Marketing and Content Manager

Hours per week: 37 per week, all year round

Contract type: Permanent

King Edward's School and King Edward VI High School for Girls

Edgbaston Park Road

Birmingham

B15 2UA

Telephone number: 0121 472 1672

Email address: recruitment@kes.org.uk

Required as soon as possible.

King Edward’s School (KES) and King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) are looking for a Marketing and Content Manager from January 2024. This is a permanent full-time position.

The Marketing and Communications team is blended across both schools to reflect ever-growing collaboration on their beautiful 50-acre shared Edgbaston campus. Both schools are seeking to advance the exceptional educational opportunities they provide for their pupils, building on their positions as the top West Midlands independent school for academic results (KEHS, Sunday Times 2023) and the West Midlands independent secondary school of the decade (KES, Sunday Times 2021).

We’re looking for a strong all-rounder. The role of Marketing and Content Manager will enable the successful candidate to put their content creation and management skills into action across the full marketing, PR, and communications mix.

Reporting to the Head of Marketing and Communications, the post-holder will have operational management responsibility for the school’s social media channels and will be the lead in-house designer of marketing and communications collateral and the principal contact for external agencies where projects are outsourced. As well as leading on the design of static collateral, whether for print or digital, the Marketing and Content Manager will also shoot and edit videos and photographs, craft news stories and support the Head of Marketing and Communications in planning and measurement.

As part of the wider External Relations team, the Marketing and Content Manager will work alongside Admissions and Partnerships colleagues, as well as with the Development Office, which leads on alumni engagement and philanthropy.

We’re looking for someone with exemplary design and writing skills for different audiences and channels, a creative flair for projects ranging from large-scale banner adverts to videos for social media and excellent attention to detail. As brand guardian, you will be committed to ensuring that our brand is understood by all stakeholders.

This wide-ranging role provides an enviable opportunity for someone with prior content creation and management experience in a marketing, PR or communications context who is looking to take the next step in their career at two of the country’s leading independent schools. Could this be you?

Holidays: 22 days holiday per year, increasing based on length of service to a maximum of 28 days, plus 8 bank holidays and 4 concessionary days when the schools are closed

Benefits: Enrolment in Defined Contribution Pension Scheme; school fee discount of up to 60% at KES and KEHS (subject to meeting admissions criteria); free lunch in term-time

Other benefits are detailed in the Schools Information Pack on our websites.

Job Description

Key responsibilities:

1. Digital communications

• devise and manage communications plans for social media including Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, and explore launching additional social media platforms where appropriate source and create engaging content to share across the schools’ digital channels develop, write and produce online communications, such as digital newsletters, including managing the provision of regular parent newsletters and ensuring content tells compelling stories that promote the schools’ values ensure website content is up to date, including sourcing, writing and publishing new content, and working closely with colleagues who also have website responsibilities to enable them to feel part of the wider “website team” develop and implement a comprehensive digital screen plan for specific locations and audiences within the schools that aligns with the schools’ overall communications goals

2. Design

• be the lead in-house designer of school publications and marketing collateral from brief stage through to writing content, design and layout, proofing and production, including newsletters, leaflets, online or offline adverts and magazines, liaising with external design agencies where relevant to provide job briefs and art direction, and ensuring all publications adhere to brand guidelines film and edit in-house videos to use in school promotion and at school events, and brief external video agencies as necessary take and edit photographs that capture the breadth and diversity of school life create, manage and maintain a multi-media library of content for use across different channels contribute to alumni publications including magazines, donor reports and fundraising collateral

3. Public relations

• support the Head of Marketing and Communications as appropriate in researching and drafting press releases and editorial for local, national and education sector media liaise with press contacts (particularly local and education industry press) where appropriate

4. Departmental processes

• contribute to streamlining marketing and communications processes across both schools, working closely with members of the wider External Relations team (Admissions and Partnerships), as well as with other departments, such as the Development Office

5. Other

• manage scheduling, booking and production of adverts manage the budget for the KES newsletter support market research contribute to the measurement and evaluation of marketing, PR and communications activity, including use of web and social media analytics tools occasional attendance at events outside of normal working hours may be required, which may fall on evenings or weekends any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Head of Marketing and Communications, Director of External Relations, KES Chief Master, KEHS Principal or Governors

Additional Duties

The list above is not an exhaustive list of tasks that the role holder will be required to carry out but outlines the main duties. All staff are required to act in a professional, co-operative, and flexible manner in line with the requirements of the post and the Staff Code of Conduct.

Person Specification

The following person specification indicates the skills and personal characteristics, qualifications, training, and experience that are either essential or desirable for this role, and the method by which these will be assessed during the recruitment process.

• skills and Abilities (assessed at application and interview) Essential Desirable strong creative design skills, with the ability to vary output for different audiences and media, online and offline excellent photography and videography skills, particularly in the context of events solid writing skills, with the ability to vary content for different audiences and media excellent proofreading skills and meticulous attention to detail ability to manage multiple projects and plan, organise and determine own workload to meet tight deadlines good interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a variety of stakeholders knowledge and Experience (assessed at application) Essential Desirable prior professional experience in a marketing, PR, or communication role a strong understanding of design principles and experience of using Adobe Creative Suite design software (e.g. InDesign) experience of using photo and video editing software (e.g Photoshop/Lightroom/Premier Pro) experience of managing digital channels including social media and video sharing platforms, such as YouTube or Vimeo, and of website content management systems (e.g. WordPress) experience of briefing and working with outside agencies proficient in the Microsoft Office suite experience of creating photo and video content for use in communications experience of measurement and evaluation in PR and/or marketing, including use of web and social media analytics tools a track record of training and keeping up to date with developments in design and social media usage for organisations experience of marketing within an educational environment experience of dealing with the media experience of having leadership responsibility in a team attitudes (assessed at interview) Essential Desirable a creative thinker with a proactive attitude and ability to use own initiative friendly and articulate diplomatic, discreet, and able to maintain strict confidentiality a positive attitude towards education and young people an understanding of safeguarding principles and practice an understanding of the aims and ethos of independent education

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent and spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

Closing date: 22 November 2023, 9:00am

Please apply online with a covering letter addressed to Zoe Robinson, Bursar, outlining why you feel that your skills and experience would equip you to take on this role, by email to: recruitment@kes.org.uk .

Interview will take place during the week commencing 27 November 2023 – successful candidates will be notified as soon after the closing date as possible.

If you have any queries about the role or would like to discuss it in more detail, please contact Annabell Lamba, Head of Marketing and Communications, by email: alamba@kes.org.uk.

This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including: an enhanced DBS; Childcare Disqualification (where applicable); qualifications (where applicable); medical fitness; identity and right to work.  All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references. 

Applicants please note: This post is not part of the City Council and the successful candidate will not hold a Birmingham City Council Contract of Employment. Please use the contact details in the advert for information on actual employment conditions.

Rehabilitation of offenders: This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

An online search will also be carried out as part of due diligence on all short-listed candidates.