lead and supervise the digital marketing team.
• Lead project management for digital initiatives, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders
• Recommend marketing programs and provide creative and strategic direction to agencies.
• Participate in cross-functional project teams to ensure integrated marketing efforts are optimized and designed to achieve goals.
• Collaborate with creative teams and external partners/agencies to produce high-quality, optimized content.
• Identify new advertising opportunities for SDSU Global Campus programs and brand.

Other responsibilities (5%)

• Performs other duties as assigned, which may arise from the changing and evolving nature of Global Campus marketing activities.

Qualifications

• Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent training and administrative work experience involving study, analysis, and/or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of administrative policies, procedures, practices or programs.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

• Eight (8) years of digital media marketing experience; two of which in a progressively responsible supervisory or management role.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION:

• A background check (including a criminal records check) and Livescan (fingerprint) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with SDSU Research Foundation/KPBS
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an EEO/AA/Disability/Vets Employer 

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION

• Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU Research Foundation provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin or any other categories protected by federal or state law.  
• Employment decisions are based on an individual’s qualifications as they relate to the job under consideration. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has equal access to resources and support. 
• SDSU Research Foundation complies with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), and other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws including grant or contract terms and conditions related to funded program activities. Further the SDSU Research Foundation maintains a Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all programs, policies, and practices.  
• SDSU Research Foundation makes all employment decisions including, but not limited to, applicant screening, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, and terminations on the basis of merit.