Marketing Manager

Leweston is a thriving Roman Catholic co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 3 months to 18 years. It is located in 46 acres of Dorset parkland just outside Sherborne and educates just over 600 pupils. The school is known for its excellent teaching and places a strong focus on providing an individualised experience which challenges pupils of all abilities in a supportive manner. It is academic aspirational with pupils exceeding national averages at all of the key stages. Leweston prides itself on the strength of relationships between staff, pupils and parents and regards itself as a family community.

Marketing Strategy and Planning

· Own the development and delivery of the school's annual marketing strategy, aligned to the school's brand positioning and to the recruitment priorities agreed with the Admissions Manager.

· Translate the strategy into a termly marketing and campaign calendar, setting priorities and deadlines for the Marketing Lead and the wider team.

· Own and manage the marketing budget, allocating spend across content, paid media, print and events, and reporting on return against agreed objectives.

· Monitor the competitor and wider independent schools market, feeding intelligence on positioning, messaging and pricing into strategic planning.

· Report regularly to the Headmaster on marketing performance, and contribute to papers for the governing body as required.

Brand Stewardship and Content Direction

· Act as guardian of the school's brand positioning and tone of voice, ensuring consistency across every channel and every piece of content the school produces.

· Set the creative brief and direction for the Marketing Lead's content programme across the website, social media, print and publications, and review output against brand and strategic objectives.

· Take personal ownership of the school's highest-profile copywriting and messaging, including prospectus and key campaign materials, press statements, and copy for governor and senior leadership audiences.

· Build and maintain relationships with local and national press, acting as the school's primary point of contact for media enquiries and proactive coverage.

Digital Marketing, CRM and Paid Media

· Set the strategic direction for the school's digital marketing activity, including the HubSpot CRM, paid social and search advertising, search engine and AI-search visibility, and website performance.

· Manage the relationship with the school's retained media agency, agreeing budgets, briefing campaigns, reviewing performance and holding the agency to account against agreed targets.

· Oversee the quality and structure of data held in the CRM at a strategic level, using it to inform enquiry and campaign reporting, without carrying day-to-day data administration.

· Draw insight from website, CRM, social and paid media reporting into a regular performance summary for the Headmaster, recommending changes to spend or approach where needed.

· Ensure all paid and organic digital activity is planned around the school's key recruitment milestones and works in support of the wider marketing calendar.

International Marketing

· Own the marketing strategy for international recruitment, setting territory priorities in conjunction with the Admissions Manager and directing campaign content, channel selection and budget accordingly.

· Direct social media and paid campaign activity into priority international territories, working with the Marketing Lead and the retained media agency on market-specific creative, messaging and translation needs.

· Develop and maintain marketing materials and digital content for the school's international agent network, ensuring these remain aligned with the wider brand positioning and are kept current for agent use.

· Work closely with the Admissions Manager on international recruitment targets and agent relationship activity, ensuring marketing supports agent-generated enquiry and conversion across territories.

Line Management

· Line manage the Marketing Lead, setting objectives, reviewing workload and quality of output, and supporting their professional development.

· Provide clear direction and campaign briefs to the Marketing Lead, ensuring day-to-day creative delivery is aligned to the agreed strategy and calendar.

· Conduct regular one-to-ones and an annual appraisal with the Marketing Lead, in line with the school's performance management procedures.

Operational and Cross-Team Activity

· Take an active, hands-on part in delivering priority campaigns and content personally, alongside setting direction, particularly at peak recruitment points in the calendar.

· Work closely with the Admissions Manager on enquiry generation, campaign timing and messaging that supports the enquiry-to-visit-to-offer funnel, without holding responsibility for admissions process or delivery.

· Support the design and delivery of the admissions events programme in conjunction with the Admissions Manager, and collaborate with the Commercial Assistant on the planning and promotion of marketing and commercial events.

· Represent marketing in cross-team planning meetings, ensuring marketing activity is properly sequenced with admissions, commercial and school calendar priorities.

Degree or equivalent qualification in marketing, communications or related field.

CIM qualification, or working towards one.

Experience in the education sector, or in a multi-audience or membership-style organisation.

Experience of international marketing, or of working with an agent or intermediary network.

Substantial experience in a marketing role with demonstrable strategic ownership, including budget responsibility.

Proven ability to develop and own a marketing strategy and translate it into a deliverable plan and budget.

Strong written communication skills, with the judgement to write and approve copy for a range of audiences and levels of seniority.

Working understanding of digital marketing, CRM platforms and paid media, sufficient to brief, manage and hold an agency to account, without requiring hands-on technical delivery.

Comfortable interpreting marketing and digital performance data and using it to inform decisions and reporting.

Experience managing or briefing an external agency or supplier.

Confident line manager, or clear readiness to take on line management responsibility, able to set direction, review work and develop a direct report.

Organised and calm under pressure, able to manage competing priorities across a full calendar year.