Customer Data Platform Manager

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

What You'll Do:

The Customer Data Platform (CDP) Manager is a key driver of WGU’s personalized student experiences, ensuring that data is harnessed to improve engagement across their entire journey from applicant to alumni. This role is responsible for leading the implementation and ongoing management of WGU’s Real-Time Student Data Platform. Requires the ability to identify, manage, and activate audience data. Champions the platform's adoption, helping teams leverage data to drive personalization, optimize digital experiences, and improve operational efficiencies. This role demands strong technical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to navigate cross-functional collaborations in an Agile framework.

Main Responsibilities Include:

• Business & Technical Liaison: Collaborate closely with stakeholders across university departments to gather business requirements and define technical specifications for CDP-based solutions, ensuring seamless data integration across systems.

• Audience Segmentation & Journey Mapping: Support user experience and operations teams in discovering customer journeys and developing segmentation strategies that are both actionable and scalable.

• Data Strategy & Integration: Develop forward-thinking strategies to collect, manage, and activate data in ways that advance WGU’s commitment to personalized, data-driven student interactions.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Engage with project management, marketing, and digital experience teams to ensure that web deployments, marketing efforts, and customer data integrations (CRM, advertising, marketing automation, etc.) are aligned with CDP goals.

• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities for system enhancements, upgrades, and integration optimizations, ensuring the CDP evolves with business needs and technological advancements.

• Data Governance & Quality: Implement and maintain data quality practices that ensure consistency, completeness, and compliance with privacy laws (FERPA, CCPA, GDPR).

• Documentation & Training: Maintain comprehensive documentation of platform configurations, technical specifications, and processes. Provide training and support to teams across WGU to maximize the platform’s value.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities You'll Need to Be Successful:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Demonstrated experience in using data to inform operational and marketing strategies, focusing on delivering personalized user experiences.

• Strategic Vision & Innovation: Ability to align CDP use cases with broader institutional goals, continuously exploring new ways to leverage data for improved student outcomes.

• Collaborative Leadership: Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with a proven ability to influence cross-functional teams, build consensus, and serve as a CDP evangelist.

• Technical Proficiency: Extensive hands-on experience with CDPs (Tealium, Segment, ActionIQ, Salesforce, Adobe, etc.), data modeling, and integration of various marketing and customer data tools.

• Proven work experience in data architecture and data modeling, preferably with experience working in CRM, paid media, social, and offline data.

• Experience with data management governance.

• Excellent and proactive attention to detail and organization of multiple initiatives.

• Problem-Solving Expertise: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience diagnosing platform issues, optimizing APIs, and enhancing data connections.

• Agile Project Management: Skilled in coordinating complex projects within an Agile framework, ensuring timely execution and high-quality results in a team environment.

• Exceptional analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving skills are required, including understanding how to interpret business and user needs and translate them into an optimized business process.

• Be a self-starter with a bias for action versus extensive deliberation.

• Demonstratable familiarity with JavaScript and DOM manipulation as it pertains to CDP deployments.

• Ability to work well under pressure and with dynamic deadlines.

• Ability to work during website release or emergency maintenance windows as needed.

What is Required:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree.

• Five years of experience managing customer data platforms, data architecture, data governance, and as a CDP evangelist.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications in CDP platforms (e.g., Tealium, Segment), Privacy (e.g., CIPP, CIPT), or Data Management.

• Experience with data integration tools (APIs, JSON) and compliance frameworks (FERPA, CCPA, GDPR).

• Experience with marketing automation and CRM tools (Marketo, Salesforce).

• Experience with Web Analytics

• Experience with SQL

• Experience in higher education

This position is in-office in Salt Lake City, UT.

#LI-FP1

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

How to apply: apply online

Full-time Regular Positions (FT classification, standard working hours = 40)

This is a full-time, regular position that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

The University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.