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Recently, I've noticed several intriguing marketing and communications (MarCom) opportunities surfacing in EdTech, some of which we've spotlighted in this week’s edition of "Jobs of the Week." This sparked me to reach out to my friend and colleague, Rich Kochman, for his insights on building a career as a marketer and entrepreneur in EdTech.
Rich founded Adaptive Consulting, which collaborates with EdTech firms to help them develop data-driven growth strategies and execution plans. Rich is also an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Penn GSE, and a former marketing executive at 2U, General Assembly, and Noodle. Here’s some highlights from our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity:
What marketing roles have you hired for in EdTech?
Over the years, I’ve hired candidates for product marketing, media buying, analytics, social media engagement, email marketing, SEO, content production, and probably some others that I can’t remember!
What do you prioritize when vetting candidates?
I’m looking for people who are curious and strive to understand the target audience and the impact that the marketed products or services will have on their lives. They don’t need to walk into the interview knowing the answers to these questions, but I do need to see evidence that their curiosity will drive them to learn these things.
As for roles in education and EdTech, I’m looking for people who demonstrate a passion for the organization’s mission. This passion and connection often translates to enhanced engagement and higher quality output.
In building out their marketing teams, which roles should firms prioritize?
I’ll preface this by pointing out that, in my heart, I’m an analytics nerd. For early-stage organizations, it’s essential to have at least one person that has the wisdom, not just the skills, to set up a CRM and website analytics for accurate end-to-end tracking, from traffic source through key touch points to becoming a customer. The initial tracking doesn’t need to be exhaustive, but there should be a vision for its evolution. Without accurate tracking, decisions end up being made on “feel,” which relies on a very strong signal to determine efficacy.
For larger organizations, the Rev Ops role is emerging as a valuable strategic asset that improves marketing and overall company performance. Rev Ops is essentially the unification of marketing, sales, operations, and customer success. For the marketing team, it ensures that the messaging and implicit brand promises are consistently delivered at all stages of the customer journey. Furthermore, the role provides a feedback loop from Customer Success to Marketing, which is one of the most critical inputs for any marketing team to be successful. Without this, it’s easy for marketing to lose sight of how and why customers are actually using the product or service.
And for organizations or any size, I strongly suggest prioritizing things like channel partnerships and other alternatives to SEM and paid social media. Although they are valuable channels that should be part of most marketing plans, they are increasingly expensive and there is no cap in sight.
As an EIR at Penn GSE, what key advice do you find yourself repeating to entrepreneurs?
Three things come to mind that I seem to discuss a lot with every new cohort:
Fall in love with the problem you want to solve and serving your intended customers before falling in love with - or even envisioning - your product and marketing ideas. For those who take that path, their product and their marketing will have a much greater chance of success. The term “product-market fit” really should be called “market-product fit” - the customer always has to come first.
Similarly, make sure you have a solid understanding of your customers’ buying process and the distinct stages. Your marketing assets and outreach plans have to follow the buyers’ journey - not the other way around.
Finally, Always Be Learning (ABL). Especially with early stage startups, you should always be smarter today than you were 90 days ago. Test (and measure, of course!) any number of things in your messaging, targeting, support, etc. Establish the test and learn culture early. This also applies to more mature companies. As a consultant, if I walk in and the head of performance marketing can’t show me something they are doing differently today than they were doing 90 days ago, I know there are improvements to be found.
Now, let’s get to the Jobs of the Week…
This week we’ve curated a selection of the top MarCom career opportunities in EdTech!
Director, Revenue Operations & Strategy @ ExecOnline
Location: Remote
Education Focus: Leadership Development
Mission: To connect all leaders to their future potential by delivering career-enhancing programs in partnership with top business schools, thereby creating meaningful impact for enterprises.
Job Summary: The Director will advise Revenue leaders on performance, forecasts, and pipeline development, leading the forecasting process for the sales team. This position plays a central role in transitioning the company's revenue and pricing model, creating and improving revenue forecasts, and setting up systems for strategic growth. Key responsibilities include managing Revenue Analysts, partnering with sales teams on data analysis, overseeing forecasting processes, advising on process improvements, leading strategic planning, ensuring data management in Salesforce, and monitoring market trends. Ideal candidates have 7+ years of experience, familiarity with SaaS businesses, sales forecasting, team management, and proficiency in Salesforce, Excel, and Google Sheets.
Compensation: Base salary range for this role is $130,000-$170,000, with benefits including stock options, 401(k), 20 days of PTO, medical/dental/vision plans, employee resource groups.
Senior Customer Marketing Manager @ GiveCampus
Location: Remote
EdFocus: Fundraising
Mission: GiveCampus is the world's leading fundraising platform for non-profit educational institutions. Trusted by 1,300+ colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, their mission is to help advance the quality, the affordability, and the accessibility of education.
Job Summary: As a Customer Marketer at GiveCampus, you'll play a vital role in shaping the customer marketing strategy. Your responsibilities will involve driving product adoption, utilization, cross-selling, and retention efforts. You'll set growth goals, analyze campaign effectiveness, and develop a deep understanding of the educational fundraising landscape. Additionally, you'll manage customer communications, from email campaigns to online community management. To excel in this role, you should have a passion for mission-driven work, knowledge of educational fundraising, and experience in customer marketing, preferably in the B2B or EdTech sectors. Success will be marked by your ability to understand customer needs, drive product utilization, and enhance customer retention within the first 3-12 months.
Compensation: GiveCampus offers medical, dental, and vision insurance. 26+ days of annual PTO, unlimited sick leave, paid family leave, mental health, wellbeing, and professional development expense reimbursement
Product Manager, Digital Marketing Enablement @ IXL Learning
Location: San Mateo, CA (Hybrid)
EdFocus: Educational Products & Tools
Mission: IXL Learning is the country's largest edtech company reaching millions through their diverse range of products. Their mission is to create innovative products that will make a real, positive difference for learners and educators.
Job Summary: As a Product Manager at IXL Learning, you'll play a crucial role in enhancing the digital marketing platform. Your responsibilities will involve developing a deep understanding of IXL's digital marketing efforts, collaborating with marketing teams, and delving into data analysis to drive targeted marketing initiatives. You'll be tasked with designing effective solutions, optimizing data pipelines, and ensuring smooth integrations with other systems. To thrive in this role, you should have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in STEM or a related field, 5+ years of product management experience, with a focus on digital marketing and email marketing. Proficiency in databases, SQL, and data pipeline architecture is essential, along with excellent communication and analytical skills. Your resourcefulness, problem-solving ability, and positive attitude will be key to your success in this role.
Compensation: The base salary range for this full-time position is $125,000 to $180,000 + equity + benefits including 100% paid medical, dental, and vision, matching 401K retirement plan, flexible paid time off and sick days
Senior Creative Growth Hacker @ Ello
Location: New York
EdFocus: Early Literacy
Mission: Ello is on a mission to maximize the learning potential of all children, regardless of resources, starting with eradicating childhood illiteracy. Its first product is the world’s most advanced reading coach, powered by proprietary speech recognition and generative AI.
Job Summary: As the first Marketing Manager at Ello, your role involves launching growth experiments across various marketing disciplines to discover the next growth channels for the company. You'll leverage creativity and marketing expertise to design, test, and evaluate new customer acquisition opportunities, all while deeply understanding customer behavior. This includes building a relationship with the community over time and driving customer acquisition through innovative strategies. Collaboration with the CEO, Head of Growth Marketing, and product teams is integral, and your success in this role promises rapid career progression within the company. You should have experience in high-growth, entrepreneurial roles, especially in testing and running organic growth channels. Exceptional communication skills and an innate sense of creativity are essential. A strong results-oriented, entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for the company's mission will set you up for success.
Compensation: The base salary range for this full-time position is $90,000 to $130,000 + equity + benefits including healthcare and paid parental leave
Senior Content Marketing Manager @ Elevate K-12
Location: Remote
EdFocus: K-12
Mission: Elevate K-12 is on a mission to ensure every student receives a high-quality education, regardless of zip code. They are changing the way classrooms work by creating a brand-new category of live, virtual classroom instruction to give students access to exceptional teachers through our two-sided network.
Job Summary: As a Senior Content Marketing Manager at Elevate, you'll play a pivotal role in creating impactful collateral for the B2B Sales team, crafting content for demand generation campaigns, and developing digital assets for various channels, including the website, social media, and email campaigns spanning both B2B and B2C. Your responsibilities include leading content and collateral strategy, collaborating across teams, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines, and maintaining a content library. With a degree in Marketing or Communications and at least 7 years of content marketing experience, including strategy development, you'll bring your expertise to Elevate. Your strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to work in a collaborative environment will be key to your success in this role.
Compensation: This role offers competitive compensation, Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance, Unlimited PTO, 401(k), in addition to a Phone, Internet, and office supply stipend
Communications Director @ Center for AI Policy
Location: DC (Hybrid)
EdFocus: Government Policy
Mission: The Center for AI Policy (CAIP) mission is to Mitigate catastrophic risks from AI development, inform policymakers about the unique risks of frontier AI, and to develop and advocate for responsible AI policy.
Job Summary: The CAIP is seeking a Communications Director with a strong background in journalism, public relations, campaigns, lobbying, or advocacy. In this role, you will collaborate closely with our executive team to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for promoting CAIP and its legislative agenda. Your responsibilities will include drafting various public statements, reaching out to media outlets for interviews, managing our blog and social media presence, and supporting our Government Affairs director and lobbyists in their political strategy. The ideal candidate should have at least 5 years of relevant experience, a proven track record of securing positive media coverage, excellent writing skills, the ability to simplify complex technical concepts, and a genuine concern for the safety risks associated with advanced AI.
Compensation: This salary range for this role is $100,000 - $140,000, in addition to flexible PTO, healthcare, retirement plans, relocation assistance, performance-based bonuses.
Growth Marketing Lead @ Rize Education
Location: Remote
EdFocus: Higher Education
Mission: Rize Education’s mission is to provide a pathway to fulfilling employment for every student through hybrid degree programs. Creating a better, more transparent educational system that is more accessible to hundreds of thousands of students.
Job Summary: Reporting to the Director of B2B Marketing, you'll play a crucial role in refining and expanding our digital marketing efforts. Your responsibilities will involve optimizing inbound marketing funnels through SEO, PPC, and paid social channels, crafting engaging digital experiences for prospective colleges, automating workflows via our CRM, and contributing to the company's growth. If you're passionate about the technical aspects of marketing and want to be part of a mission-driven, high-performing team, this role is a great fit. Your tasks will also include managing paid search and social campaigns, generating keywords, crafting ad copy, optimizing ads, managing bids, and enhancing landing pages. Additionally, you'll develop and optimize lead generation campaigns, analyze and report on results, and oversee data synchronization between Salesforce and martech tools.
Compensation: This salary range for this role is $100,000 - $125,000
Senior Creative Strategist, Adult Learner Recruitment @ EAB
Location: Remote
EdFocus: Kindergarten to Career
Mission: EAB’s mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. They partner with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across institutional strategy, marketing and enrollment, student success, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as data and analytics
Job Summary: This role involves leading the development of multi-channel creative marketing strategies, working closely with cross-functional teams to meet partner institutions' unique messaging needs, and supporting applications and enrollments. You'll need expertise in direct marketing principles, experience in partner-facing roles, and the ability to ensure all work aligns with brand and delivers value. Collaboration, innovation, and creative problem-solving are crucial as you unify project teams and contribute to the ongoing development of creative processes and products. Strong organizational and communication skills are key, with a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion.
Compensation: EAB offers Medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match, PTO, paid parental leave, wellness programs, as well as dynamic growth opportunities with their merit-based promotion philosophy
Director of Content Marketing @ Pearson Workforce Skills
Location: Remote
EdFocus: Workforce Education
Mission: Pearson adds life to a lifetime of learning so everyone can realize the life they imagine. They do this by creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. They are on a journey to be 100 percent digital to meet the changing needs of the global population
Job Summary: The Director of Content Marketing at Pearson Workforce Skills will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive content marketing strategy, focusing on target audiences and business goals. This role involves overseeing the creation and distribution of innovative multimedia content, repositioning Pearson and Workforce Skills as an industry thought leader, and maintaining content and visual standards for consistency and reach. The Director will collaborate with various teams to identify content gaps and emerging trends, lead both internal teams and external partners, analyze content performance, and drive innovation in content creation. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in content marketing, strong managerial skills, and the ability to unify brands and narratives across diverse teams. They should also be data-driven, creative, empathetic, and comfortable engaging with executive stakeholders.
Compensation: The salary for this position is $180,000 - $190,000, this position is also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. Pearson offers medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and pet insurance, 401(k), stock options, family care, and commuter benefits
Senior Partner Marketing Lead @ 2U
Location: Lanham, MD (Hybrid)
EdFocus: Higher Education
Mission: 2U’s mission is to eliminate the “back row” in education and deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees.
Job Summary: The Partner Marketing Lead role involves building and maintaining effective marketing relationships with partner institutions, focusing on marketing strategy and partner engagement. Responsibilities include establishing and nurturing relationships, collaborating on communication plans, engaging as a trusted advisor, managing regular partner contact, securing approvals, providing performance feedback, and improving partner sentiment. This role also includes driving marketing narrative, monitoring partner funnels, and optimizing performance. It requires close collaboration with internal teams, including General Managers and Program Management, to align strategies and program objectives. The ideal candidate should have 3-5 years of relevant experience, a bachelor's degree (MBA preferred), client-facing agency experience, and proficiency in data-driven marketing and communication. Strong organizational skills, data fluency, and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams are essential.
Compensation: The salary for this position is $75,000-$85,000, 2U also offers medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, disability, 401(k) employer match, and employee stock purchase plan
Director, Communications & Partnership Alliances @ New Globe
Location: Cambridge, MA (Hybrid) or NYC/DC (Remote)
EdFocus: Public Education
Mission: NewGlobe works with visionary governments around the world to dramatically improve the quality of basic education. They partner with governments to provide integrated school management, teacher professional development, instructional design innovation, technological system support, child-centered classroom practice, and parent engagement -- all grounded in learning science -- to ensure each teacher is empowered to engage children in transformational learning,
Job Summary: The Communications Director, Alliances role at NewGlobe focuses on building messaging strategies and communication programs to engage with non-governmental organizations, influencers, reporters, and government officials in the education sector. This involves generating meaningful conversations, content, and campaigns with relevant organizations, identifying key media outlets, collaborating with policy and partnership teams, and proactively addressing detractors. The ideal candidate should have experience in working with governmental and non-governmental communication and policy professionals, a track record of generating media coverage, and knowledge of the primary education landscape. Familiarity with organizations like USAID and the World Bank is a plus. This role requires collaboration within a global organization.
Compensation: New Globe offers health, dental, and vision insurance (for you and your family) as well as life, AD&D, and disability insurance, commuter benefits, and 20 days of PTO
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