Advertising Manager

Please note this remote position is limited to candidates currently residing in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, or Texas

Looking for an opportunity where you can lead multi-channel ad strategy with a focus on performance and growth 

We’re Sonoran Desert Institute and we are seeking an experienced Advertising Manager to join our amazing team 

Our story:

Sonoran Desert Institute (SDI) has been changing lives since 2000. As a DEAC accredited school, our mission is to provide students with current, industry-driven, quality education, delivered through online distance education and practical applications. SDI is an employee-owned company creating a culture with an ownership mentality at the foundation. We believe in rewarding our employees through the success of the institution. We’re proud to be recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute as a Great Place to Work for both 2023 and 2024 — and we’re just getting started.  Come be a part of our dynamic organization where you will have the ability to impact the lives of others as they pursue their educational journey with us.

 What you'll be doing:  

The Advertising Manager will manage the strategy, investment, and performance outcomes of SDI’s paid digital acquisition programs. They will drive qualified B2C leads across SDI’s program pipeline by setting paid social, paid search, influencer, traditional, and digital ad strategy, overseeing significant budget investment, and leading agency execution with clear accountability to ROI and conversion goals. The Advertising Manager will directly build and maintain a subset of our Google and Meta platform ad campaigns to A/B test against vendor outputs and make key decisions based on outcomes. They will also manage budget, lead mix, vendors/vendor contracting, and more. The Advertising Manager will operate as the owner of paid media performance, translating enrollment goals into channel-level investment decisions, forecasting outcomes, and driving continuous optimization across platforms. This role requires advanced analytical rigor, financial discipline, and deep expertise across the digital acquisition landscape as you guide SDI’s paid media growth engine. 

As a member of the Marketing department in the SDI Shared Services business unit, the Advertising Manager will oversee ad strategy for all verticals, including firearms, uncrewed, CDL, and any emerging subject matter. Collaboration and partnership with other members of the Marketing team, including creative and technical marketing team members, is crucial. A strong Advertising Manager will also develop a deep understanding of our CRM, student lifecycle statuses and nuances, and attribution and tracking models to help lead gen efforts evolve from consumer-driven data source information to referral-level and actual source data. 

• Own and evolve paid media strategy across social, search, influencer, and emerging channels to drive lead generation, pipeline growth, and enrollment outcomes  
• Translate enrollment goals into channel-level investment strategies, budgets, and performance forecasts  
• Execute and optimize campaigns directly within key platforms (Google, Meta), while guiding broader execution through agency partners  
• Define and lead structured testing strategies across audiences, creative, bidding models, and funnel stages to continuously improve performance  
• Analyze campaign performance and allocate spend dynamically based on ROI, seasonality, and shifting business priorities  
• Establish clear performance expectations for agency partners; monitor results and drive ongoing optimization and accountability  
• Track, analyze, and report on core KPIs (lead volume, CPL, CPA, conversion rates, and ROI), delivering actionable insights to stakeholders  
• Ensure accurate tracking, attribution, and tagging across platforms; partner with marketing and technology teams to improve data integrity and reporting  
• Collaborate with creative, social, and technical teams to develop and iterate high-performing ad creative and messaging aligned to audience and channel strategy  
• Align paid media efforts with broader marketing initiatives, product launches, and enrollment cycles  
• Identify underperforming campaigns or channels and proactively recommend and implement strategic pivots  
• Develop and maintain forecasting models, pacing reports, and variance analyses to ensure alignment with enrollment targets  
• Contribute to the evolution of internal processes, workflows, and best practices as paid media capabilities scale 
• Stay current on platform changes, industry trends, and emerging opportunities to continuously enhance performance 

What we offer:

• Highly competitive compensation
• Award winning culture 
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Comprehensive benefits package with 100% company-paid medical option for employee
• 401(k) with generous company match
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Pet Insurance
• Company-paid Life insurance
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick, and Volunteer time off!)
• 14 Paid holidays
• Referral program
• Education Tuition Benefit program
• Career development opportunities with a growing company
• And perhaps most importantly, a team who is dedicated to your success!

 What we're looking for:  

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or related field  
• Five years or more of paid media and performance marketing experience  
• Hands-on experience with Google Ads and Meta platforms  
• Proven success managing campaigns with measurable ROI  
• Experience managing budgets and agency relationships  
• Familiarity with CRM systems and marketing analytics tools  
• Experience in higher education or regulated industries is a plus 
• Strong analytical and performance marketing expertise  
• Ability to translate data into actionable insights  
• Clear and confident communication with cross-functional teams  
• High ownership mindset with a focus on outcomes  
• Organized, proactive, and results-driven 
• Ability to collaborate across departments and levels throughout an organization 

Sonoran Desert Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It recruits and hires without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran or disability status, sexual orientation, gender expression, or any factors prohibited by law and affirms in policy and practice to support equal opportunity in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

*Unless specifically agreed upon, SDI does not provide relocation assistance 

**Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

***All benefits not available immediately upon hire. Some eligibility requirements may need to be met to be eligible for some benefits based on company policy.