Learner Engagement Manager - Academic Programs

At InStride, people are our purpose.

We believe that investing in people is the most powerful way to drive success—for individuals and organizations alike.

As a public benefit corporation, we partner with leading employers to unlock opportunities for their employees, providing access to top-tier education programs that align with their employees’ career goals and the company’s business goals.

Our mission goes beyond skill-building; we're here to empower our partners’ employees to advance their careers, elevate their expertise, and achieve meaningful personal and professional growth.

No matter the team you’re on, our dedication to the success of our partners and their employees is what drives us. If you're passionate about making a difference and driving educational and professional advancement, InStride is the place for you.

To get a better feel for our culture, watch more here .

Candidates must be located in one of the following states to be considered eligible for employment: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, WI.

What we're looking for (role overview) :

InStride is seeking a Learner Engagement Manager – Academic Programs to lead learner marketing strategies that increase awareness, engagement, and enrollment across our portfolio of academic partners. You will own developing learner-centered positioning, messaging, and campaigns that help working adult learners discover and enroll in the right education opportunities. You'll use learner insights and performance data to optimize the learner journey, influence academic partner marketing strategies, and improve conversion and enrollment outcomes across our academic partner portfolio. This role reports to the Manager, Strategic Engagement Initiatives.

Skills we’d love to see you show off:

Campaign strategy and execution: You have a keen eye for identifying and leading marketing opportunities, leveraging marketing channels and assets (emails, landing pages, community and messaging platforms, testimonials, social media, newsletters) to drive learner engagement and enrollment outcomes.

Driving funnel conversion: You excel at identifying and removing friction points in the user journey, partnering with academic institutions to optimize funnel performance and move learners from consideration to action to enrollment.

Positioning and Messaging: You’re a natural with developing program positioning and messaging that resonate with first-time, transferring, and re-enrolling working adult learners.

AI Fluency: You thoughtfully leverage AI and emerging technologies to improve marketing effectiveness, streamline workflows, uncover insights, and enhance learner and business outcomes

Insight-driven decision making: You leverage learner research, market trends, and campaign performance data to identify opportunities, shape strategy, and confidently recommend actions that improve learner and business outcomes.

Project leadership : You juggle competing priorities with ease, leading complex projects and multi-client initiatives across multiple teams with discernment and sound judgment. You own both strategic planning and hands-on execution when needed, ensuring successful outcomes.

Influencing Relationship Building : You build trusted relationships with academic partners and cross-functional stakeholders, using empathy, credibility, and clear communication to influence decisions and drive shared outcomes.

Who you are (ideal profile) :

5+ years of experience in strategic marketing, academic marketing, or product marketing roles, with experience marketing to both B2B and B2C audiences.

You have experience developing and executing multi-channel marketing campaigns that move learners from awareness to action, including campaign strategy, audience targeting, content development, and performance optimization.

You have a keen eye for developing positioning and messaging that clearly communicates the value of academic programs and pathways, helping learners make informed decisions about advancing their education.

You’re an effective communicator who excels at building relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders, including senior leaders at colleges and universities.

You’re curious about emerging technologies and enjoy experimenting with AI to improve how work gets done.

You thrive in a dynamic environment, adapting quickly to changing priorities while maintaining a focus on delivering meaningful results.

You use data, curiosity, and sound judgment to solve problems and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

You bring high emotional intelligence and approach your work with a collaborative, "no job too small" mindset.

Excited by the challenge of building a world-class business that delivers not only high revenue growth and compelling return on investment, but also has a meaningful impact on society.

How you will create impact (key responsibilities) :

Incre…