MANAGING DIRECTOR, Program Management & Marketing Insights, Advancement

Managing Director Program Management & Marketing Insights
Boston University Advancement
Job Description

Boston University Advancement seeks a strategic and collaborative Managing Director of Program Management & Marketing Insights to establish and lead a centralized Program Management Office (PMO) and Marketing Insights function within Alumni Relations & Communications and Engagement (ARCE).

This role will strengthen and scale alumni engagement by transforming how Advancement prioritizes manages and evaluates programs and projects. The Managing Director will bring clarity consistency and discipline to how work is selected and executedensuring efforts reflect institutional priorities support the Presidents vision and maximize return on investment.

The PMO will support and elevate project management already happening throughout Advancement. Rather than acting as a gatekeeper it will provide structure visibility and tools that help teams move work forward more effectively.

In parallel the Managing Director will build a Marketing Insights function that translates data into actionable strategies for engagement. This team will complement the Business Intelligence team (BIPS) by focusing on interpretation and application of datanot duplicating reporting or infrastructure work.

Together these functions will position ARCE to operate at scale in support of a forthcoming $3B comprehensive campaign with alumni engagement at the center.

Key Responsibilities

Program Management Office (PMO) Leadership

• Establish and lead a PMO that strengthens and standardizes project management practices while supporting team flexibility and autonomy.
• Design clear user-centered processes for:
  • Intake of requests from Advancement colleagues
  • Documentation of self-initiated ARCE work
  • Project scoping prioritization and approval
• Introduce and implement a project management platform of record to support consistent intake planning execution and tracking of work.
• Provide transparency into project pipelines timelines and capacity to support better decision-making.
• Develop frameworks for assigning staff and project managers based on expertise workload and priorities.
• Define and manage project portfolios to balance effort improve visibility and focus on high-impact alumni engagement work.
• Guide the flow of work through ARCE to improve coordination speed and accountability.
• Partner with stakeholders to review and approve creative concepts and deliverables maintaining quality and consistency in alumni-facing work.

Strategic Alignment & Portfolio Management

• Serve as a strategic partner to the Universitys central marketing and brand teams within External Affairs ensuring Advancements engagement strategies and marketing insights align with institutional priorities audience strategy brand stewardship and enterprise-wide communications efforts.
• Help determine how staff and resources are aligned to key priorities including school- and unit-based engagement strategies.
• Refine project green light decisions to focus time and resources on the highestvalue opportunities.
• Implement practical methods to evaluate return on investment including staff effort and budget.
• Position ARCE to support campaign-scale activity with strong coordinated alumni engagement at its core.

Marketing Insights & Strategy Enablement

• Build and lead a Marketing Insights team focused on applying data to improve alumni engagement and marketing outcomes.
• Partner closely with BIPS with clear roles: BIPS provides data and reporting; Marketing Insights translates findings into strategy.
• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for engagement communications campaigns and events.
• Synthesize data to inform segmentation targeting and messaging decisions.
• Oversee access to and organization of:
  • Engagement and performance data
  • Survey results and audience research
  • Third-party benchmarking and market insights
• Equip teams with insights that support stronger connections with alumni as well as parents friends and donors.

Partnerships Across Advancement

• Partner closely with Advancement Marketing & Communications Alumni Relations & Annual Giving and Strategic Events.
• Support coordinated planning and execution of campaigns programs and alumni experiences.
• Promote shared ownership of outcomes and a consistent high-quality experience for alumni.

Technology & Infrastructure

• Partner with team members to evaluate and select a project management platform of record for Advancement.
• Streamline operations by reducing redundancy simplifying workflows and standardizing tools and processes.
• Increase visibility into project pipelines status and outcomes to support transparency and decision-making.

Improve access to timely integrated data to inform decisions.

• Encourage effective use of systems to increase efficiency and impact.

Leadership & Culture

• Build and lead a high-performing team spanning program management and marketing insights.
• Foster a collaborative service-oriented culture grounded in partnership and shared goals.
• Promote a learning organization mindset encouraging testing measurement and continuous improvement.
• Lead change management efforts to support new processes tools and ways of working.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10 years of experience in program management marketing operations analytics alumni relations or a related field.
• Experience building or leading a PMO or similar function.
• Demonstrated ability to translate data into actionable strategy.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
• Strong process design skills with a focus on usability and adoption.
• Excellent leadership communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with project management tools CRM systems and analytics platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education nonprofit or advancement environments.
• Knowledge of alumni engagement strategies donor communications and fundraising campaigns.
• Experience working with business intelligence or analytics teams.

Competencies

• Strategic thinking and execution
• Data-informed decision-making
• Change leadership
• Operational effectiveness
• Collaboration and influence
• Continuous learning

To apply and learn more about Advancement at Boston University and other job opportunities please stop by the Advancement Talent website: We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color natural or protective hairstyle religion sex age national origin physical or mental disability sexual orientation gender identity genetic information military service pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition or because of marital parental or veteran status.

We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. If you require reasonable accommodation in order to complete the employment application process please contact the Equal Opportunity Office at .