Creative Director for Digital Strategy

Job Title:

Creative Director for Digital Strategy

Department: Marketing & Communications

Reports to: Director of Marketing & Communications

Effective Date: March 2, 2026

# of Direct Reports: 6

# of People Supported: 2

Job Description:

The Creative Director for Digital Strategy provides both strategic leadership and hands-on execution for Manhattanville University's digital marketing and social media initiatives. This role serves as the University's lead digital marketing strategist and an active practitioner, responsible not only for setting direction but for directly building, managing, and optimizing digital campaigns, content, and platforms that advance institutional priorities including enrollment growth, brand awareness, engagement, and reputation management.

This position actively manages the University's social media ecosystem, creates and deploys digital content and campaigns, and oversees digital performance measurement through ongoing analysis, testing, and optimization. The Creative Director leads the student digital content program, structured as a Learning Lab, by working side-by-side with students to produce real-time content, execute campaigns, and develop professional skills through experiential learning.

The Creative Director combines strategy, execution, creative direction, analytics, and student mentorship, serving as both a visionary and a doer while operating within the broader Marketing & Communications governance and approval framework. The Creative Director for Digital Strategy reports to the Director of Marketing & Communications and works collaboratively with colleagues across Marketing & Communications, Admissions, Advancement, Academic Affairs, Student Life, Athletics, and Information Technology.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Oversees the daily workflow related to digital marketing and social media strategy.
• Supervises, trains, recruits, and mentors student workers participating in the Digital Learning Lab program.
• Provides constructive feedback and performance guidance to student contributors.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Digital Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive digital strategy that supports University goals, campaigns, and brand positioning in alignment with Marketing & Communications priorities.
• Establish short- and long-term digital priorities, goals, and performance benchmarks to support institutional objectives.
• Evaluate emerging digital platforms, technologies, and trends and recommend appropriate strategic applications.
• Ensure digital initiatives align with established brand standards, messaging frameworks, and institutional values.

Social Media Strategy & Execution

• Provide strategic oversight for the University's official social media channels supporting enrollment, advancement, alumni engagement, and signature events.
• Establish platform-specific strategies, content frameworks, editorial calendars, and workflows.
• Guide the development of content in collaboration with communications staff, designers, and student contributors.
• Ensure consistency in voice, tone, visual identity, and messaging across platforms.

Digital Metrics, Analytics & Reporting

• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics for digital marketing and social media initiatives in collaboration with your supervisor.
• Monitor, analyze, and interpret performance data related to reach, engagement, growth, and campaign effectiveness.
• Prepare performance reports and strategic recommendations for departmental leadership and campus stakeholders.
• Use data to drive optimization, continuous improvement, and future planning.

Paid Digital & Campaign Support

• Provide strategic guidance for paid digital advertising initiatives in collaboration with department leadership and external partners.
• Support campaign planning, targeting, creative alignment, testing, and performance evaluation.
• Offer data-driven recommendations to improve campaign effectiveness and return on investment, with budget authority and final approvals retained by department leadership.

Student Digital Learning Lab Management

• Lead the University's student digital content program as a structured Learning Lab.
• Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate student workers.
• Establish learning objectives, professional standards, and assessment methods aligned with experiential learning goals.
• Mentor students in digital storytelling, content strategy, analytics, and professional workplace practices.
• Ensure all student-produced content meets institutional quality, brand, accessibility, and compliance standards.

Creative Direction & Content Collaboration

• Provide creative direction for digital storytelling across social and digital campaigns.
• Review digital content for strategic alignment and effectiveness, escalating final approvals as required.
• Collaborate with editorial, graphic design, and web colleagues on integrated marketing initiatives.

Collaboration & Institutional Partnership

• Serve as a strategic advisor to campus partners on digital engagement and audience strategy.
• Collaborate across departments to translate institutional objectives into effective digital initiatives.
• Participate in cross-functional project teams as needed.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing data-informed digital and social media strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate performance data into actionable insights.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or managing student workers, interns, or staff.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Familiarity with paid digital advertising platforms and optimization strategies.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards, digital compliance, and inclusive content practices.
• Experience evaluating or piloting emerging technologies, including AI-driven tools, in a marketing or communications context.
• Ability to function effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, digital media, journalism, or related field. Masters' degree preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in digital marketing, media strategy, social media strategy, or digital communications.
• Demonstrated success developing, executing, and evaluating data-informed digital marketing and social media strategies that support organizational goals.
• Experience managing or significantly contributing to integrated digital campaigns, including organic and paid digital efforts.
• Proven experience analyzing digital performance metrics and translating insights into actionable recommendations and strategy refinements.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or training student workers, interns, or early-career professionals.
• Experience working within a higher education environment, enrollment marketing context, or other mission-driven organization strongly preferred.
• Experience collaborating across departments and serving as a strategic advisor to internal stakeholders.
• Familiarity with digital governance structures, brand standards, and approval workflows in a complex organizational environment.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

Salary:

The annual salary for this position is $85,000

Hours Expectation:

Full-time, 35 hours per week

Housing:

Housing is not provided.

Benefits:

Manhattanville University also offers a highly competitive and comprehensive benefits package, including tuition remission. For more information regarding benefits, please visit our benefits page: Manhattanville Benefits