Digital Marketing Specialist

Job Summary

The Digital Marketing Specialist is responsible for developing, implementing, optimizing, and measuring digital marketing initiatives that advance East Tennessee State University's strategic priorities, including student recruitment, retention, institutional reputation, academic program promotion, and community engagement.

Working within the Office of University Marketing and Communications (UMC), this position serves as the university's primary subject matter expert for digital advertising, marketing automation, audience targeting, campaign analytics, and performance measurement. The Digital Marketing Strategist collaborates with campus partners to develop and execute data-driven marketing strategies across paid search, paid social, display advertising, email marketing, and other digital channels.

This position will play a key role in the implementation and ongoing utilization of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, helping establish processes, workflows, audience segmentation strategies, and customer journey automation that support university-wide communication goals. The Digital Marketing Strategist will work closely with Student Life and Enrollment, the Graduate School, Information Technology Services, and other campus stakeholders to leverage data and technology in support of personalized, effective marketing communications.

In addition, this position is responsible for managing digital campaigns from planning through performance analysis; maintaining tracking and measurement infrastructure; providing actionable insights through analytics and reporting; and ensuring digital marketing efforts are strategically aligned, accurately measured, and continuously optimized to achieve institutional goals.

*Please note this is a 24-month limited-term contract position

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of digital advertising platforms including Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, YouTube Ads, and other paid media channels.
• Knowledge of marketing automation platforms and customer journey development, preferably Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
• Knowledge of Google Analytics (GA4), Google Data Studio, and Google Search Console, including the ability to build custom reports and dashboards.
• Proficiency with Google Tag Manager, including creating and managing tags, triggers, and variables for event tracking and pixel implementation.
• Basic understanding of web code, including HTML, CSS, and PHP, sufficient to implement tracking scripts, troubleshoot tag-firing issues, and communicate effectively with developers.
• Experience supporting analytics tracking continuity during web platform or system migrations.
• Knowledge of audience segmentation, retargeting strategies, and digital advertising best practices.
• Ability to analyze campaign performance data and translate findings into actionable strategies that inform web and marketing decisions.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders across the university.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Digital Media, Advertising, Communications, Information Systems, Business, or related field and three (3) years of professional experience in digital marketing, digital advertising, marketing automation, or related fields.
• Experience managing paid digital advertising campaigns across multiple platforms.
• Experience utilizing Google Analytics and campaign reporting tools.
• Experience managing marketing projects and working with multiple stakeholders.

OR

• A combination of education and work experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a higher education environment
• Experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot), or comparable marketing automation platforms.
• Experience with Google Tag Manager and conversion tracking implementation.
• Experience with CRM-based audience segmentation and lifecycle marketing strategies.
• Experience creating dashboards and reports using Data Studio or comparable business intelligence tools.

Compensation & Benefits

• Job Family – Communications and Marketing Professional 2
• Market Range 7 - $53,112.67
• For information on benefits, please visit Employee Benefits

Application Instructions and additional details

• Exempt positions are only required to be posted for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days. The closing date for this posting is subject to change without notice to applicants.
• References available upon request
• Employment is contingent on a satisfactory background check

ETSU is an Equal Opportunity Employer

University Overview

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is an institution with over 14,000 diverse students highly ranked graduate and undergraduate programs. Located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee, ETSU serves as a hub for community, discovery, and service. Aligned with the institution's mission, we value efforts to engage in teaching, scholarship, creative activities, and service that involve community partners and address significant societal needs in our region and beyond. Recognized in 2024 as a Great College to Work For, recent strategic initiatives prioritize the institution’s focus on community engagement.

Disclaimer: The Job Summary is intended to describe the general nature and level of work individuals perform in this classification. It is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Management reserves the right to revise the job or require different tasks to be performed as assigned to reflect changes in the position. Employees must be able to perform the position's essential functions satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations