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JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Penn State World Campus is seeking an individual to join our Media Team to manage and lead the execution and optimization of our search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns and strategies for Penn State World Campus brand, program, and military campaigns. This position also provides media research, campaign analytics, industry best practices, and support for those media efforts on a national and geo-targeted level.

This position for SEM Strategy will:

• lead the management of digital paid search marketing for Penn State World Campus and Penn State Outreach clients including in-house setup, maintenance, and campaign refinement of more than 60 paid search advertising campaigns (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads)
• manage campaign budget spends throughout the fiscal year, and provide preliminary and on-going budgetary analysis by monitoring line item spends by campaign and marketing channel (i.e. brand, program, military), as well as the campaign budget split by marketing tactic (i.e. search, RLSA, etc.)
• use and report out on website analytics and data analysis to make decisions for paid search bidding strategies and identify market opportunities and/or campaign issues, devise solutions or modifications, and consult with World Campus marketing team leads on implementing shifts in campaign strategy
• participate in consultations with external search vendor contacts to proactively implement campaign enhancements/optimizations, occasionally lead campaign type/creative testing and training efforts of campaign enhancements/optimizations
• stay up to date with new and changing paid search strategies, platform updates, and industry developments. Consistently use these learnings, along with paid search marketing performance, to develop new strategies to improve SEM performance and take advantage of new efficiencies
• consult with internal marketing strategists, marketing leadership, and external University stakeholders to develop strategies that align with annual enrollment goals

If filled as a level 4, this position will also:

• establish overall SEM strategies and continuous improvements that achieve annual enrollment goals for the immediate team and/or broader unit, as they relate to SEM
• build campaign budget recommendations for various channels that target various audiences and present to internal marketing strategists
• serve as the primary media strategist and buyer for SEM campaigns, developing, recommending, and implementing SEM marketing strategies and presenting on results to internal marketing strategists, marketing leadership, and other University stakeholders
• lead campaign consultations with external search vendors, serving as the primary SEM liaison to proactively implement campaign enhancements/optimizations along with new SEM products and ad types
• lead search engine marketing data analyses for specific program partners
• commission research into and report out on SEM industry trends and platform best practices and lead in the implementation of those practices across all SEM campaigns
• frequently lead and coordinate A/B testing across campaign tactics within brand, military, program, and portfolio campaigns, managing test deployments and the communication of test results
• autonomously manage financial data and budgets within the SEM platforms, frequently leading necessary changes to bidding strategies, budget pacing, and providing recommendations for overall SEM budget management

The ideal candidate will have:

• knowledge of search engine platforms, marketing, and optimization, as well as a general understanding of other CPC marketing strategies and principles
• experience working directly in SEM vendor platforms for campaign setup, audience and bid management, and campaign optimization
• strong analytical and decision-making skills
• excellent communication and presentation skills
• the ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, marketing leadership, and other individuals in the broader unit
• a proven ability to manage multiple tasks while switching priorities and focus

The ideal level 4 candidate will also have:

• the ability to autonomously make quick and timely decisions on the best way to achieve maximum campaign results
• experience communicating advertising partner changes to stakeholders at various levels within an organization
• experience commissioning and analyzing A/B testing across campaigns
• Ability to communicate complex platform strategies and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders

This job will be filled at a level 3 or level 4 depending upon the successful candidate's competencies, education, and experience. Typically requires a Bachelor's degree or higher plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience for a level 3 position. Additional experience and/or education and competencies are required for higher level jobs. The successful candidate will report directly to the Associate Director for SEM/SEO Strategy at Penn State World Campus, who manages the team of media strategists responsible for all of our SEM/SEO campaigns and budgets. If you have a record of accomplishment in a fast-paced, collaborative and challenging environment, we welcome your application.  

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