MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION GENERAL INFORMATION The School The Perse School, which was founded in 1615, is a charitable company and one of the country s leading independent day schools. The Perse School Foundation is fully co-educational, educating boys and girls from 3-18 on three sites: the Pelican (ages 3-7) in Glebe Road; the Prep (ages 7-11) in Trumpington Road; and the Upper (ages 11-18) in Hills Road. Children thus progress through three different schools, but have all the benefits of being part of one larger institution with an integrated curriculum and pastoral care system. There are currently approximately 1010 pupils in the Upper School; 270 pupils in the Prep; and 150 pupils in The Pelican. In the past 5 years pupil numbers in the Upper and Prep have grown by c. 40% and 50% respectively. The permanent staff of the School is around 275, approximately 140 of whom are academic members of staff, and in addition there are about 50 peripatetic music, sports coaching and other specialist staff. The School has undertaken an almost continuous programme of building works over the past decade. Five years ago a new Library, Art and Technology department and classroom building at the Prep and the Richardson Hall at the Pelican were completed. At the Upper School an extension to the Sports Centre providing a sports studio and further changing rooms, and a major new building providing 21 classrooms, a new library, a new ICT department and various support services were completed in 2010. Further buildings were added in 2011 and 2012, including a sixth form study centre and an outdoor pursuits centre at the Upper, and a full sized all weather pitch at the Prep. More tennis and netball courts were completed for January 2013, and construction has started on a new Upper School classroom building (seventeen classrooms; seven meeting / interview rooms; departmental & pastoral offices; and a large multipurpose space) for occupation in September 2014. Further works are currently in the design stage. More details about the School can be found on www.perse.co.uk The Bursary The Bursary, which is situated at the Upper School, is responsible for the financial, HR, legal, H&S, administrative, estates and facilities management work of the School.
The Bursary also provides (through the Bursar and Clerk to Governors) a governance resource and is the secretariat to the Governing Board. Reporting The Marketing & Communications Officer will report to the Director of Communications, who reports to the Head and the Bursar. Job Purpose The Marketing & Communications Officer will play a crucial role in promoting The Perse to prospective parents and students, prospective staff, the local community and the wider public and encouraging their engagement with the School. The role requires someone who is able to marry their creativity and flair with ability to secure value for money and return on investment. The post holder will help the Director of Communications with all aspects of the Communications Strategy, making this a diverse role with opportunities to deliver a range of marketing and communications activities. The Communications Office works closely with the Development Office so the post holder will also advise and support colleagues communicating with alumni. The post holder will have particular responsibility for the School s online communications including the website and social media, creating digital and printed marketing collateral, and planning and delivering PR. The post holder will work in a small communications and admissions team. Due to the seasonal peaks in the admissions cycle there will be times when they will need to support admissions admin activity, and likewise there will be times when the admissions staff have capacity to support marketing activity. Therefore a flexible, can-do attitude and strong team working skills are needed. Key Responsibilities Website and digital marketing Ensuring that the website and digital communications effectively convey the essence and experience of The Perse and provide audiences with the information they need in a user-friendly way. By: Using quantitative and qualitative data to continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the website and identify ways to improve it. Keeping abreast of website innovations and recommending appropriate enhancements, working with staff and our creative agency to ensure the website s functionality, navigation and look and feel evolve. Developing content, in line with the content strategy, including images, video and audio. Ensuring digital activity is effectively optimised for Search. Uploading of regularly refreshed content such as newsletters, stories and The Pelican s weekly photos. Co-ordinating and evaluating e-shots to prospective parents.
Helping to improve the School s intranet and develop other digital internal communications activity. Marketing material Ensuring School marketing materials have a consistent look and feel that reflects our values and effectively conveys our proposition. By: PR Drafting and editing copy for key marketing materials including newsletters, prospectuses, the annual review, flyers, adverts and e-shots. Working with our creative agency to design digital and printed marketing materials and, where appropriate (depending on the skills of the post holder), designing some material in-house. Maintaining stocks of marketing material and ensuring they are displayed at all appropriate points in the School and supplied to appropriate partners (for example feeder schools). Helping staff apply the visual identity to their communications, for example developing simple toolkits, templates and guides. Setting up and managing the School s marketing image library, including securing and briefing photographers and ensuring image use for marketing purposes adheres to School policies. Helping the School engage its audiences and develop strong relationships, and raising awareness of the benefits of being part of The Perse or working in partnership with us. Working with the Director of Communications and other staff to develop mutually-beneficial relationships with partners (such as local schools, businesses and academia). Acting as the School s social media expert; reviewing, implementing and evaluating the social media strategy and policies Developing a forward look of blog topics for the Head and co-ordinating guest bloggers. Liaising with staff across the Pelican, Prep and Upper and with our PR agency to ensure newsworthy activities are identified and to develop, deliver and evaluate a termly PR plan. Covering activities and taking photos for news stories, creating case studies and commissioning professional photography where appropriate. Promptly reporting news on the website and in our social media channels. Monitoring media (including social media) for relevant content and summarising coverage for the Senior Management Team. Maintaining a press cuttings file. Ensuring reception news clippings are kept up-to-date. Contributing to the crisis management plan, preparing for crises, and delivering activity should a crisis occur.
Advertising and direct marketing Ensuring the School appears in key directories and that entries are kept upto-date. Supporting the Communications Director with the advertising plan, including gathering information about the audiences and rates for different channel options. Working with our creative agency to develop adverts and, where appropriate (depending on the skills of the post holder), designing some adverts in-house. Events Working with admissions colleagues to organise and promote open days and other events. Sourcing and ordering promotional gifts. Producing marketing material for open days including programmes and maps. Securing and analysing parent feedback from events to inform the marketing strategy. Providing other support for events, for example preparing the photo montage for Speech Day or greeting attendees on entrance test day. 400 th anniversary The School will celebrate its 400 th anniversary in 2015-16. The post holder will be part of the team planning and delivering associated activity, in particular events. Other The post holder will be expected to work closely with the Admissions team, providing occasional administrative cover and support. PERSON SPECIFICATION Essential experience, skills and personal qualities Experience in a marketing, communications or PR role. Strong writing and editing skills, including the ability to tailor content and format to different audience needs. Experience of digital marketing or website management and/or evaluation (technical skills not essential but would be an advantage). Experience of using social media in a business/organisational setting. A nose for a good news story. An eye for good design and the ability to produce well-formatted documents such as powerpoints presentations, newsletters, programmes and reports. Initiative and ability to work without direct supervision. Diplomatic with strong interpersonal and listening skills. Thoroughness with an eye for detail. A team-player who is happy to go beyond their own responsibilities to help others at busy times. Ability and willingness to work outside normal office hours as required.
Desired experience While not essential, the following would be an advantage. Graphic design skills or use of desktop publishing packages. A marketing or PR qualification. Experience of o delivering and evaluating email campaigns o using social media monitoring tools o setting up or managing an image library o using marketing databases. OUTLINE TERMS AND CONDITIONS Working Hours, Holidays, Salary and Other Matters This post is full time for 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. The post holder would also be expected to be available for some work at weekends and in evenings, including Entrance Test Day and School Open Days. Paid holiday entitlement is 6 weeks plus bank holidays per annum, one week to be taken at Easter, one week to be taken at Christmas and four weeks to be taken as agreed with the Director of Communications. The starting salary will be Scale Point 21 of the Perse School Support Staff Salary Scale - 24,758 per annum. The School operates a defined contribution pension scheme which all non-teaching members of staff are eligible to join once they have completed three months service and to which the School and the member of staff both contribute. Contributions are currently 13.75% and 6.25% respectively. The School operates a Group Life Scheme that members of staff are automatically included in on the date of appointment. The School s Sports Centre is available for use by staff at various times during the week. Lunch is provided free of charge for all staff whose working hours encompass the time of School lunch. The School is keen to help develop the skills of its staff and looks to provide appropriate training as necessary. Safer Recruitment The Perse School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including references from previous employers, and a Disclosure and Barring Service check at the enhanced level and compliance with Sections 15-25 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (eligibility to work in the UK).
Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates suitability to work with children. Other Information In order to facilitate your application the following information is included with this Job Description: a) Non-Teaching Staff Application for Employment Form b) Policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders APPLICATION PROCESS An Application for Employment Form should be completed and returned with a covering letter to: Mrs Isabel Baldwin PA to the Bursar The Perse School Hills Road Cambridge CB2 8QF Tel No: 01223 403874 Email: bursarspa@perse.co.uk For an informal, confidential discussion about the role please contact Caroline Brown, Director of Communications, on 01223 403885.