Marketing Automation Manager (HR Title: Digital Marketing Specialist III)

Salary Range: Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications About SMU SMU's more than 12,000 diverse, high-achieving students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries to take advantage of the University's small classes, meaningful research opportunities, leadership development, community service, international study and innovative programs. SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences , Cox School of Business , Lyle School of Engineering , Meadows School of the Arts , Simmons School of Education and Human Development , Dedman School of Law , Perkins School of Theology and Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies . SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem - paired with entrepreneurial drive - creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence. Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU's relationship with Dallas - the dynamic center of one of the nation's fastest-growing regions - offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact. SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry. About the Department: Development and External Affairs (DEA) supports SMU by securing funding for University priorities; by promoting meaningful involvement in the life and work of the University; by heightening international, national, state and local awareness of SMU; and by supporting the enrollment of a diverse and able student body. DEA comprises the offices of Office of the Senior Vice President, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, Development Services, Program Services and Donor Relations, Marketing and Communications, Principal and Major Gifts, and School and Project Development. SMU continues to leverage the benefits from the largest fundraising campaign in its history to achieve dramatic increases in academic quality and impact. About the Position: This role is an on-campus, in-person position. The Marketing Automation Manager oversees SMU's email marketing strategy. Under the general direction of the Executive Director of Digital Marketing, the Marketing Automation Manager leverages CRM and email marketing technologies to build university-wide email marketing strategies. This role plays a critical part in developing and implementing best practices for email marketing, educating users across campus, and ensuring a cohesive, audience-focused approach to email strategy. Essential Functions: Email Strategy Development: Build and implement a university-wide email marketing strategy that aligns with institutional goals.> Evaluate email communication practices across campus and identify opportunities for improvement. Ensure all email campaigns adhere to best practices for deliverability, design, and performance. Support SMU's marketing technology roadmap and digital transformation. Education and Collaboration: Serve as a subject matter expert to educate and train email users across the university on best practices. Partner with schools, colleges, and departments to enhance their email marketing efforts Lead the university's Center of Excellence Committee for Salesforce Marketing Cloud email marketing. Campaign Performance Management: Monitor and analyze email campaigns across the university to identify and prevent audience saturation. Develop a cohesive approach to segmenting audiences and personalizing communications. Track and analyze email performance metrics to measure success and inform future strategy. Generate reports and share insights with stakeholders. Campaign implementation Develop and optimize Recruitment Campaigns: Support undergraduate and graduate student recruitment campaigns. If needed, design and execute marketing automation strategies for SMU' student recruitment campaigns. Utilize persona-based segmentation, A/B testing, and journey optimization to enhance enrollment and retention outcomes . Cross-Department Collaboration: Partner with key SMU departments, including Development Services to ensure seamless CRM integration; Office of IT to coordinate database integrations to support robust campaign tracking and reporting; Creative Marketing to create email designs that aligns with SMU's brand and campaign goals; Web Development to develop and optimize landing pages for campaign effectiveness. Mass Email Execution: Manage and execute high-priority email distributions for SMU's executive offices.Alumni and Fundraising Support: Develop and implement email campaigns and journeys to enhance alumni engagement and support fundraising initiatives. Collaboration: Team with creatives to the content and design of messages, project managers and the rest of the digital marketing team on integrated marketing campaigns. Other duties as assigned Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree is required. A degree in Marketing or Communications is preferred. A minimum of five years of work experience in email marketing is required. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Candidate must demonstrate strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate broadly across the University and develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of constituencies. Must also demonstrate strong written communication skills. Candidate must possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, as well as devise solutions. Must also have strong organizational, planning and time management skills. S trong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data and provide actionable recommendations, are essential. Candidate must have a strong understanding of enrollment marketing, particularly for undergraduate and graduate audiences. Demonstrated track record of developing and implementing successful email strategies is essential. Candidate must have a strong working knowledge of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and CSS. Knowledge of email deliverability standards, CAN-SPAM compliance, and other relevant regulations is required. A working knowledge of and/or experience with one or more of the following is preferred: Slate, HTML, JavaScript, SQL. Experience in CRM integration desired. Experience in data visualization, such as Tableau, preferred. Physical and Environmental Demands: Sit for long periods of time Deadline to Apply: March 31, 2025Priority consideration may be given to submissions received by February 28, 2025. EEO Statement: SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, 214-768-3601, accessequitysmu.edu . Benefits: SMU offers staff a broad, competitive array of health and related benefit s. In addition to traditional benefits such as health, dental, and vision plans, SMU offers a wide range of wellness programs to help attract, support, and retain our employees whose work continues to make SMU an outstanding education and research institution. SMU is committed to providing an array of retirement programs that benefit and protect you and your family throughout your working years at SMU and, if you meet SMU's retirement eligibility criteria, during your retirement years after you leave SMU. The value of learning at SMU isn't just about preparing our students for the future. Employees have access to a wide variety of professional and personal development opportunities , including tuition benefits .