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Who We Are
Our mission is simple but critical: to build pathways for adult learners to earn high-quality, workforce-aligned degrees and credentials from North Carolina’s public universities.
At Project Kitty Hawk, our work reflects our company values:
Collaboration – We prioritize our partners’ success and reputation, aligning every initiative with their goals, reflecting their values, and enhancing their impact.
Innovation – We innovate, not replicate. As creative problem solvers, we use data-driven insights to push boundaries, continuously improve our services, develop solutions, and redefine what it means to serve nontraditional learners.
Empathy – We understand the unique challenges of nontraditional learners, and are committed to supporting them with empathy, respect, and solutions that fit their needs.
Integrity – We operate with transparency and accountability in everything we do. We uphold honesty, take ownership of our work, and maintain the highest standards.
Teamwork – We embody the collaboration we seek. We always strive to be dependable, supportive, and solutions-oriented teammates.
Together, we partner with universities in the University of North Carolina (UNC) System to produce innovative, flexible degree and credential programs in high-demand fields. Each PKH team member plays a vital role in advancing this mission and shaping the future of education for adult learners.
These values will enable us to realize PKH’s vision: to make North Carolina’s public universities the top choice for adult learners and to amplify the UNC System’s role as a national leader in higher education innovation, access, and student success. By joining our team, you have an opportunity to contribute to our achievement of that vision, in the process helping to create opportunities for thousands of learners to earn their success and move up the economic ladder.
At Project Kitty Hawk we hire talented people who are not only dedicated to our mission but share our belief that working together makes us stronger and more effective. In this organization you’ll find individuals with a range of interesting backgrounds and life stories; the true magic happens when those individuals come together to solve problems in service of a common goal. We encourage you to bring your unique perspective, talents, and ideas to the table as we strive to make a meaningful impact.
The role
Project Kitty Hawk (PKH) is seeking a Director, Content & Engagement Strategy to define how adult learners experience our programs through language, content, and engagement across the full learner journey.
This is a foundational, senior role responsible for owning the strategic frameworks that guide student-facing content across web, program marketing, lifecycle communications, and organic discovery. As PKH brings marketing capabilities in-house, this role will establish clarity, consistency, and cohesion across partners, programs, and platforms—ensuring content builds confidence, reduces friction, and drives action for high-consideration adult learners.
The Director serves as PKH’s central authority for student-facing messaging, translating complex academic offerings into clear, outcome-oriented narratives. This role blends high-level strategy with hands-on contribution and partners closely with web, SEO, paid media, analytics, admissions, and student support teams to ensure content supports engagement, conversion, and early persistence.
What you will do:
- Define PKH’s end-to-end approach to engaging adult learners through content across the full lifecycle—from awareness and inquiry through application, enrollment, orientation, and early engagement.
- Develop strategic frameworks that guide how content informs, reassures, motivates, and converts non-traditional learners.
- Ensure engagement strategy reflects the realities of adult learners balancing work, family, and career goals.
- Own PKH’s student-facing messaging architecture, including value propositions, narrative frameworks, and tone.
- Translate program offerings, academic pathways, and institutional distinctions into clear, outcome-focused language.
- Serve as final editorial authority for student- and customer-facing copy across web, program pages, blogs, and lifecycle communications.
- Ensure alignment with partner brand standards while maintaining PKH consistency, quality, and clarity.
- Own web-level messaging and story flow from a learner experience and narrative perspective (not technical implementation).
- Define page-level hierarchies, content intent, and messaging priorities for partner microsites and program pages.
- Partner with web and SEO teams to align narrative clarity with search intent, site structure, and discoverability.
- Pressure-test messaging to ensure relevance, differentiation, and comprehension for adult learners.
- Lead content strategy across key journey stages, anticipating learner questions, barriers, and decision points.
- Partner with admissions, advising, and student support teams to ensure messaging supports readiness, confidence, and follow-through.
- Develop and optimize nurture, reminder, and engagement content that supports conversion and early persistence.
- Guide testing strategies for lifecycle messaging, including themes, sequencing, and success metrics. Lead keyword research, search intent analysis, and competitive content assessments to inform content investment.
- Develop SEO-informed content roadmaps and editorial calendars in partnership with SEO and web resources.
- Monitor content performance using analytics to identify opportunities for optimization and impact.
- Collaborate with paid media and CRO teams to ensure content alignment across channels and conversion paths.
- Develop and refine program- and partner-level narratives that clearly articulate outcomes, differentiation, and value.
- Ensure storytelling reflects the distinct brand, voice, and mission of each university partner.
- Adapt narratives to different learner motivations (degree completion, career advancement, career change, licensure).
- Support new program launches with clear positioning and go-to-market narratives.
- Define the role of video and multimedia content across the learner journey.
- Shape narrative direction for testimonials, program explainers, and partner stories.
- Partner with creative teams or external vendors on content planning and direction.
- Ensure multimedia aligns with broader messaging and engagement strategy.
- Lead the transition of content strategy from vendor-led execution to in-house ownership.
- Establish content standards, workflows, editorial processes, and governance models.
- Prioritize content work across partners, programs, and channels in a fast-paced environment.
- Identify when and where external support is needed for scale or specialized execution.
- Define responsible use of AI tools for content ideation, drafting, summarization, and iteration.
- Establish guardrails to ensure accuracy, consistency, and appropriate tone.
- Partner with execution teams to support scalable, high-quality communication through shared knowledge bases.
What you bring:
- 7+ years of experience in content strategy, editorial leadership, or lifecycle communications.
- Demonstrated experience writing for adult learners, non-traditional students, or working professionals.
- Strong ability to translate complex offerings into clear, motivating narratives.
- Experience serving as final editorial authority across high-volume, high-stakes content.
- Working knowledge of SEO concepts, keyword research, and organic content strategy.
- Experience using analytics (e.g., Google Analytics) to inform content decisions.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
- Higher education, enrollment marketing, or mission-driven B2C experience preferred.
$140,000 - $150,000 a year
What We Offer
Project Kitty Hawk offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes full medical/dental/vision coverage, a 401K with match, and a generous time-off policy with paid volunteer time. In addition, we are committed to providing competitive salaries with the potential for performance bonus and remote working flexibility.
Project Kitty Hawk is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
Project Kitty Hawk is dedicated to this policy concerning recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please contact Kelly Snow at [email protected].
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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