Director, SEO

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to eliminate the back row in education – and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporate partners, we are helping to unlock human potential.

What We’re Looking For:

2U is seeking an experienced Director of SEO and Organic Growth to lead our organic digital strategy across a diverse portfolio of websites. The ideal candidate will be instrumental in optimizing our digital presence for both lead generation and e-commerce, aiming to drive revenue through a meticulously crafted content strategy. Your leadership will be pivotal in steering cross-functional teams, including product and engineering, towards shared organic growth goals.

You’ll be responsible for managing a team responsible for filling a funnel that generates hundreds of students for our university partners.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Craft and execute innovative SEO strategies tailored for organic growth across a variety of websites, with a focus on enhancing lead generation and maximizing e-commerce potential.
• Drive forward a customer journey-oriented content strategy designed to bolster revenue growth.
• Cultivate and guide a team of SEO experts, setting clear objectives aligned with organizational goals, and fostering professional development.
• Work seamlessly with product and engineering leaders to align SEO initiatives with broader product strategies and influence their priorities.
• Provide comprehensive analysis of key performance indicators such as traffic, engagement, and conversion, using these insights to refine and advance SEO campaigns.
• Maintain expertise in search engine algorithms and SEO best practices to ensure optimal website performance.
• Ensure SEO is a core component of all digital marketing efforts by collaborating closely with content, social media, and paid search teams.
• Oversee partnerships with external SEO agencies and vendors to maximize return on investment in SEO resources.

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• Bachelor’s degree (in a business, data, or communications related field is a plus); graduate degree a plus, but not required.
• 7+ years SEO/Organic search marketing experience.
• 2+ years of management experience.
• Strong background in programmatic SEO and experience with a variety of website types, including e-commerce and lead generation platforms. Prior experience in the education sector is a bonus.
• Familiarity with leading a team with various levels of experience and expertise, and ability to prioritize tasks and manage deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and research skills coupled with a strategic mindset conducive to process improvement and business growth.
• Proven track record of scalable SEO tactics.
• Successful advocacy for organic search & inbound marketing in your last organization.
• Deep understanding of:
  • Google Analytics
  • Current data visualization tools, Tableau preferred
  • Brightedge (or similar SEO platform: Conductor, Searchmetrics)
  • Majestic (or similar: Moz, Ahrefs)
  • A web analytics platform (Google Analytics preferred)
  • Google Adwords
  • HTML
  • Search Console
• Strong attention to detail, love of process-building, and desire to help grow a business unit.
• Ability to manage stakeholders, at various levels of the organization, and their needs.
• Understanding of conversion rate optimization (CRO) and user experience techniques.
• Experience creating client-facing reporting.
• Experience overseeing partnerships with external SEO agencies and vendors to maximize return on investment in SEO resources.
• Ability to maintain a fun, casual, professional and productive team atmosphere.
• Comfortable working with ambiguous concepts and distilling them into sound deliverables.
• Enthusiasm and the ability to thrive in an atmosphere of constant change.

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Lanham, MD two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every e