Associate Director

Role: Associate Director - Brand (University Campuses)

Location: Mumbai / Bangalore (Hybrid)

About Us

Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world. It does this by collaborating with more than 80 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus' short courses, degree programs, professional certificates, and senior executive programs help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organizations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches has educated more than 300,000 individuals across 80+ countries.

Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Group, has more than 2,000 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai. The company is backed by prominent investors including Accel, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate, Prosus Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, and Bertelsmann.

About the Role

We are partnering with some of the world's most prestigious universities to launch their campuses in India, making world class education more accessible to Indian students. As our Head of Brand, you will lead the creation and execution of distinctive brand identity for each of the campuses — influencing how students, parents, faculty, and partners perceive us. You'll shape how India perceives and embraces these global institutions and ensure that every university touchpoint reflects academic excellence and aspirational value.

This is a senior leadership role that combines strategic thinking, creative storytelling, and data-driven execution to shape perceptions, drive enrolment, deepen engagement, and build long-term university brand reputation. This role includes everything from strategic identity development and ATL/BTL activation to content marketing, digital campaigns, and influencer collaborations. You will work cross-functionally with admissions, marketing, communications, student services, and academic leadership to ensure every interaction with our brand delivers clarity, consistency, and emotional resonance

Key Responsibilities

1. Brand Strategy & Development

· Develop and own a composite brand strategy that balances global equity of our partner universities in home campus with their unique positioning in India market.

· Build a scalable brand architecture that supports multiple academic programs, partnerships, and audiences.

· Maintain brand guidelines and governance frameworks across all platforms and touchpoints.

2. Influencer Marketing

· Design and manage large scale influencer marketing campaigns with high authority influencers, education YouTubers, and subject-matter influencers.

· Build a student ambassador network on college campuses, student clubs, and faculty champions to organically amplify brand stories.

· Lead partnerships with credible voices in education and youth media to elevate trust and authenticity.

3. ATL / BTL Marketing & Media Planning

· Lead ATL campaigns including print, and outdoor to drive mass awareness and reputation building.

· Plan and execute BTL activations including school/college fairs, campus branding, experiential events, influencer-led meetups, and community-based outreach.

· Oversee media strategy and planning in collaboration with agency partners — including channel mix, geo-targeting, audience segmentation, and ROI tracking.

4. Website & Digital Experience

· Oversee the planning and creation of the university's website as a flagship brand destination — including design, structure, content, SEO, and storytelling.

· Develop and execute a digital content strategy that brings alive the university's mission, student stories, faculty expertise, and program outcomes

· Drive usability, SEO, and UX improvements in coordination with product and tech teams.

5. Digital Brand Campaigns

· Conceptualize and execute digital-first brand campaigns across platforms like YT, Meta,

· Lead campaign planning and messaging for paid digital media — integrated across video, display, social, and content formats.

· Champion creative experimentation in digital — from brand films and reels to interactive storytelling.

6. Content Marketing

· Build and lead the content marketing strategy to engage prospects and build brand equity over time.

· Develop high-impact content formats: blogs, articles, newsletters, student/faculty stories, and thought leadership pieces.

· Collaborate with admissions, academic, and digital teams to ensure content aligns with student journeys and application cycles.

7. Creative/ Content Production & Agency management

· Own and oversee production of all brand assets — video, copy, design, motion, and physical collateral.

· Identify, evaluate, and onboard creative, branding, media, PR and digital agencies to support brand development and go-to-market execution.

8. Brand Impact Measurement & Insights

· Define KPIs and establish brand health tracking mechanisms to continuously assess brand equity, recall, and sentiment.

· Commission qualitative and quantitative research (student insights, competitor scans, perception studies) to track brand awareness, recall, consideration, preference, and NPS.

9. Internal Brand & Stakeholder Alignment

· Drive internal brand onboarding for faculty, staff, and operations — ensuring cultural alignment and brand advocacy.

· Equip all departments with toolkits and training to live and represent the brand consistently.

Qualifications & Experience

• 10–12 years in brand, marketing, or creative leadership roles — ideally in education, youth brands, omni-channel ( offline and online) brands with experience of targeting Genz audience.
• First-hand experience of building brands in Indian market through brand positioning, messaging and effective customer segmentation
• Demonstrated success in building and launching new brands, including ATL/BTL, digital
• Proven experience is driving large scale impact through influencer campaign
• Proven experience in content marketing, digital storytelling, and managing cross-platform campaigns.
• Strong understanding of media planning, agency collaboration, and cross-cultural communication.
• Experience in leading website development and digital brand platforms.
• Exceptional creative judgment, stakeholder leadership, and strategic thinking skills.

Why Join Us:

At Emeritus, you'll make a meaningful impact by supporting learners globally while working in a collaborative, inclusive, and growth-oriented environment.

Emeritus provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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