Product Marketing Manager, Graduate Programs

Position Summary

The Product Marketing Manager, Graduate Programs plays a strategic role within the Department of Strategic Initiatives at Fairfield University, serving as the steward of market-facing positioning, and program knowledge for the University’s graduate academic portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Develops and maintains clear positioning, value propositions, and key messaging that articulate graduate program strengths, outcomes, and differentiation.

• Serves as the product-aligned content strategist in partnership with the Associate Director of Graduate Marketing to support program launches, growth, and refreshes.

• Leverages market and competitive insights to inform program discoverability and prospective student intent through search behavior, SEO insights, and emerging AI-driven discovery trends (AIO).

• Cross-functional collaboration with graduate program directors, Deans, enrollment leadership, and admissions teams to ensure alignment between academic priorities and enrollment goals.

• Monitors, plans, and manages graduate program initiatives to ensure clear ownership, accountability, and progress toward enrollment goals.

• Leverages data and reporting tools to evaluate how program positioning impacts engagement, inquiry, and enrollment outcomes, and applies performance insights to refine messaging and inform recommendations.

• Supports long-term graduate portfolio strategy by applying performance insights to refine messaging and inform recommendations.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree is required in Marketing, Communications, Business, Education or a related field.

Knowledge & Skills

• Demonstrated ability to translate market research, competitive insights, and academic offerings into clear positioning and value propositions.
• Experience leveraging market data, search behavior, and performance indicators to inform strategic recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across academic, enrollment, and marketing stakeholders.
• Strong project planning and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives across a graduate portfolio.
• Strong understanding of the higher education landscape, particularly graduate program models.

Experience

• Minimum of 3–5 years of relevant experience in product marketing, program strategy, market research, enrollment strategy, or academic program administration.
• Experience supporting academic programs in higher education strongly preferred.
• Proven success working cross-functionally with academic leaders, enrollment teams, and marketing partners to support program growth and differentiation.
• Familiarity with digital discovery environments (e.g., SEO, AI-driven search) and how prospective students evaluate programs.