About The Role

The Opportunity

eCornell is seeking an experienced, analytically rigorous Interim Director of Digital Marketing to lead one of the organization's most significant drivers of learner acquisition and revenue growth. This leader will own the strategy, optimization, and performance of a multimillion-dollar paid media investment, with deep responsibility for paid search and an expanding portfolio of performance marketing channels.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in performance marketing with strong business judgment and strategic leadership. They will be expected not simply to manage campaigns, but to determine where and how eCornell should invest to drive profitable growth; build rigorous measurement and experimentation practices; translate complex data into clear recommendations; and partner across Marketing, Analytics, Technology, Product, and Enrollment to improve performance across the full customer journey.

Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, this role will serve as eCornell's senior subject-matter expert for performance marketing, bringing an evidence-based, test-and-learn mindset to a rapidly changing landscape shaped by AI, evolving search behavior, new advertising technologies, and changing learner expectations.

This is a full-time, temporary (100% FTE) position for an initial six-month term, with the potential to transition into a regular, full-time position.

Key Responsibilities

Own performance marketing strategy and results across a multimillion-dollar media investment, accountable for qualified leads, enrollment revenue, ROAS, and profitable growth.
L ead paid search strategy a nd execution across Google and Microsoft, including campaign structure, bidding, conversion signals, audiences, budgets, and optimization.
Manage an integrated paid media portfolio across search, social, display, video, and emerging channels, optimizing investment across the customer journey.
Translate business goals into a clear growth roadmap , identifying where to invest, reduce spend, test, and scale.
Own performance measurement and reporting , establishing clear KPIs, attribution approaches, and analysis that accurately reflects business performance.
Turn data into actionable recommendations , clearly communicating performance, drivers, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions to senior leadership.
Lead a disciplined testing program across media, bidding, audiences, creative, offers, and landing pages, using evidence to determine what scales.
Drive lead generation and conversion optimization , partnering across teams to improve landing pages, lead quality, conversion rates, and revenue.
Strengthen marketing measurement and data infrastructure , including conversion tracking, lead grading, attribution, forecasting, and advertising platform signals.
Optimize overall marketing economics , balancing revenue, ROAS, acquisition costs, lead quality, scale, and incremental return.
Develop a full-funnel growth strategy , balancing high-intent demand capture with investments that build future demand.
Lead creative performance strategy with Brand and Design, establishing systematic creative testing and optimization within Cornell brand standards.
Stay ahead of performance marketing innovation , particularly AI, automation, evolving search behavior, measurement, and emerging channels.
Monitor competitors and market trends to identify emerging opportunities, risks, and changes in learner acquisition.
Lead agencies, platform partners, and vendors , setting clear expectations and ensuring partners deliver measurable value and best practices.
Serve as a strong cross-functional leader , partnering with Analytics, Technology, Enrollment, Product, Website, Creative, and senior leadership to drive growth

About the Department

As Cornell University’s online learning unit, eCornell delivers online professional certificate courses to individuals and organizations around the world. Courses are personally developed by Cornell faculty with expertise in a wide range of topics, including data analytics, management, marketing, human resources, leadership, and STEM. Students learn in an interactive, small cohort format to gain skills they can immediately apply in their organizations, while earning a professional certificate from Cornell University. eCornell has offered online learning courses and certificate programs for 15 years to over 130,000 students at more than 2,000 companies.

What We Need

Bachelor's degree and 5 to 7 years relevant experience or equivalent combination.
Demonstrated experience managing digital advertising campaigns, SEO/SEM, email marketing, and social media marketing.
Proficiency with marketing analytics platforms such as Google Analytics and campaign management tools.
Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills.
Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations.
Experience with marketing automation and CRM platforms

If you have all those things, great! We have a few more things that we would prefer you to have, but it’s ok if you don’t.

Experience marketing online education, professional development, higher education, or B2B services.
Experience with LinkedIn, Meta, programmatic advertising, and marketing automation platforms.
Familiarity with landing page development and website optimization.
Experience supporting multi-product portfolios and lead-generation programs.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

University Job Title

Temporary Consultant/Advisor, Senior

Job Family

Temporary Information Technology

Level

No Grade - Annual

Pay Rate Type

Salary

Pay Range

Refer to Posting Language

Remote Option Availability

Remote

Company

Contact Name

Freddie Salley

Contact Email

[email hidden]

Job Titles and Pay Ranges

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Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position
Unique applicable skills
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2026-08-31