Manager of Marketing, Paid Search

# Manager of Marketing, Paid Search Strategic Education Inc.

Minneapolis, MNFull-Time Oct 07, 2026

Marketing##

Job Description The Manager of Marketing, Paid Search owns the strategy, performance, and team responsible for paid search at Strayer University (SU). Reporting directly to the Director of Media Investments, this role is accountable for a multi-million dollar channel budget, for translating enrollment and revenue targets into forecasts and bid strategy, and for leading a team of paid search professionals. The Manager serves as the organization’s subject matter expert on search as the channel shifts toward AI-driven campaign types and automated bidding, sets and documents the channel standards and playbooks used across the Media Investments paid search function, and prepares the team and the channel operating model to absorb adjacent biddable channels should they be brought in-house in 2027.

The position collaborates with teams across the marketing organization, including Media Strategy, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Operations, Digital Experiences, Brand, and Product Portfolio Marketing.
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* Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

*** Owns end-to-end paid search strategy for Strayer University, translating enrollment and revenue targets into channel goals, budget allocation, and bid strategy across brand and non-brand
* Accountable for a multi-million dollar annual paid search budget, including forecast development, in-quarter pacing, reallocation decisions, and defending spend and performance recommendations to Media Strategy, Finance, and business leadership
* Owns the multi-quarter paid search roadmap and test-and-learn agenda; prioritizes initiatives based on enrollment impact rather than channel-level efficiency alone
* Makes and defends independent channel decisions within approved budget and performance guardrails; escalates to the Director only where decisions carry cross-brand or enterprise consequences
* Serves as enterprise subject matter expert on paid search; authors points of view on platform changes, forced migrations, and emerging campaign types, and recommends an enterprise position to the Director
* Directs campaign architecture and ongoing management, including new builds, restructures, match type and audience strategy, budget changes, bid adjustments, and ad copy, ensuring industry, brand, and legal compliance
* Sets strategy for automated and AI-driven campaign types, including Performance Max, AI Max for Search, and value-based and portfolio bidding; exercises judgment on when to rely on platform automation and when to override it
* Owns signal quality as a primary performance lever, including conversion definitions, offline conversion imports, value rules, audience feeds, and first-party data inputs, in partnership with Marketing Analytics and Marketing Operations
* Accountable for the configuration, governance, and return on investment of the paid search bid management platform and related channel technology; evaluates and recommends platform renewals and changes
* Directs the creation, automation, and maintenance of SEM reporting and analytics; partners with Marketing Analytics on standardized dashboards and on incrementality and geo-holdout testing to validate channel contribution
* Accountable for lead quality outcomes in addition to volume; partners with Enrollment, Marketing Operations, and Marketing Analytics to connect CPL and CPA to downstream application, start, and persistence metrics
* Manages, develops, and retains a team of one to five paid search professionals; sets goals, delivers regular feedback and formal performance reviews, and builds individual development plans
* Establishes and documents channel standards, quality assurance protocols, and…