Digital Marketing Manager (f,m,d) 100% - Onsite

XU Exponential University of Applied Sciences is a state-recognised private university in Potsdam, at the heart of the Berlin tech and startup ecosystem. We offer English-language Bachelor's and Master's programs in Data Science & AI, Coding & Software Engineering, Digital Marketing & Social Media, Digital Business & Sustainability, and Industry 4.0 Management.

Teaching at XU is project-based, industry-embedded, and delivered in small cohorts. Students work with partners including SAP, Siemens, E.ON, and Zalando from their first semester. We are growing — and content is central to how prospective students discover us, understand us, and decide to join us.

THE ROLE

This is a high-ownership role. You will be the strategic and executional lead for XU's entire online marketing effort — across all programs, two audience segments (domestic EU and international), and the full funnel from first impression to enrolled student.

You won't manage a large team. You'll work with a content manager, an international admissions counterpart, a roster of student ambassadors, and freelancers for specialist tasks. What you will own is the strategy, the paid media, the CRM, the data, and the results. You'll report directly to leadership and have real budget authority from day one.

WHAT YOU OWN

Paid media
Plan, launch, and optimise all paid campaigns — Google Search, Display, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Meta, and LinkedIn — across two segments: EU/German students aged 17–26 and international students from India and Southeast Asia.

CRM & automation
Own and administer HubSpot Marketing Hub. Build and maintain lead nurture sequences per segment and program. Configure lead scoring, lifecycle stages, campaign attribution, and reporting dashboards.

Landing pages & CRO
Build and optimise program-specific landing pages for each intake cycle. A/B test headlines, CTAs, and form structures. Use heatmaps and session recordings to improve conversion.

SEO & GEO
Oversee SEO across all program pages and the XU blog. Implement FAQ schema markup and structured content so XU surfaces in both traditional Google results and AI-powered search tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini).

Open days & events
Drive digital promotion of all open days, webinars, and education fairs. Own the Abitur season campaign — XU's single highest-impact annual acquisition window.

Reporting
Produce a weekly performance dashboard covering CPL, cost per enrolled student, channel attribution, email performance, and funnel velocity. Present monthly summaries to leadership.

Budget
Manage an annual media budget of €120,000–€160,000 across bachelor and master programs. Allocate spend based on CPL data, intake targets, and seasonal priorities.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Essential

•  3–5+ years in a hands-on digital marketing role with direct ownership of paid media budgets of at least  €50,000/year
• Google Ads and Meta Ads managed yourself — not just supervised via an agenc
• HubSpot admin experience: workflows, lead scoring, lifecycle stages, attribution reporting
• Google Analytics 4 — comfortable building dashboards and explaining performance to non-technical stakeholders
• Experience running campaigns targeting audiences outside DACH, particularly India or Southeast Asia

Desirable

• Experience in higher education, EdTech, or another long-consideration-cycle product
• Familiarity with study portals: Mastersportal, Bachelorsportal, or DAAD
• HubSpot certification
• German language skills (written or spoken)

TOOLS YOU'LL WORK WITH

HubSpot · Google Ads · Meta Ads Manager · TikTok Ads Manager · LinkedIn Campaign Manager · Google Analytics 4 · YouTube Ads · Semrush · Hotjar / Microsoft Clarity · WhatsApp Business API · Calendly · Mastersportal / Bachelorsportal

WHAT WE OFFER

• Direct media budget ownership of €120,000–€160,000/year from day one — no agency layer
• As XU grows, this role grows. Opportunity to build and lead a small marketing team within 18–24 months.
• On-site in Potsdam — 5 minutes to S-Bahn, 30 minutes to central Berlin. Hybrid flexibility where appropriate
• 30 days annual leave
• Deutschlandticket
• Access to XU's professional development events and alumni network
• A campus that generates compelling content naturally — your job is to capture it, not manufacture it

HOW TO APPLY

Send us three things:

1. Your CV — concise, with actual numbers where possible (budget managed, CPL achieved, results delivered).
2. A brief note (half a page maximum) on one campaign you've run that you're proud of — what the goal was, what you did, and what the result was.
3. Links to any relevant work: landing pages, dashboards, or a portfolio if you have one. Not required, but welcomed.