Recruitment and Marketing Manager (Midlands and North) in Birmingham

Location

Birmingham

Hybrid

Based within the assigned regional area (Inclusive of Midlands, North England and Wales) , with an expectation that the post holder will typically spend around four days per week on campus, attending external recruitment events, fairs, school and college visits, or undertaking other regional engagement activities. The remaining time may be spent undertaking planning, administration, and collaborative activity remotely, in line with business needs. This pattern is indicative and may vary according to operational requirements and the recruitment cycle.

Role Purpose

The Campus-Based Recruitment & Marketing Manager will play a key role in strengthening student recruitment performance by acting as the link between ACM's central recruitment strategy and effective regional delivery.

Embedded within their campus and local market, the post holder will take ownership of building and sustaining recruitment pipelines, developing meaningful partnerships, delivering regional recruitment activity and providing valuable market insight to inform wider institutional strategy.

Working closely with the Director of Recruitment and Conversion, Marketing, Admissions, academic teams and student services, the role will ensure that recruitment activity is strategically aligned while remaining locally relevant, authentic and effective.

The post holder will become a key source of regional knowledge, providing insight into local demographics, competitor activity, student motivations, course demand and market opportunities. Through strong relationships and community presence, they will help ACM attract, engage and convert prospective students throughout the recruitment journey.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Recruitment Delivery

• Implement ACM's student recruitment strategy within the assigned region, developing activity plans that support undergraduate and postgraduate recruitment objectives.
• Build and manage local recruitment pipelines through targeted engagement with schools, colleges, feeder institutions and community partners.
• Develop and maintain structured relationship plans that support prospective student engagement from awareness through to enrolment.
• Identify opportunities to increase applications and improve conversion through locally informed recruitment activity.
• Represent ACM at recruitment fairs, schools, colleges, community events and other external engagement opportunities.
• Support the delivery and enhancement of campus-based recruitment activity, including open days, applicant events and offer-holder activity.

Marketing and Content Support

• Work closely with the wider Marketing team to support the delivery of effective regional marketing activity.
• Identify and facilitate content opportunities that showcase the ACM student experience, including student stories, course highlights, events and campus activity.
• Provide local insight and market intelligence to support the development of campaigns and communications.
• Ensure recruitment materials and activity reflect the ACM brand while remaining relevant and authentic to regional audiences.

Student Experience and Conversion

• Provide prospective students with a high-quality, personalised recruitment experience throughout the student journey.
• Support conversion activity through direct engagement with applicants, offer holders and prospective students.
• Develop and maintain effective communication with prospective students through campus visits, events and targeted engagement activity.
• Work collaboratively with Admissions and other teams to ensure a seamless experience from enquiry through to enrolment.
• Develop and manage a high-performing Student Ambassador programme, including recruitment, training, scheduling, performance management and ongoing development to support student recruitment, marketing and engagement activities.

Market Insight and Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary source of regional insight, providing intelligence on competitor activity, market trends, student motivations and recruitment opportunities.
• Build strong relationships with academic teams, professional services, schools, colleges and external partners.
• Share insight with central teams to ensure recruitment strategy and campaigns are informed by current market intelligence.
• Identify risks and opportunities within the regional recruitment landscape and make recommendations for improvement.

Project and Budget Management

• Plan, coordinate and evaluate recruitment initiatives and events.
• Monitor performance against agreed objectives and provide recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Manage allocated budgets effectively, ensuring resources are used efficiently and deliver value.
• Support recruitment projects aligned with ACM's strategic objectives.

Key Performance Indicators

• Growth in local enquiries and applications.
• Improved conversion rates from enquiry through to enrolment.
• Development and quality of active school, college and partner relationships.
• Recruitment event performance, including attendance, engagement and conversion outcomes.
• Quality, relevance and frequency of market insight shared with central teams.
• Effective collaboration with Marketing, Admissions, academic teams and other stakeholders.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience in student recruitment, marketing, education, outreach or a related field.
• Understanding of the student recruitment lifecycle, including enquiry, application, offer and enrolment stages.
• Experience developing and delivering recruitment activity plans and engagement initiatives.
• Experience building relationships with external stakeholders, schools, colleges or community organisations.
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to influence and build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to analyse performance data, identify trends and make recommendations.
• Commercially aware and focused on achieving recruitment outcomes.
• Competent IT skills, including Microsoft Office applications.
• Willingness and flexibility to work evenings, weekends and travel within the region when required.
• UK drivers license

Desirable Criteria

• Experience working within the higher education sector.
• Knowledge of UCAS and higher education admissions processes.
• Experience using CRM systems such as HubSpot or equivalent.
• Understanding of competitor analysis and market positioning.
• Existing knowledge and networks within the assigned region.
• A strong connection to the ACM community, creative industries or student experience.

Profile

You will be a natural connector who understands how to build relationships, inspire prospective students and bring the ACM experience to life.

You may have an existing connection to the campus, creative industries or local community and will understand the importance of authentic engagement. You will combine recruitment expertise with energy, credibility and enthusiasm, acting as a trusted representative of ACM and a relatable point of contact for prospective students.

You will be confident in building networks, identifying opportunities and translating regional insight into meaningful recruitment activity. Above all, you will be passionate about helping students see themselves as part of the ACM community and supporting them throughout their journey from first engagement to enrolment.

This job purpose reflects the core activities of the post. As the Department and the post-holder develop, there will inevitably be some changes to the duties for which the post is responsible, and possibly to the emphasis of the post itself. ACM expects that the post-holder will recognise this and will adopt a flexible approach to work. This could include undertaking relevant training where necessary. Should significant changes to the job purpose become necessary, the post-holder will be consulted.