Creative Development Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

About EAB

At EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We work with more than 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement. We work with each partner differently, tailoring our portfolio of research, technology, and marketing and enrollment solutions to meet the unique needs of every leadership team, as well as the students and employees they serve.

At EAB, we serve not only our partner institutions but each other—that's why we are always working to make sure our employees love their jobs and are invested in their communities. See how we've been recognized for this dedication to our employees by checking out our recent awards.

For more information, visit our Careers page.

About Hybrid

Recently acquired by EAB, Hybrid is a globally recognized and award-winning agency that operates as a full-service marketing partner for the education sector, connecting universities with students worldwide. Powered by unrivaled insight, advanced technology, and AI-driven enrollment strategies, our integrated marketing solutions help education brands grow. We tackle the sector’s toughest challenges head-on and continuously strive for excellence, staying on the pulse of emerging trends. When you join our division of EAB, you become part of a tight-knit, ambitious, supportive, and rapidly growing team. You’ll work on big ideas with talented colleagues who respect your input, challenge your thinking and push you to do your best work. Visit our website to learn more about our story.

The Role in Brief:

Digital Media Strategy Subject Matter Expert (Hybrid)

We are seeking a Digital Media Strategy Subject Matter Expert to play a pivotal role in pre-sales activities by shaping customized digital marketing plans and solutions that drive enrollment and brand awareness for higher education institutions.

Sitting at the intersection of sales, strategy, and execution, this role serves as the vital link between our business development and service teams, ensuring that prospective partners receive tailored, high-impact media plans that align with their marketing and enrollment objectives.

As a strategic advisor, you will work closely with sales executives, marketing strategists, and creative teams to develop data-backed, results-driven digital campaigns. Your expertise in agency operations, media planning (Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, and other digital platforms), and creative development will help craft compelling, effective solutions that drive real results for our education partners.

This is an exciting opportunity for a proactive and innovative digital marketer with creative experience who thrives in a collaborative environment and enjoys translating complex marketing challenges into actionable, high-performing solutions.

This single role is listed as Digital Media Strategy Subject Matter Expert (Hybrid) or Digital Media Strategist (Hybrid) for posting purposes; the official and internal title of this hire is expected to be Associate Director, Digital Media Strategy; Director, Digital Media Strategy; or Senior Director, Digital Media Strategy to align with EAB business norms. Applicants for this opportunity are being considered across all levels.

This hire may be based in Richmond, VA.

Primary Responsibilities:

Pre-Sales Strategy & Consultation

• Develop and present digital marketing strategies that directly influence multi-million dollar partnerships with top educational institutions.
• Leverage industry trends and performance analytics to craft innovative digital campaigns that set institutions apart.
• Collaborate with sales teams to assess prospective client needs and translate them into comprehensive digital marketing media plans, including paid search, social, display, video, and emerging channels.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) in digital marketing, providing insights on industry trends, platform innovations, and best practices for education institutions.
• Partner with internal teams to develop custom creative assets (ads, landing pages, video concepts, etc.) that align with client goals and institutional branding.
• Work closely with data and analytics teams to incorporate performance insights into pre-sale proposals.
• Build pre-sale real-time demand assessments and analysis using search behavior (keywords and program-specific search terms).
• Join select partner and prospect conversations to address advanced technical and strategic marketing questions, reinforcing solution credibility and strengthening confidence during the sales process.

Media Planning & Creative Development

• Create and refine best-in-class media strategies that optimize budget allocation and maximize conversion impact.
• Bridge the gap between data and creativity, ensuring campaigns not only perform well but also tell compelling brand stories.
• Lead the development of customized, data-backed media plans that optimize spend across multiple digital channels.
• Guide creative strategy, ensuring that ad messaging, design, and execution resonate with education audiences and drive conversions.
• Ensure seamless handoff from pre-sale to execution, working with service teams to set up campaigns for success.

Cross-Team Collaboration & Leadership

• Act as the liaison between sales and service teams, ensuring smooth knowledge transfer and alignment on client expectations.
• Train and mentor sales teams on digital marketing best practices, helping them communicate value propositions effectively.
• Stay informed on emerging trends, technologies, and platform updates that impact digital marketing for education institutions.
• Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and client meetings as a trusted advisor on digital strategy.
• Contribute to marketing initiatives such as webinars, blog content, and external-facing insights that showcase EAB’s digital media expertise and support demand generation efforts.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• 4-10+ years of experience in digital marketing, media planning, or sales engineering, preferably within an agency setting where you have worked hands-on with major advertising platforms.
• Deep expertise in paid media strategy, including Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, programmatic display, video, and emerging platforms.
• Strong understanding of creative development processes, including ad design, messaging, and landing page optimization.
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills that translate complex data and media plans into compelling narratives for senior audiences.
• Proven ability to translate client goals into actionable marketing strategies with measurable outcomes.
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills, with experience pitching media plans to executive stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a cross-functional environment, collaborating with sales, marketing, creative, and analytics teams.
• Willingness to travel domestically at least 10-15%.

Ideal Qualifications:

• Experience working with (delivering in sales or service roles) higher education clients is a plus.
• Commitment to embracing a continual learning environment and contributing to a dynamic and welcoming culture of fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB’s mission, values, and aspiration.

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome new perspectives and learn from each other’s unique experiences. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.

Compensation:

The anticipated starting salary (base) range for this role is $82,000 - $125,000 per year. Actual salary varies due to factors that may include but not be limited to relevant experience, skills, and location. At EAB, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the starting salary range for their role.

This hire will additionally be eligible for discretionary bonus or incentive compensation. Variable compensation may depend on various factors, such as individual and organizational performance.

Benefits:

Consistent with our belief that our employees are our most valuable resource, EAB offers a competitive and inclusive benefits package. Our benefits currently include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; dependents and domestic partners eligible
• 20+ days of PTO annually, in addition to paid firm and floating holidays
• Daytime leave policy for community service and flextime for fitness activities (up to 10 hours per month each)
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary company matching contribution
• Health savings account, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account, and pre-tax commuter plans
• Employee assistance program with counseling services and resources available to all employees and immediate family
• Wellness programs including gym discounts, incentives to promote healthy living, and family access to the leading app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
• Fertility treatment coverage and adoption or surrogacy assistance
• Paid parental leave with phase back to work program for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Access to milk shipping service to support nursing employees during business travel
• Discounted pet health insurance coverage for dog and cat family members
• Company-provided life, AD&D, and disability insurance
• Financial wellness resources and membership in a robust employee discount program
• Access to employee resource groups, merit-based advancement, and dynamic professional growth opportunities

Benefits kick in day one; learn more at eab.com/careers/benefits.

This opening is not eligible for visa sponsorship at this time; EAB will thus consider candidates who possess U.S. work authorization that does not require employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

At EAB, we believe that to fulfill our mission to “make education smarter and our communities stronger” we need team members who bring a diversity of perspectives to the table and are committed to fostering a workplace where each team member is valued, respected and heard.

To that end, EAB is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.