Schools and Community Engagement Officer - FTC in Romford

Be the face of Barking & Dagenham College in our communities and help inspire the next generation of learners.

Our Story

Barking & Dagenham College of Further & Higher Education is a thriving, ambitious college committed to transforming lives through education and skills. With campuses in Barking and Rush Green, we support thousands of learners each year and work closely with employers, schools and community partners to create outstanding opportunities for our students. Having invested more than £50 million in our facilities over the last decade, we continue to develop innovative learning environments and industry-focused pathways that prepare learners for successful futures.

We're now looking for an enthusiastic and proactive Schools & Community Engagement Officer to join our Marketing & Communications team and play a key role in driving learner recruitment through meaningful engagement with schools, community organisations and prospective adult learners.

What You'll Be Doing

As our Schools & Community Engagement Officer, you'll be responsible for developing and managing relationships with schools, community groups and external stakeholders to promote the College's offer and support student recruitment targets. Your responsibilities will include:

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with secondary schools, sixth forms, careers advisers and community organisations.
• Coordinating and delivering a programme of school visits, assemblies, presentations, careers fairs and recruitment events.
• Representing the College at internal and external events, engaging with students, parents, guardians and adult learners.
• Supporting the promotion of College Open Events, Taster Days and curriculum-specific activities.
• Managing and maintaining the Schools & Community database, ensuring accurate records and reporting.
• Generating and tracking learner leads from outreach activities and events.
• Conducting market research and gathering feedback to inform future engagement activities.
• Working collaboratively with the Marketing & Communications team to develop promotional materials and campaign content.
• Supporting the promotion of the College through social media and community engagement initiatives.
• Monitoring and evaluating outreach activity to ensure continuous improvement and maximum impact.

This role will involve regular travel, along with occasional evening and weekend working to support events and recruitment activities.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for an energetic, organised and confident individual who thrives on building relationships and engaging with a wide range of audiences. You will have:

• A degree or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Experience working in a recruitment, engagement, outreach or customer-facing role within a fast-paced environment.
• Experience coordinating events and activities involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong relationship‑building skills and the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels.
• Excellent presentation and public speaking skills, with the confidence to engage large audiences.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Experience gathering, analysing and reporting on data and engagement activity.
• Excellent written communication skills and experience producing professional documents and presentations.
• A proactive, resilient and positive approach to work.
• A commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding.

Experience working with schools, young people, education providers, or within a marketing, events or communications environment would be advantageous.

What's In It for You?

We offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• A competitive salary and generous pension scheme.
• Excellent annual leave entitlement.
• Ongoing professional development and career progression opportunities.
• Access to staff wellbeing initiatives and support services.
• Free parking and access to employee benefits schemes.
• The opportunity to make a real difference by helping learners access life‑changing education and training opportunities.

Barking & Dagenham College is committed to best practice relating to safer recruitment and safeguarding. Please note that all employment checks are made in line with the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidelines. For further information relating to onboarding expectations and our safeguarding framework, please speak with the Talent team directly.

As part of our commitment to a safe and professional working environment, Barking & Dagenham College may conduct a check of publicly available social media profiles (e.g. LinkedIn, X, Facebook etc.) as part of pre‑onboarding checks. For further information, please request a copy of our Social Media Checks Policy directly from the Talent team.

Barking & Dagenham College is proudly an inclusive employer, striving towards an open culture where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, safely and without fear of judgement or persecution. We welcome applications from all, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, beliefs, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation or age. Should you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know. You will not be disadvantaged for stating your needs and we want to support you to do your best in this process.