Product Marketing Manager

Role Overview  

The Marketing team is looking for a talented Product Marketing Manager to help convey the benefits of the Encourage program for Educators and Students. This role will work closely with our Product and Partnerships teams to execute our B2B marketing go-to-market strategy. You will lead the development of messaging, content, collateral, event deliverables, and targeted campaigns. You will understand the full breadth of the products and solutions we offer in the marketplace. This is a highly visible role—the ideal candidate will be able to provide industry-level messaging and positioning to clearly articulate value and differentiation—for both internal and external audiences.   

You will be motivated by our belief that education is the catalyst for individual success and community transformation. This position will report to the Vice President of Marketing for Encourage and work closely with our Marketing, Product, and Partnerships teams to help take our products to scale in K12 schools and enable future growth.   

A Day in the Life

• Understand the competitive marketplace and the differentiators our products offer by comparison, with a full understanding of the college and career planning market
• Develop and refine buyer personas for our product and services
• Cultivate subject-matter expertise on Encourage products and our use cases, enabling Sales, Product, and the rest of the Marketing team with subject matter knowledge, as well as FAQs and internal resources
• Collaborate with VP of Encourage Marketing to develop seasonal go-to-market plans and drive their execution
• Develop content, positioning statements, target personas for use in email campaigns, website copy, marketing collateral, and sales presentations
• Understand and support our Partnerships and other client-facing teams, training them on the problems our products address in the market, keeping their knowledge up to date, and developing internal and external tools
• Collect feedback from the market and market-facing teams to inform product positioning and innovation
• Work closely with Product Management on new product releases and lead product launch activities
• Represent Encourage in person and/or virtually at industry conferences, partner meetings, client visits, school and district demos, focus groups, and other priority events. Anticipated travel is 10% - 20%.   

Role Progression  

• Within 1 month, you'll: Understand what makes Encoura an amazing organization. You will complete the onboarding process, meet with marketing, research, product, services, and sales teams. You will learn how your role interacts with other team members across the organization. You will have developed an understanding of how our clients use the Encourage products and the value it provides to the marketplace. You will begin working on marketing assets for upcoming product releases. 
• Within 3 months, you'll: Have a strong understanding of the competitive marketplace for Encoura, and how our services differ from competitors. You will be developing positioning statements to set us apart in the marketplace for use in marketing collateral, email campaigns, and sales presentations. You will be able to showcase our program to educators via in-person and virtual demos.  
• Within 6 months, you'll: Be a subject matter expert on Encourage for Educators and Students. You will be leading the development of content to help drive demand. You will understand how our products will satisfy our clients’ needs and overcome pain points. You will be responsible for go-to-market planning and execution for future releases.    

About You

• Bachelor's degree and at least seven years of relevant experience
• Minimum five years of experience in B2B marketing
• Experience from a high-tech SaaS company, education tech industry experience preferred
• Experience with go-to-market planning and execution
• Working knowledge of the Pragmatic Marketing approach, with direct experience preferred
• Experience providing industry-level messaging & positioning and clearly articulating value and differentiation
• Experience working closely with field sales teams both to deliver content and to gather feedback
• Experience with Salesforce Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, or a similar CRM/marketing automation platform
• Excellent communication skills, including writing and presenting  
• Ability to execute multiple projects simultaneously and complete projects with tight deadlines
• Ability to think creatively while making decisions based on data
• Motivated self-starter who thrives in fast-paced environment
• Teamwork skills a must, proven ability to manage external resources and collaborate with other functions in the company 
• Successful candidates will be required to complete and pass a CLEAR™ identity verification as part of the pre-employment screening process
  • CLEAR™ Candidate FAQ 

The annual base salary range for this exempt position is $120,000 - $140,000 and reflects the midpoint through maximum of the established range for this role**.** Encoura establishes compensation using national market data, internal equity considerations, and organizational budget factors to ensure fairness and consistency across the organization. Certain roles may also be eligible for variable compensation in addition to base salary.

Employees in this role are eligible for Encoura’s comprehensive benefits package, which includes health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and other programs that support employee well‑being. 

About  Us 

Encoura’s mission is to empower students and institutions to create meaningful connections so everyone can make the most informed decisions to achieve their goals. Since 1972, the Company has evolved its products and services to better represent the link between students and higher education institutions and to create the highest probability of student success.  

Encoura’s expertise now spans enrollment, research, marketing, student success, and advancement and provides an unmatched combination of higher education experience and innovative solutions for colleges and universities. The Company also offers Encourage® — the nation’s largest free college and career planning program used by millions of high school students and educators nationwide.  

It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. All applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.  

Encoura endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability and need an alternative method for applying, please contact the Talent Team.  

Applicants from California, please review the CA HR Privacy Notice.  

To review our privacy policy, please click this link: https://encoura.org/privacy-policy/