Fast Facts

WGU is seeking a Senior Manager of Email Marketing to lead strategic email communications for prospective students. This role requires expertise in email marketing, team leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to enhance engagement and conversion outcomes.

Responsibilities: Oversee email channel strategy and execution, manage team performance, and drive optimization through data analysis and continuous testing. Develop audience segmentation and campaign strategies to maximize engagement.

Skills: Deep understanding of email marketing, CRM integration, and compliance standards. Strong project management and team leadership skills, combined with a strategic and analytical mindset.

Qualifications: Bachelor's degree required, with a preference for a Master's. 7+ years of email marketing experience and 3+ years in a leadership role, preferably with marketing automation experience (Marketo preferred).

Location: This position is based in Salt Lake City, United States, and is a full-time role.

Compensation: $101000 - $181800 / Annually

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: Management_Executive 608Pay Range: $101,000.00 - $181,800.00

Job Description

The Senior Manager, Email Marketing serves as the senior channel leader for all prospective student email communication. This role owns the email channel strategy, execution, and optimization to drive engagement and conversion outcomes. Acting as the subject matter expert for email marketing, this leader will design and manage integrated communication strategies across nurturing streams, campaigns, and one-off sends. This leader will inspire and develop a high-performing team of email marketing specialists, fostering collaboration, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement to achieve ambitious channel goals.

The Senior Manager will oversee and be responsible for channel performance and goals, champion data-driven decision making, and partner closely with cross-functional teams including creative, media, marketing automation, and the website team to deliver personalized, high-impact communications at scale. They will continuously test, refine, and innovate the email program to improve deliverability, engagement, and conversion, ensuring the channel effectively supports the organization’s growth goals.

Responsibilities

Channel Ownership & Strategy

• Serve as the senior leader and subject matter expert for the email marketing channel, owning strategy, vision, and roadmap.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive channel strategy that aligns with organizational goals, the rest of the marketing funnel and website experience, and prospective student communication objectives.
• Lead audience segmentation, journey mapping, and personalization strategies to maximize engagement and conversion.

Campaign Planning & Execution

• Oversee the planning, development, and deployment of all email campaigns — including nurturing streams, promotional sends, and one-off communications.
• Ensure messaging consistency, brand alignment, and compliance across all email communications.
• Partner with creative, content, and automation teams to deliver high-quality, timely campaigns.

Optimization & Performance Management

• Define, monitor, and report on key performance metrics (open rates, CTR, conversion, deliverability, etc.).
• Lead ongoing A/B testing, optimization, and innovation to improve engagement and effectiveness.
• Leverage analytics and data insights to drive continuous improvement and inform strategic decisions.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of email marketing professionals to achieve channel goals and foster career growth.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and creative problem-solving.
• Ensure the team stays current with evolving best practices, technologies, and compliance standards.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with marketing, creative, automation, analytics, and enrollment teams to ensure integrated, data-driven communication strategies.
• Advocate for the email channel across the organization, influencing strategy and prioritization.
• Collaborate with technology partners and vendors to enhance tools, capabilities, and performance.

Governance, Compliance & Innovation

• Ensure adherence to CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and other relevant privacy and compliance regulations.
• Oversee list hygiene, deliverability, and sender reputation.
• Stay informed on emerging trends to advance channel maturity.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities/Competencies

Strategic & Technical Knowledge

• Deep understanding of email marketing strategy, lifecycle marketing, and customer journey development, ideally within a complex or multi-audience environment.
• Strong knowledge of marketing automation platforms (Marketo experience a plus) and CRM integration principles.
• Expertise in email deliverability, list management, and compliance standards (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL, etc.).
• Understanding of segmentation, dynamic content, and personalization techniques to deliver targeted, relevant communications.

Leadership & Management Skills

• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing teams, fostering collaboration, accountability, and innovation.
• Strong project management and organizational skills; able to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously with attention to detail.
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional collaboration partnering with creative, technical, and analytical teams to deliver aligned outcomes.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans and measurable results.

Analytical & Creative Abilities

• Ability to balance creative and analytical thinking, pairing data-driven decision making with audience insight and storytelling.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on optimization, testing, and continuous improvement.
• Solid grasp of data analytics and performance measurement, including interpreting metrics to optimize engagement and conversion.

Communication & Influence

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to clearly articulate complex strategies to diverse stakeholders.
• Skilled in presenting insights, recommendations, and results to senior leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Ability to influence without authority, advocate for channel best practices, and drive alignment across teams.

Innovation & Agility

• Passion for staying current with email marketing trends, tools, and emerging technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt strategies based on evolving audience behavior, platform updates, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications

Education        

• A Bachelor's degree in related field, Master’s preferred

Experience

• 7+ years email marketing, nurturing, and CRM experience
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing people and projects
• Marketing Automation experience (Marketo preferred)

Experience in lieu of education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

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.