Marketing and Communications Officer

We are looking for a Digital Marketing officer with creativity, vision and strategic insight to join our dynamic Marketing and Communications team. You’ll take charge of our digital presence, using cutting-edge tools and channels to shape the College’s brand, maximise learner recruitment, and transform the way we engage with audiences online. This is a unique opportunity to lead digital innovation in an ambitious and forward-thinking college, driving real impact across student recruitment, marketing technology, and brand engagement.

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Job Details

As the College’s digital lead, you’ll design and deliver a modern digital marketing strategy that enhances our online visibility, drives learner applications, and ensures the effective integration of automation, AI, and marketing technology (MarTech). From SEO and PPC to content creation and analytics, your work will be central to growing our brand and ensuring we stay at the forefront of digital communications in education.

Duties & Responsibilities

  • Lead all aspects of the College’s digital marketing strategy across web, social media, email and advertising.

  • Manage third-party digital agencies to ensure campaigns are effective, on brand, and deliver value for money.

  • Act as the technical and operational lead across all digital platforms, ensuring strong UX, functionality, and brand alignment.

  • Leverage marketing technology (automation, AI tools, CRM integrations) to streamline marketing activity.

  • Oversee the College’s SEO, PPC and social advertising performance, reporting on ROI and campaign metrics via GA4, Tag Manager, and SEMrush.

  • Create compelling content including digital copy, graphics and photography to support campaigns and brand storytelling.

  • Monitor the entire digital footprint of the College, advising on improvements and ensuring accessibility compliance.

  • Provide regular performance reports and insights to inform strategy and continuous improvement.

  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders and curriculum teams to ensure our online content reflects real-time college developments.

  • Lead on the production of staff newsletters and the College-wide events calendar.

The right candidate will have:

Essential Criteria

  • Proven experience in a digital marketing role, ideally within education or public services.
  • Strong knowledge of SEO, paid advertising (Google & Meta), email marketing, and digital campaign reporting.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead data-informed marketing strategies and generate ROI reports.
  • Experience with digital tools including Google Analytics (GA4), SEMrush, Tag Manager.
  • Excellent copywriting, communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Highly organised, creative and analytical, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities.
  • Full driving licence and access to a vehicle

Desirable Criteria

  • Degree in Marketing or related discipline.
  • Experience working within the education sector.
  • Understanding of platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Spotify.
  • Line management or project leadership experience.

Why choose us?

Our strategy is to create a Career Focused, Digital Learning environment, ensuring that the learner experience and our relationship within our community, local and regional employers, are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be selected as finalists for the AoC Beacon awards for effective use of digital Technology in FE. Providing a high achieving, focused learning environment allowing our students to achieve the grades they need for higher educations, or the skills and aptitude required to secure a suitable role in their chosen career. Our college is set in the leafy suburbs of Essex, with easy access to surrounding areas and amenities, we are based in a well-connected location both by road and rail.

What we offer:

  • A dedicated and friendly team of professionals who are keen to develop and learn
  • Excellent pension provision
  • Annual Staff Awards
  • CPD days - opportunities to grow and development through mentorship and coaching
  • Free onsite parking
  • Staff appreciation days
  • Eye care vouchers
  • Onsite Starbucks & Restaurant
  • Well-being days & activities
  • Electric Vehicle Scheme*
  • Discounted gym membership
  • Hybrid Working available
  • Fully immersive teaching rooms allow simultaneous online teaching at multiple locations
  • Free Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7, 365 days offering legal & financial advice, as well as general support & guidance

* subject to terms & conditions

This role is considered 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.  It is an offence to apply for the role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. Self-declaration is subject to Ministry of Justice guidance on the disclosure of criminal records, further information can be found on GOV UK

USP College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, we therefore expect all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service, and any other checks that the role requires to ascertain suitability for working with children and/or vulnerable adults, which may include online searches.

We will hold and process any personal data, including sensitive (special category) personal data, relating to you in accordance with our legal obligations, in the manner set out in the Privacy Notice for staff and in accordance with our Data Protection Policy, which is set out on the College’s website, found here. You should familiarise yourself with our Data Protection Policy (and all other subsidiary policies to it) and comply with them at all times. Neither the Privacy Notice for Staff nor those policies form a part of your contract of employment.