Digital Marketing Specialist

The Digital Marketing Specialist will own the daily execution of NWUs paid digital marketing presence - building campaigns identifying and evaluating target audiences from a wide field of options monitoring performance making data-driven adjustments and keeping our channels active and precise. Roughly 80% of the role is digital marketing strategy and execution; the remaining 20% is hands-on video and photography production in support of those campaigns.

This person will work closely with the Director of Marketing and Communications and alongside NWUs agency partners to ensure our digital channels are coordinated measurable and continuously improving. They will bring both analytical discipline and creative instincts - comfortable reading campaign data in the morning and scripting a 60-second Reel in the afternoon.

Critically this is someone who thinks in audiences. They understand that reaching a prospective theatre student in high school requires a fundamentally different message platform and creative approach than re-engaging an alumnus who has been out of touch for a decade. They use personas to anticipate behavior and place ads with precision and they know how to make both conversations feel personal.

Status

Nebraska Wesleyan University is home to students who compete on the athletic field on Saturday and perform on stage on Friday night. They study abroad publish undergraduate research and graduate knowing their professors by name. Telling that story - and getting it in front of the students who need to hear it - takes more than good content. It takes someone who knows how to reach people where they are.

NWU is seeking a Digital Marketing Specialist to build and run a paid digital presence that matches the energy of our campus. You will own campaigns across Meta Google TikTok OTT platforms and whatever comes next - identifying target audiences managing spend reading the data daily and adjusting until the work performs. You are the person who knows why an ad is underdelivering at 9 a.m. and has already made a change by 10.

This role also brings a creative edge. Roughly 20% of your time will be spent behind a camera - filming short-form video and capturing photography that shows NWU as it actually is not as a stock photo library imagines it. The rest is strategy targeting analytics and the discipline to do it all again tomorrow.

Department

Marketing & Communications

Responsibilities

Paid Digital Campaign Management (approximately 80%)

• Build manage and continuously optimize paid campaigns across Meta Google (Performance Max Search and Display) TikTok YouTube OTT/connected TV and emerging AI-powered advertising platforms.

• Develop and execute sustained campaign structures layered with highly targeted campaigns tied to NWUs strongest academic programs and distinct prospective student audiences.

• Research evaluate and select target audiences from a wide range of available options -- identifying who to reach on which platform with what message and at what stage of their decision.

• Monitor campaign analytics daily making real-time adjustments to targeting creative bidding and budget allocation to improve performance.

• Build and manage audience strategy using first-party data signals persona-based targeting and location-based tactics to reach prospective students and their families with precision.

• Determine the best timing and strategy for boosting organic social content to extend reach beyond existing audiences.

• Track platform trends and emerging tools identifying effective ways to incorporate them into NWUs digital strategy before they become standard practice.

• Manage and support email marketing campaigns including prospective student drip sequences coordinated through NWUs CRM.

• Collaborate closely with NWUs writers and content team on social media strategy ensuring paid and organic efforts are aligned and mutually reinforcing.

• Work alongside agency partners to coordinate campaign strategy provide institutional audience insights and ensure NWUs brand is represented accurately across all paid channels.

• Produce clear actionable performance reports that translate data into recommendations -- not just numbers.

• Contribute to SEO strategy and support website content updates as needed.

Video & Photography Production (approximately 20%)

• Film and edit short-form video content for Instagram Reels TikTok YouTube Shorts and paid ad creative -- fast authentic and built for how people actually watch.

• Capture photography in support of marketing campaigns events and digital assets with a preference for real moments over staged ones.

• Build and maintain a digital asset library of b-roll footage photography and brand visuals the broader team can draw from.

• Adapt video content across formats and aspect ratios for different platforms and campaign objectives.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelors degree in marketing communications digital media or a related field -- or equivalent demonstrated experience.

• Two or more years of hands-on experience in digital marketing with direct responsibility for paid campaign strategy and execution.

• Proven experience managing Meta Ads campaigns end-to-end: campaign setup audience targeting budget management creative testing and performance optimization.

• Experience with Google Ads including Performance Max Search and Display campaign types.

• Working knowledge of TikTok Ads Manager and comfort with the platforms distinct content culture and algorithm behavior.

• Understanding of OTT/connected TV advertising and how it functions within a broader campaign mix.

• Demonstrated ability to read and act on campaign analytics daily -- not just pull reports but use data to make decisions.

• Experience building audience strategy using personas first-party data and behavioral targeting to reach distinct audience segments with tailored messaging.

• Familiarity with geofencing and location-based advertising tactics.

• Experience with A/B testing: setting up tests reading results and iterating on creative and targeting based on findings.

• Understanding of pixel implementation conversion tracking and event-based optimization.

• Experience with email marketing platforms and CRM-integrated campaign sequencing.

• Video production and editing skills with proficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro Final Cut Pro CapCut or equivalent tools.

• Proficiency in Canva for social graphics ad creative and campaign asset production.

• Photography skills including comfort working in uncontrolled real-world environments like campus events and outdoor settings.

• Strong written communication skills -- able to write for distinct audiences and adapt tone across platforms and campaigns.

• Genuine curiosity about where digital marketing is heading including AI-powered ad tools and emerging platform features.

Preferred

• Experience in higher education marketing or experience marketing to audiences facing a significant values-driven purchase decision.

• Familiarity with Slate CRM or similar enrollment management systems.

• Experience with YouTube advertising including TrueView skippable pre-roll and bumper ad formats.

• Working knowledge of SEO best practices.

• Adobe Creative Cloud proficiency beyond video including Photoshop and/or After Effects.

• Experience working within brand guidelines alongside agency partners.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted campaign tools such as Meta Advantage Google AI-powered bidding or similar platforms.

Salary

DOE/Q

Benefits

NWU offers a competitive wage and comprehensive benefits package including health insurance life insurance disability benefits retirement seven weeks of combined vacation and holiday time annually and 100% tuition discount for dependents after one year of service.

How to Apply

To apply please upload a cover letter resume or curriculum vita and the names of three professional references at the following URL: NWU encourages applicants to address how one or more of NWUs Core Values align with their personal values and characteristics and/or how they would contribute to them at NWU in their cover letter or a separate document. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Nebraska Wesleyan University provides equal educational and employment opportunities to qualified persons in all areas of university operation without regard to religion or creed age genetic information gender identity and expression sexual identity and orientation veteran status disability marital status race or national or ethnic origin in compliance with state and federal laws including but not limited to Title XII Title IX and the ADA. E-Verify EOE.

Required Experience:

IC