Sr. Performance Marketing Manager; Paid Media

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Full Time Phoenix, AZ, US

30 days ago Requisition

Your Role:

As the Senior Performance Marketing Manager (Paid Media), you’ll own the strategy, investment, and performance outcomes of CEA CAPA’s paid digital acquisition programs. You’ll drive qualified B2C leads and enrollment pipeline across CEA CAPA’s portfolio by setting paid social and paid search strategy, overseeing significant budget investment, and leading agency execution with clear accountability to ROI.

You’ll operate as the senior owner of paid media performance—translating enrollment goals into channel-level investment decisions, forecasting outcomes, and driving continuous optimization across platforms. This role requires advanced analytical rigor, financial discipline, and deep expertise across the digital acquisition landscape as you guide CEA CAPA’s paid media growth engine.

This position is eligible for remote work within the United States; however, it is not open to candidates who reside in or will perform work in the following states/jurisdictions: CA, CO, HI, IL, MA, MN, NV, NY, VT, WA, NJ, and DC.

What You’ll Do:

• Own and evolve paid social and paid search strategy aligned to lead generation, pipeline, and enrollment outcomes.
• Define audience strategy, bidding frameworks, creative testing roadmaps, and funnel optimization approaches.
• Scale high-performing campaigns while systematically testing new channels, formats, and acquisition opportunities.
• Ensure paid initiatives align with integrated marketing plans, launch calendars, and portfolio priorities.

Investment & Agency Management

• Own and manage paid media budgets across platforms, with accountability to efficiency, scale, and ROI targets.
• Develop monthly and quarterly investment strategies informed by seasonality, performance trends, and enrollment goals.
• Forecast lead volume, CPL, CPA, and pipeline contribution across multiple budget scenarios.
• Continuously reallocate spend based on marginal performance and diminishing returns.
• Lead agency partners with clear performance expectations, execution standards, and optimization priorities.
• Deliver regular pacing, forecasting, and performance updates to the Director.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Brand to shape creative direction and asset development optimized for paid channels.
• Partner closely with the Specialist, Social Media to ensure cohesive storytelling across paid and organic experiences.
• Work with Lifecycle Marketing to strengthen lead-to-application conversion and downstream performance.
• Align paid performance insights with Marketing, Enrollment, and Sales stakeholders.

Performance & Reporting

• Own forecasting, pacing, and variance analysis against enrollment and pipeline targets.
• Track and analyze KPIs including lead volume, CPL, CPA, ROAS, and channel-level ROI.
• Partner with Analytics and Web teams to ensure accurate attribution, tagging integrity, and reliable dashboards.
• Translate performance insights into clear recommendations for investment shifts and strategy adjustments.

What Makes a Great Candidate:

• 6–10+ years of paid media or performance marketing experience with direct budget ownership.
• Proven success managing and optimizing large-scale paid social and search programs.
• Strong experience with budgeting, forecasting, and ROI modeling.
• Demonstrated ability to connect media investment to pipeline and enrollment outcomes.
• Experience leading agency relationships with clear performance accountability.

What Sets You Apart:

• Experience in higher education, education abroad, or mission-driven organizations.
• Background operating in high-consideration or application-based customer journeys.
• Familiarity with SEO/GEO/AEO optimization strategies.
• Experience managing multi-product or portfolio acquisition funnels.
• Experience working within Salesforce and Hub Spot reporting environments.

We believe great talent comes in many forms and that there is no one size fits all in hiring. If you feel you may be a great fit for this role but do not…