Senior Principal, Digital Marketing Strategy

Position Overview: Pearson Virtual Schools is seeking an exceptional senior performance marketing leader to drive new student enrollment for Connections Academy, a tuition-free, accredited K-12 online public school.

This is a pivotal leadership role where you will spearhead the paid media strategy, manage budget allocations, and collaborate with agency partners and internal teams to achieve substantial enrollment growth and foster long-term value within a dynamic educational framework.

Key Responsibilities

• Performance Marketing Strategy: Lead the development and continuous enhancement of a comprehensive performance marketing strategy with a strong focus on Paid Search.
• Utilize insights derived from our education model to inform media strategy and investment decisions.
• Facilitate growth across a range of channels including Search, Paid Social, Online Video, OTT, Display, Programmatic, and Digital Out Of Home (DOOH).

Budget Management and Agency Leadership

• Oversee a substantial paid media budget, strategically optimizing expenditures to meet enrollment, ROI, and LTV objectives.
• Guide and mentor external advertising agencies to reach specific enrollment, cost-per-enrollment, and testing targets.
• Provide invaluable support and mentorship to an internal team member, fostering an environment of high performance and collaboration.

Execution and Optimization

• Manage the planning, execution, and optimization of campaigns centered on performance outcomes.
• Devise strategies for paid landing pages, emphasizing testing and conversion rate enhancement.
• Implement thorough experimentation techniques, such as A/B and multivariate testing, to maximize campaign effectiveness.
• Leverage AI and automation technologies to improve campaign performance and operational efficiencies.

Analytics and Cross-Department Collaboration

• Work in close partnership with Analytics and Finance for precise forecasting, budgeting, and measurement strategies.
• Lead the implementation of advanced measurement methodologies, including Marketing Mix Modeling.
• Ensure accurate tagging, tracking, and data integrity across digital platforms.
• Transform performance metrics into actionable insights and engaging presentations for executive stakeholders.
• Establish and nurture relationships with Marketing, Analytics, Finance, Enrollment, and Digital Center of Excellence teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Paid Search (SEM) with a strong understanding of additional performance media.
• 3+ years of experience managing large budgets, with performance media expenditures exceeding $50 million.
• Proven success in effectively managing agencies and internal stakeholders.
• Strong skills in marketing analytics, tagging, tracking, and Marketing Mix Modeling.
• Familiarity with applying AI to improve campaign outcomes and workflows.
• A growth mindset focused on eCommerce and lead-generation strategies.
• Strong leadership abilities with exceptional communication and presentation skills.

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by various factors including skills, experience, and specific location. The pay range for this role is between $190,000 - $220,000 per annum.

Applications will be accepted until the 19th of February.

This position also participates in an annual incentive program, with additional information about benefits available upon request.

About Us: At Pearson, our mission is to help individuals realize their aspirations through learning. We strive to create an environment where every educational opportunity can lead to significant personal breakthroughs. As a premier lifelong learning organization, we focus not only on our work but on who we are. To learn more about us, please visit our website.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected group by law.

If you need assistance accessing our career site due to a disability, please reach out for reasonable accommodations through our support email.

Job Category: Marketing

Job Family: GO_TO_MARKET

Organization: Corporate Marketing & Communications

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Remote

Req ID: 22554