Director, Digital Marketing Strategy, Advancement

About EAB

EAB makes education smarter and strengthens communities through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. We partner with over 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change in enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement.

About Hybrid

Hybrid, recently acquired by EAB, is a globally recognized education marketing agency. We connect universities with students worldwide using advanced technology and AI-driven enrollment strategies. Join us to work on impactful projects with a supportive team.

The Role in Brief

We are seeking a Director of Digital Marketing Strategy, Advancement to partner with EAB's business development teams. This role involves translating fundraising priorities into differentiated digital engagement strategies, working with sales, Advancement strategists, creative teams, and digital specialists.

Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with business development teams throughout the sales process to understand institutional priorities, identify opportunities, and develop customized digital engagement solutions.
• Serve as EAB's subject-matter expert in digital fundraising, constituent engagement, and higher education Advancement during partner and prospect conversations.
• Translate institutional goals, capital and comprehensive campaign priorities, and audience needs into differentiated digital marketing recommendations that support business development efforts.
• Participate in discovery sessions, proposal development, and executive presentations, helping partners understand how digital engagement strategies can strengthen fundraising outcomes.
• Use market research, institutional data, audience insights, and campaign performance to develop strategic recommendations and identify opportunities for innovation.
• Collaborate with analytics, creative, and strategy teams to ensure proposed solutions are thoughtful, achievable, and aligned with partner expectations.
• Advise business development and partner teams on digital fundraising strategies that balance institutional goals, audience needs, budget, timing, and expected outcomes.
• Advise institutions on how digital marketing can support capital and comprehensive campaign objectives, including campaign awareness, donor acquisition, participation, stewardship, and milestone communications.
• Recommend integrated digital marketing approaches across paid search, paid social, display, video, landing pages, and emerging channels to support capital and comprehensive campaign communications, donor acquisition, participation, stewardship, and campaign awareness.
• Provide guidance on campaign messaging, audience segmentation, creative strategy, calls to action, and digital donor journeys.
• Help shape digital engagement strategies that connect institutional stories with meaningful opportunities for alumni, donors, families, and friends to engage and give.
• Ensure strategic recommendations are clearly documented and positioned for successful implementation by delivery teams.
• Serve as the connector across business development, creative, analytics, and delivery teams to ensure proposed solutions are differentiated, feasible, and aligned with partner expectations.
• Equip sales and partner-facing teams with the language, insights, examples, and tools needed to communicate the value of digital fundraising and engagement strategies.
• Develop training, case studies, presentation materials, and strategic frameworks that strengthen internal understanding of digital Advancement practices.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to the continued development of EAB’s digital strategy capabilities, methodologies, and standards.
• Share market insights and partner feedback with senior leaders to help shape future offerings, investments, and areas of expertise.
• Represent EAB at conferences, webinars, partner meetings, and other industry forums as a trusted advisor on digital engagement and Advancement strategies.
• Create thought leadership for blogs, research briefs, webinars, conference presentations, executive discussions, and partner-facing resources.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• At least 6-8+ years of progressively responsible experience in digital marketing, Advancement communications, fundraising strategy, media planning, consultative sales, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of direct experience working in or advising higher education Advancement organizations, including experience supporting digital communications and engagement strategies for comprehensive and/or capital campaigns, with a strong understanding of donor acquisition, alumni engagement, and pipeline development.
• Demonstrated ability to advise senior Advancement leaders and translate institutional priorities into integrated digital engagement and fundraising strategies.
• Strong knowledge of digital fundraising and paid media strategy, including paid search, social media, display, video, and emerging channels, with the ability to determine how and when these channels should support broader Advancement goals.
• Strong understanding of campaign communications and creative strategy, including audience segmentation, messaging, storytelling, calls to action, landing-page experiences, and donor journeys.
• Exceptional executive communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex strategies, data, and technical concepts into clear and compelling recommendations for senior leaders.
• Demonstrated thought leadership capabilities, including experience developing presentations, webinars, articles, research, strategic frameworks, or other external-facing content.
• Prominent ability to lead through influence and work effectively across business development, strategy, creative, analytics, product, and service-delivery teams.
• Strong judgment, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to identify emerging trends and assess their implications for higher education Advancement and fundraising.
• Willingness to travel domestically approximately 15-20%.

Ideal Qualifications

• Advanced degree in marketing, communications, higher education, fundraising, business, or a related field.
• Experience supporting the development or growth of multi-million-dollar partnerships, consulting engagements, or complex institutional solutions.
• Established credibility as a speaker, writer, facilitator, or subject-matter expert in digital engagement, Advancement, fundraising, campaign communications, or higher education marketing.
• Familiarity with higher education Advancement systems, data structures, and practices, including constituent relationship management, donor segmentation, engagement scoring, and fundraising performance measurement.
• Experience working with leadership annual giving, major gifts, alumni engagement, donor relations, or campaign teams.
• Understanding of how artificial intelligence, automation, personalization, and emerging technologies are influencing Advancement communications and digital fundraising.
• Commitment to continuous learning and to contributing to a collaborative and welcoming culture grounded in fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB’s mission, values, and aspirations.