Executive Director of Enrollment Marketing

About SAIC

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC's undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world-as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

About the Department

SAIC's Marketing and Communications team advances the School's reputation and promotes the value of an art and design education through storytelling, brand stewardship, transparent communications, and collaborative engagement that promotes recruitment and fundraising.

Position Summary

The Executive Director of Enrollment Marketing is a strategic and creative leader responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing strategies to drive awareness, inquiries, and enrollment for SAICs undergraduate, graduate, and continuing studies programs. The incumbent leads SAICs enrollment-focused marketing efforts, including digital advertising, programmatic campaigns, content strategy, CRM and marketing automation, yield communications, SEO, and performance reporting.

Responsibilities

• Leads integrated, multi-channel marketing strategies to generate prospective student inquiries and drives enrollment across undergraduate, graduate, and continuing studies programs.
• Develops and manages messaging frameworks and campaign calendars aligned with SAICs student recruitment priorities.
• Leverages institutional brand storytelling with targeted programmatic marketing campaigns for key academic areas.
• Leads digital and performance marketing by setting strategy and overseeing execution for digital advertising channels, managing campaign budgets and overseeing SEO strategy,
• Leads recruitment content planning and production across web, email, social media, and print platforms to ensure creative, accurate, and brand-aligned storytelling.
• Aligns communications with the prospective student audience journey and oversees SAICs marketing automation strategy.
• Oversees yield campaigns and event promotion to include the design and execution of yield communications. Coordinates integrated marketing plans for recruitment events.
• Creates and maintains dashboards and reports tracking marketing effectiveness, inquiry/application flow, and campaign ROI.
• Supervises internal recruitment marketing staff and manages external agency and platform vendor relationships.
• Enhances cross-functional collaboration with Admissions, Continuing Studies, and Academic Affairs.
• Oversee budgets and timelines for digital campaigns, content production, and media spend.
• Occasional evening or weekend work may be required to support recruitment events and institutional priorities.
• Occasional travel may be required for conferences, recruitment, or other business needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in marketing, communications, or a related field.
• 7-10 years of progressive experience in digital marketing, enrollment marketing, or strategic communications, preferably in higher education or an agency setting.
• Proven experience developing and executing high-performing, data-informed marketing campaigns.
• Strong background in CRM and marketing automation platforms (e.g., Slate, Salesforce, HubSpot).
• Demonstrated leadership managing teams, vendors, and cross-campus collaborations.
• Experience in art and design education or a passion for creative communities is a plus.
• Exceptional communication, project management, and analytical skills.
• Expertise in digital marketing strategy, performance marketing, CRM, and marketing automation.
• Ability to develop and execute integrated, data-informed marketing campaigns.
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills with the ability to manage cross-functional teams, vendors, and agency partners.
• Results oriented leader.

Compensation & Benefits

Please click on the links below to view our competitive, comprehensive benefits package:

• Hiring Range: $140,000 - $153,750 Annually

The expected hiring range is an estimated amount for positions based on the grade. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, qualifications and other job-related reasons.

• Benefits
• PTO Overview
• Job Classification: Full time exempt
• Employment Category: Staff
• Grade Level: 10

If you are accessing this listing from a third party, not all links to salary and benefits information may work. Please visit our career page at saic/artic.edu/employment for complete information

Application Instructions

Please submit your resume and cover letter to be considered for this position.

Accessibility

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following page:

Accessibility Accommodation for Applicants

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals compliant with federal and state laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.