Brand Marketing Manager

Company Introduction
WorldStrides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. WorldStrides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports. Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world – and themselves – in new ways.
Job Description
The Brand Strategy Manager drives awareness, differentiation and enrollment growth across WorldStrides’ K-12 Individual student travel portfolio. Reporting to the Director, Brand Strategy & Go-to-Market, you’ll lead enrollment strategy for priority programs, help bring a more unified brand to life across the portfolio, and take new programs and partnerships from concept to launch. You’ll turn customer and competitive insight into clear positioning, grow our visibility across search and AI-powered discovery, and work closely with agency partners and our in-house creative team. This role is for a hands-on strategist who is as comfortable presenting findings to senior leaders as working through campaign details.
Responsibilities
Enrollment & Campaign Strategy
Lead strategy and execution to drive enrollment for priority programs, including Oxbridge Academic Programs, across paid, owned and earned media.
Develop full-funnel campaigns across digital, social, search, email and direct mail.
Monitor campaign and launch performance, read the results, and adjust to improve them.
Brand Positioning & Messaging
Develop and maintain positioning, messaging frameworks and value propositions across the K-12 Individual portfolio.
Support brand architecture and implementation as we align and simplify our brands for families.
Conduct market, customer and competitive research to find opportunities for differentiation.
Keep messaging consistent across web, email, digital, social and creative so families can compare programs with confidence.
Go-to-Market Strategy
Lead go-to-market efforts from concept to delivery for new programs, products and partnerships.
Use customer surveys, testing and feedback to validate value propositions and shape direction before launch.
Build launch plans covering audience, messaging, content, channel activation, measurement and sales enablement.
Work with marketing, product, enrollment and creative teams to bring programs and campaigns to market.
Organic Growth & AI-Powered Discovery
Improve how WorldStrides shows up in AI-generated answers (e.g., ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews) and traditional search through stronger organic content.
Work with our PR agency on earned media, storytelling and user-generated content that build organic visibility.
Partner with content, SEO, social and digital teams to improve search performance and on-site conversion.
Set up ways to measure brand awareness, share of voice and organic growth.
Agency & Creative Leadership
Manage creative, media and PR agencies from scoping and briefing through delivery, quality and cost.
Evaluate creative against strategy and give clear, actionable feedback that makes the work better.
Work day-to-day with our in-house copywriter, designer and social media team.
Help manage campaign budgets and spend.
Success in the first year
Measurable contribution to enrollment goals for priority programs, including Oxbridge.
Clear progress in how often WorldStrides programs appear in AI-generated and organic search results.
A running earned media and storytelling program built with our new PR agency partner.
At least one new program or partnership launched with clear value propositions, test-and-learn insights and measurable results.
Updated brand messaging and value propositions applied consistently across the K-12 Individual portfolio.
A reputation as a trusted voice who turns data into clear insights and presents them confidently to marketing leadership.
Qualifications
5+ years of experience in brand marketing, brand strategy, digital marketing, product or go-to-market marketing, or comparable creative agency experience.
A track record of developing positioning and messaging that delivered measurable results.
Experience leading cross-functional launches from strategy through in-market execution.
Experience managing creative agencies, media partners and creative talent.
Comfort reading data and turning results into insights, and building and presenting recommendations to senior leaders.
Experience across paid, owned and earned channels, including digital, social and search.
Working knowledge of SEO and organic growth, and curiosity about how AI is changing search and discovery.
A blend of creative and analytical strengths, with strong organizational, written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred
B2C or consumer marketing experience.
Experience managing direct reports.
Hands-on use of AI tools in marketing work.
Direct mail campaign experience.
Experience with PR, earned media or content storytelling programs.
Experience in education, travel, hospitality or other mission-driven consumer brands, especially marketing to students, families or educators.
Familiarity with brand measurement, web analytics and social listening tools.
Work Perks
Comprehensive health benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, accident, critical illness, disability insurance, FSA/HSA options with employer HSA contributions, and a generous 401(k) match.
Generous paid time off including 11 paid company holidays, 25 PTO days the first year (prorated), 1 paid volunteer day, 4 mental health days, and bereavement
Professional development support, including up to $5,250 annually for tuition reimbursement and up to $1,000 for certifications ann