Department: Marketing and Communications
Location: Jerry Sue Thornton Center
Reports To: VP, Chief Marketing Officer
Recruitment Type: External/Internal
Requisition ID: req7142
Employment Type: Administration and Professionals
Union Position: Non-Union
Work Schedule: M-F, 8:30am-5pm
Number of Openings: 1
Job Description:
SUMMARY
Tri-C is investing in a new kind of digital leadership, one that puts the learner journey at the center of everything. The Director (Sr.) of Digital Experience & Performance is a newly created, high-impact role reporting directly to the Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer. This leader will be a builder and a strategist: someone who can envision a modern, learner-centered digital ecosystem and drive the execution needed to make it real. The work will directly advance Tri-C’s mission of expanding access, opportunity, and economic mobility across Northeast Ohio by removing barriers, strengthening engagement, and improving conversion at every stage of the learner journey.
This role brings together digital strategy, performance marketing, lifecycle communications, user experience, and data-informed decision making, with a growing emphasis on AI-enabled personalization and automation. The Director will lead and grow a team currently composed of 3 - 4 people, with the mandate and CMO partnership to scale the function over time. It is a rare opportunity to define and build something significant at one of the nation’s largest community colleges and Ohio’s first.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Leads the College’s digital experience strategy across all learner-facing touchpoints, ensuring a seamless, intuitive, and accessible user experience across web, mobile and platform environments.
- Designs, implements, and optimizes digital experiences across the website, CRM, and marketing automation platforms to reduce friction, improve usability, and increase learner conversion.
- Owns lifecycle digital communication strategy and governance, including audience segmentation, email cadence, automation, cross-channel orchestration, send prioritization, and contact policies to prevent over-saturation.
- Oversees performance marketing and channel strategy, including paid search, paid social, display, SEO, retargeting, and integration of earned, owned, and paid media to drive conversion.
- Leads experimentation and optimization efforts, including A/B testing, landing page and form optimization, and continuous scaling of high-performance campaigns.
- Partners across Marketing & Communications, including Brand & Portfolio Strategy and Strategic Communications & Content, and Creative Services to align targeting, messaging, creative, content, and channel execution with institutional priorities.
- Establishes KPIs and manages digital analytics, including dashboards, reporting, attribution modeling, and performance insights that translate data into actionable recommendations and foster a culture of data-informed decision making.
- Partners with recruiting, enrollment, and retention teams to ensure seamless lead capture, nurturing, and handoff processes.
- Oversees the College's web ecosystem and marketing technology stack, including the strategic direction, design, implementation, and optimization of the CMS, CRM, marketing automation, analytics platforms, and key tools such as SharePoint Online, Concept3D, Localist, and Eventbrite.
- Collaborates with ITS on platform architecture, integrations, data governance, security, and performance, and user experience, including alignment on My Tri-C Space design.
- Evaluates, implements, and optimizes digital technologies to advance personalization, automation, and overall digital performance.
- Ensures all digital platforms and content meet ADA and WCAG accessibility standards through proactive monitoring, issue resolution (SiteImprove), and partnership with ITS and content teams.
- Leads, develops, and grows a digital experience and performance team, with responsibility for defining team structure, setting clear goals, fostering accountability, and building a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement as the function scales.
- Ensures strong integration across CRM, web experience, and performance marketing to deliver a cohesive, conversion-focused digital ecosystem that supports institutional growth and reputation.
- Serves as a key strategic partner in advancing the beginning of the student journey and broader College priorities.
Performs other duties as assigned
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE/TRAINING
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, digital strategy, business, or related field.
- Significant related experience may substitute for education.
- Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in digital marketing, performance marketing, or digital experience strategy.
- Minimum of three (3) years of managing and developing a team of direct reports.
- Demonstrated experience leading or significantly contributing to digital strategy, performance marketing, or conversion-focused initiatives with demonstrated results.
- Proven success owning and optimizing full-funnel performance (e.g., lead generation, conversion, enrollment, or revenue growth).
Experience with CRM systems, marketing automation, and web analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Salesforce, etc.).
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KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES
- Deep expertise in paid media, SEO/SEM, web strategy, UX, and marketing analytics.
- Strong leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills, including partnership with IT and technical teams.
- Ability to direct and evaluate digital marketing to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with institutional priorities and brand standards.
- Strong interpersonal and influence skills with the ability to build relationships across the College.
- Ability to understand user behavior and journey design to optimize digital touchpoints.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives in a deadline-driven environment.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment in sensitive and high-visibility communications situations.
- Demonstrated ability to understand and evaluate statistical information and turn findings into effective action, measurable outcomes, and continuous optimization.
- Strong project management skills with the ability to drive results.
- Ability to develop and maintain relationships with key contacts to enhance workflow and quality.
- Demonstrated curiosity and fluency with emerging digital and AI technologies, including the ability to evaluate, pilot, and scale tools that advance personalization, automation, and learner engagement.
Possess sensitivity to appropriately respond to the needs of students and the community.
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COMPETENCIES
CRITICAL COMPETENCIES
- Communication
- Time Utilization
Quality of Work
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VERY IMPORTANT COMPETENCIES
- Collaboration
Continuous Improvement
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IMPORTANT COMPETENCIES
- Service Focus
Adaptability
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PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE/TRAINING
- Master’s degree
- Higher education experience, particularly in enrollment marketing or student lifecycle communications
- Experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot, or comparable enterprise marketing automation platforms
- Demonstrated experience building or scaling a digital team or function, including defining roles and evolving team structure
Experience evaluating or deploying AI tools for personalization, content optimization, or marketing automation
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PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORKING CONDITIONS
(The demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)
- The work is performed in a normal, professional office environment.
- The work area is adequately lit, heated, and ventilated.
- Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform the duties of the job and will perform repetitive motions with hands/fingers using a computer mouse and keyboard to type. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying light items such as papers, files, pamphlets, books, etc.
Work may also require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the worksite.
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Target Starting Salary Range: $110,000 to $120,000
The final offer for the successful candidate is targeted to fall within this range but will be based upon an assessment of internal equity, the unit’s available budget, and the candidate’s qualifications in relation to the minimum and/or preferred job requirement(s).
Special Note: If hired, you must reside in the state of Ohio and be within commuting distance of this work location/campus to respond to onsite work demands upon the employment start date and throughout the duration of your employment with the College, as outlined in 3354:1-40-01.1 Recruitment and Selection Procedure.
Special Instructions to Applicants: During the application process, you may be required to attach a cover letter and/or resume. It is recommended that you have these documents ready to be attached electronically to the online application. This system accepts only MS Word or PDF attachments. Any employment with the College is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check and drug screen.
Equal Opportunity Statement: Cuyahoga Community College is committed to attaining excellence through the recruitment and retention of a qualified workforce. Cuyahoga Community College is an equal employment/educational opportunity institution.
