Director of Strategic Enrollment Marketing

About the job

Join The New School
At The New School, we redefine the boundaries of education, creativity, and innovation. Founded in 1919 and located in the heart of New York City, we are home to approximately 9,000 students from over 100 countries, offering more than 135 degree and diploma programs across our renowned colleges, including Parsons School of Design and the College of Performing Arts (Mannes, Jazz, and Drama), Lang College and the New School for Social Research, and Parsons Paris. Our progressive, interdisciplinary approach has earned us recognition as one of the most forward-thinking institutions in the world.

POSITION/ROLE OVERVIEW
The New School is a progressive, historic university in New York City, celebrated for redefining the boundaries of premier design, performing arts, liberal arts, and social research education. It is transitioning to a dynamic two-college model, designed to integrate all art, design, and performing arts within one college and liberal arts and social research in a second. To support this model, the Marketing & Communication (M&C) department is creating a highly supportive, integrated, and collaborative administrative ecosystem which includes two complementary and interwoven types of operating structures: one designed to provide an enterprise-wide spine of service and support and another with integrated M&C teams dedicated to each of the two colleges.

Reporting to the AVP for Parsons and Performing Arts Marketing & Communications, this Strategic Enrollment Marketing Director functions as an embedded leader dedicated to this college in our new university structure. They will be assigned to support specific schools and programs within this college, which is home to the Parsons, Mannes, New School Jazz and Contemporary Music, and New School Drama brands. This position bridges deep storytelling about our education in design, creative and performing arts with rigorous, data-informed marketing strategies to support undergraduate and graduate enrollment at our Parsons and Performing Arts college. This Strategic Enrollment Marketing Director ensures an authentic, compelling, and differentiating representation of our brands, academic experience, and scholarly initiatives to prospective students and key direct or cultural influencers. This professional must be a sophisticated marketing strategist, an expert relationship builder, and a dedicated advocate for the creative, scholarly, and progressive values that define The New School, and the hallmark brands of Parsons, Mannes, Jazz and Drama, and the centers, labs, and institutes affiliated with them.

• STRUCTURE & RELATIONSHIPS
• As a member of the Brand, Marketing & Communication department, this position reports to the AVP for Parsons and Performing Arts Marketing and Communication.
• Integrated as the strategic lead for assigned schools and programs with the BMC team dedicated to this college; leads marketing, positioning, and brand recruitment initiatives with this team for assigned schools and programs. Collaborating closely with Event Marketing, PR, and Community Engagement Directors within the M&C team, builds integrated marketing programs that elevate and promote engagement and enrollment.
• Works in close, continuous partnership with Enrollment Management (EM) and Admissions Directors, College Deans, Academic Program Chairs, faculty, and the full suite of marketing functional teams (Creative, Editorial, Media Relations, and Digital Platforms).
• Collaborates with counterparts within Parsons and Performing Arts assigned to sister schools and programs, as well as with counterparts in the second university college housing Lang and The New School for Social Research, to tell the robust and compelling story of distinctiveness offered via an educational experience at Parsons and Performing Arts and at The New School.

• KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Strategic Positioning, Awareness and Recruitment Marketing
• Academic Brand Advocacy: Support academic and enrollment leadership in defining and articulating unique, progressive brand value propositions and creative and intellectual contributions of Parsons and Performing Arts to the university narrative.
• Strategic Brief Architecture: Author the foundational strategic and creative briefs that distill market data and college/program identities into actionable guides for Creative, Editorial, Paid Media, and Digital Content activation team members.
• Brand Stewardship & Recruitment Strategy: Collaborating closely with college-dedicated colleagues, formulate, execute, and manage comprehensive annual strategic positioning, marketing and communications plans tailored specifically to support brand awareness, reputation-building, and student recruitment and for assigned schools and programs.
• Enrollment Partnership Alignment: Work in close, parallel alignment with Enrollment Management (EM) and recruitment communications peers to ensure a seamless, high-converting prospect experience that builds enrollment for undergraduate and graduate degree offerings.
• Targeted Campaign Strategy: Lead the development and deployment of prospect-focused marketing campaigns across owned and paid channels to meet institutional enrollment targets.
• Assessment & Optimization: In collaboration with EMSP and BMC partners, establish clear success metrics and tracking KPIs for marketing initiatives, evaluating performance against targets to continuously optimize strategies and activations.

• Audience Intelligence & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Market Intelligence & Analytics: Initiate, monitor, and evaluate audience insights and competitive landscape trends in higher education and art, design and performing arts education to provide ongoing recommendations to academic leaders regarding program appeal and market trends.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Act as the core liaison for assigned schools and programs with the integrated, dedicated BMC team and central spine resources, coordinating with PR, Social Media, and Online Marketing Platforms to integrate creative-practice and scholarly content into web hubs, newsletters, external campaigns.
• Public Activations: Integrate with the strategic marketing of major performances, events, and academic milestones to elevate the external visibility of creative education and our brands within the broader New York City and global community.

• MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, liberal arts, advertising, or a related field required.
• Professional Experience: 7–10 years of progressive experience in strategic marketing leadership, brand strategy, or conversion-driven communication roles within higher education, a non-profit organization, or an agency setting.
• Recruitment & Campaign Mastery: Proven track record of developing and executing multi-channel marketing campaigns (digital, social, print, and web) that influence audience behavior and achieve concrete student enrollment or audience acquisition goals.
• Scholarly Translation Skills: Demonstrated ability to comprehend complex academic information, graduate-level research, and progressive scholarly theories, translating them into accessible, inspiring narratives for prospective students and influencers.
• Collaborative Navigation: Exceptional interpersonal skills with the proven ability to build relationships and navigate a matrixed, shared-governance environment, earning consensus among academic deans, faculty, administrative staff, and central creative professionals.
• Communication Excellence: Persuasive, nuanced, and clear oral, written, and presentation skills.
• Technical Familiarity: Competency utilizing current marketing tools, presentation platforms (PowerPoint, Google Slides), and familiarity with user experience (UX) principles, SEO, and digital analytics platforms.

WORK MODE
This position is primarily in-person and is based on campus to support effective in-person collaboration and engagement.

Hybrid work arrangements may be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the role and operational needs. Any such arrangement must be discussed and approved in advance by the appropriate division lead or their designee. #LI-ONSITE

SALARY
$98,000 per annum

WHY JOIN US?
This is an extraordinary opportunity to work closely with a visionary leader and contribute meaningfully to a forward-thinking institution that’s reshaping the future of higher education. You’ll be at the nexus of strategy, operations, and innovation in a role that grows with your impact.

• BENEFITS AT THE NEW SCHOOL
• The New School is committed to supporting the well-being and success of our faculty and staff. We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their eligible dependents. Highlights include:
• Health & Wellness
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Financial Wellness
• Retirement plan administered by TIAA
• Qualified Transportation Expense Plan

• Work-Life Balance
• Paid vacation and sick leave, with accruals starting on your first day
• Paid holidays and floating holidays
• Workmode & Telework Policy (if applicable)

• Professional Growth
• Career advancement and professional development opportunities
• Access to university programs, lectures, and events featuring world-renowned speakers and organizations
• Tuition waiver benefit for eligible employees and dependents

• Additional Perks
• Employee discounts with local vendors and service providers

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or belief, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, marital or domestic partnership status, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. The New School recognizes and values the benefits of a diverse workforce.

We look forward to receiving your application!