Director, Conversion Rate Optimization; CRO

Position: Director, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Location: Crystal City Director, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Note: By applying to this position your application is automatically submitted to the following locations: Crystal City, VA; Remote: US, US At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to make learning limitless– and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class higher education the parent company of edX, a leading online learning platform, 2U powers thousands of higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with our college, university, and corporate partners, we are helping accelerate careers and transform lives. What We’re Looking For: 2U is seeking a strategic and data-driven Director of Conversion Rate Optimization to lead our acquisition experimentation strategy. In this high-impact role, you will own the optimization of the critical bridge between marketing traffic and student enrollment, focusing specifically on our high-volume Paid Landing Page (PLP) portfolio and Organic Website properties. As the "Head of Experimentation" for our marketing funnel, you will ensure that every dollar of media spend is maximized by delivering hyper-relevant, high-converting landing page experiences. You will orchestrate a cross-functional squad—spanning Strategy, Web Production, and Design—to build a rigorous testing roadmap that optimizes traffic performance across our Degree and Executive Education programs. Your mandate is clear: turn anonymous visitors into high-quality leads by continuously refining the first-touch digital experience.

Responsibilities

Include, But Are Not Limited To: Global Strategy & Traffic Monetization

• Develop and own the holistic CRO roadmap for both Paid Landing Pages (PLPs) and Organic website pathways. Your primary goal is to increase the yield (Session-to-Lead) from our acquisition traffic.
• Establish and govern the testing prioritization framework (e.g., PIE/RICE) to ensure resources are focused on high-impact, high-confidence experiments that drive measurable revenue growth.
• Partner with Martech to assess and optimize the experimentation stack (e.g., Optimizely, GA4), ensuring we have the technical capability to deploy complex personalization and multivariate tests at scale. Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Strategic Alignment with Analytics: Partner closely with the Director of Marketing Strategy & Analysis to validate that testing priorities address the highest-value business risks. You will act as the solution architect (owning the how and what to test) while relying on the Analytics team for diagnostic insights (identifying where the funnel is leaking) and final financial impact verification.
• Paid Media Partnership: Collaborate deeply with Paid Media leadership to ensure landing page strategies align with media buying objectives. You will ensure "Ad Scent" and message match are optimized to improve Quality Scores and conversion rates.
• Product Governance: Act as the strategic bridge between Marketing and Product. While focused on top-of-funnel acquisition, you will serve as a dotted-line advisor to PMs to ensure that downstream product changes do not negatively impact acquisition momentum. Team Management & Operations
• Directly manage the CRO Strategy Leads (Sr. Managers) and Web Production/Ops team, ensuring seamless hand-offs between hypothesis generation, design briefing, and technical execution.
• Oversee the velocity and quality of the testing pipeline, ensuring the team meets aggressive targets for test frequency and win rates.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, ensuring "failed" tests yield valuable customer insights that inform future acquisition strategies. Performance Analysis & Reporting
• Accountable for key top-of-funnel conversion metrics (Session-to-Lead, Lead-to-Enroll).
• Translate complex testing data into executive-level narratives that demonstrate ROI and strategic progress to leadership. Things That Should Be In Your Background:
• Experience: 7+ years of experience in CRO, Digital Marketing, or Product Growth, with a specific focus on acquisition and landing page optimization.
• Leadership: 3+ years of experience managing teams and influencing cross-functional stakeholders… Apply tot his job

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