Senior Manager, Category Marketing

Company Description

Covista is America's largest healthcare educator, serving more than 97,000 students and supported by a community of 385,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University.

Our colleagues come from a wide range of backgrounds, business, academia, healthcare, government and nonprofits, and are part of a culture where doing exceptional work and making a meaningful difference for students and society aren't separate goals—they're one and the same. This means creating an environment where colleagues can develop new skills, build careers that match their ambitions and see the tangible impact of their work on healthcare education and workforce development. Colleagues who deliver results and embrace new tools to work smarter are valued for their contributions. But what makes working at Covista distinctive is our impact. Our faculty and colleagues don't just support healthcare education—they shape it. This isn't abstract purpose work. It's solving real problems for real people in real communities while advancing careers.

We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday–Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Job Description

Covista is seeking a Senior Manager, Category and Product Marketing to drive Walden University marketing efforts for an assigned vertical and its program portfolio (for example, Social Work and the offerings within it, such as the Masters of Social Work), with the goal of growing enrollment in that category. This person is responsible for how Walden University shows up in a given degree-program market category, and for what Walden means to a prospective student weighing (for example) a Walden master's in education. They lead the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies that highlight Walden's strengths within the vertical, translating program differentiators into campaigns that drive consideration, engagement, and enrollment growth.

This role ensures that the marketing department provides strong strategic and operational support for the vertical while working within the broader brand marketing framework. The Senior Manager partners closely with cross-functional stakeholders — the Brand Marketing Director, channel leads, creative services, product, enrollment, and academic teams — to deliver high-impact campaigns that move prospective students from awareness through enrollment.

Responsibilities

Go-to-Market Strategy & Campaign Execution

• Lead the development and execution of go-to-market strategies for the vertical's programs, integrating brand, digital, and enrollment priorities.
• Own the brief-to-activation process: translate campaign briefs into integrated marketing plans, define launch readiness requirements, manage timelines and milestones, and ensure the work lands in market as briefed.
• Develop campaign positioning — how each campaign shows up in the market — within the guardrails of vertical and brand positioning.
• Partner with product management and academic teams to translate program differentiators into marketing messages and campaigns.
• Develop and manage campaign calendars, communication plans, and campaign briefs that define channel roles, activation strategy, and sequencing — what each channel partner needs to execute.
• Lead campaign hindsighting: bring together channel leads and stakeholders to review results, surface what worked and what didn't, and apply learnings to future campaigns.

Vertical Messaging

• Own messaging for the vertical and its programs — the specific language that tells a prospective student why this program at Walden is the right choice.
• Ground messaging in competitive differentiation, student outcomes, employer demand, and enrollment data.
• Keep messaging current as the market moves: update when competitors shift, when new proof points land, when enrollment data says something isn't resonating.
• Maintain audience definitions that guide campaign targeting and messaging for the vertical.

Channel Activation & Integrated Execution

• Collaborate with channel leads (paid media, database marketing, web, organic social, SEO) to design and execute high-performing, inquiry-generating campaigns.
• Keep messaging consistent and mutually reinforcing across the funnel and across channels.
• Sequence and prioritize activity against enrollment goals for the vertical.

Market & Competitive Intelligence

• Monitor the competitive landscape for the vertical: track competitor programs, positioning, and market activity.
• Use market insight, student and employer demand signals, and enrollment data to inform campaign strategy and messaging decisions.

Performance & Optimization

• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing activities; deliver actionable insights to improve performance and ROI.
• Balance speed, scale, and quality in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Partner with product, academic leaders, enrollment, and student support within the vertical's pod to align on goals and execution.
• Partner with marketing operations to sequence deliverables, manage timelines, and ensure campaign readiness.
• Collaborate with internal creative services and external agency partners to ensure all work meets brand standards and compliance requirements.
• Represent the vertical in quarterly planning, creative reviews, and QBRs, providing strategic input and sharing performance insights.
• May lead and develop one or two marketing team members, depending on the vertical.
• Contribute to the broader marketing team's planning and ways of working.
• Support cross-vertical initiatives that reinforce Walden's brand reputation and commitment to educational excellence.
• Completes other duties as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all policies and standards

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree preferably in marketing or a related field required, Master's Degree MBA preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive marketing experience including product, category, vertical, B2C (category marketing strongly preferred).
• Proven success leading vertical-specific marketing, particularly in regulated or professional program categories.
• Experience developing and managing integrated, multi-channel campaigns from strategy through execution.
• Experience operating in complex, matrixed, or highly regulated environments.
• Background in education, mission-driven organizations or other considered-purchase B2C categories preferred.
• Healthcare or mental health industry experience a plus.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong writing skills with the ability to translate complex academic and product substance into clear, audience-specific campaign messaging grounded in market and enrollment data.
• Strong strategic judgment connecting marketing decisions to enrollment outcomes.
• Analytical and data-literate; able to interpret performance metrics and recommend optimizations.
• Strong collaboration and influence across cross-functional teams.
• Strong organizational and project leadership skills in a fast-paced environment.

Additional Information

In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $80,336.75 and $145,077.09. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.

Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
• Participation in Covista’s Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• 12 Paid Holidays

For more information related to our benefits please visit: https://careers.covista.com/benefits

You are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Equal Opportunity – Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation