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Assistant Director, Digital Marketing (Temporary)

Office of Alumni & Development

Assistant Director, Digital Marketing (Temporary)

  • 555535
  • Morningside
  • Office of Alumni & Development
  • Full Time
  • Opening on: Feb 19 2026
  • Grade 11
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  • Job Type: Officer of Administration
  • Bargaining Unit:
  • Regular/Temporary: Temporary
  • End Date if Temporary: August 31, 2026
  • Hours Per Week: 35
  • Standard Work Schedule:
  • Building:
  • Salary Range: $78,000 - $78,000
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
 

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director for Marketing Optimization & Integration, the Temporary Assistant Director, Digital Marketing is a critical member of the Office of Alumni Relations and Development (OAD) Marketing Strategy & Enablement team. This role is responsible for hands-on planning, building, and deployment of high-priority email marketing campaigns and lifecycle communications during a leave coverage period.

This position serves as the email lead for several schools and central initiatives, executing complex, data-driven email campaigns in Salesforce Marketing Cloud while coordinating closely with unit liaisons, analytics partners, and creative teams. While informed by senior-level strategy, this role is intentionally execution-heavy, focused on day-to-day delivery, troubleshooting, and campaign leadership.


Responsibilities

Email Campaign Strategy & Execution

  • Act as email lead and support for fundraising and engagement campaigns across multiple schools and units, coordinating timelines, requirements, approvals, and final delivery with unit liaisons and internal partners.
  • Execute complex email builds and deployments in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, including high-volume sends, like fiscal year-end, advanced dynamic content, data-driven segmentation, QA testing, and troubleshooting to ensure accuracy and performance.
  • Plan and manage engagement journey communications, maintaining and updating journey content, scheduling sends, and coordinating execution during the spring and summer in partnership with Marketing Strategy & Enablement project managers.
  • Implement lifecycle marketing best practices by applying audience segmentation, personalization techniques, and journey logic to support constituent engagement across key milestones and campaign phases.

Columbia Giving Day Support

  • Support the planning and execution of Columbia Giving Day, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver coordinated, high-impact digital marketing efforts in support of institutional fundraising and engagement goals.

Ongoing Communications & Operations

  • Support acknowledgment email and anniversary email management, including unit-specific updates, emergency pauses, and monthly reporting updates
  • Maintain and monitor Salesforce Marketing Cloud operations during the transition period, ensuring continuity and stability.
  • Support the UpRoar CRM implementation and March 2026 go-live, collaborating with Marketing Strategy & Enablement to ensure digital marketing readiness, operational continuity, and successful adoption.

Reporting, Testing & Best Practices

  • Monitor campaign performance and contribute results to internal trackers and reports.
  • Apply test-and-learn principles, including A/B testing and optimization based on performance insights.
  • Uphold and apply established digital marketing and email best practices to ensure consistency and quality across campaigns.

Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing

  • Attend and actively participate in all Marketing Strategy & Enablement (MSE) team meetings and regular Marketing Optimization & Integration (MOI) check-ins to ensure alignment, continuity, and awareness of priorities during the leave period.
  • Act as a trusted partner to the Marketing Strategy & Enablement team, unit liaisons, analytics colleagues, and creative teams to ensure seamless execution.
  • Provide tactical guidance and documentation to support continuity before and after the leave period.
  • Perform additional digital marketing duties and special projects as required.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required and or equivalent.
  • Minimum of 2-4 years of related experience.
  • Demonstrated experience in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
  • Proficiency in HTML and CSS. 
  • The ideal candidate will also be proficient in Google G suite (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, etc.).
  • Candidate will be a deadline-driven self-starter with a conscientious attention to detail, and excellent organizational, verbal, and written communication skills.
  • Ability to prioritize effectively and manage a large volume of changing information and projects is critical.
  • Proficiency with basic image manipulation and graphic design experience with Adobe Photoshop/Creative Suite is required.
  • Must have a commitment to exceptional quality and customer service, and must be able to handle confidential information with discretion.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Work experience in higher educational institutions, or other complex organizations, is highly preferred.
  • Familiarity with digital tools and resources, such as Movable Ink and Litmus, is highly desirable; interest in exploring and experimenting with new platforms; ability to learn quickly and be flexible when working in the digital space is preferred.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.