Digital Marketing Officer (Paid and Performance) in Liverpool

We're looking for a Digital Marketing Officer (Paid and Performance) to join our Marketing and Communications team at The City of Liverpool College. This is a hands-on, data-driven role at the heart of our student recruitment activity. You’ll plan and deliver paid digital campaigns across search and social, manage budgets, and use performance data to keep improving results. You’ll work closely with colleagues across the wider department, our curriculum areas, and our creative agency, contributing to an integrated annual media plan that spans digital and out-of-home activity.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, deliver, and optimise pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns across Google Ads, Meta and paid social platforms to support student recruitment, including enrolment periods and open events.
• Manage campaign budgets, audience targeting, and bidding strategies, with a focus on cost-effective results.
• Brief and collaborate with our designer on paid campaign assets, ensuring creative aligns to audience and platform.
• Work closely with the Digital Marketing Officer (Content and Social) to ensure paid and organic activity are planned and delivered as part of a coherent media plan, with shared visibility of campaign performance and scheduling across both roles.
• Work closely with curriculum teams to promote courses to the right audiences at the right time.
• Maintain a working understanding of the team's organic social and content activity, including scheduling and community management processes, to support continuity of output.
• Track and report on the performance of paid campaigns and wider digital channels using Google Analytics and platform-native tools.
• Use data to inform optimisation decisions and share clear, actionable insights with the wider team.
• Contribute to quarterly channel performance reporting, including paid media and overall digital performance.
• Monitor competitor and sector activity, identifying opportunities to improve the College's paid media approach.
• Implement SEO best practice across website content to support search performance and course discoverability.
• Work with the team on content updates that serve both organic and paid search strategies.
• Maintain and update website content via the CMS as required, ensuring accuracy and accessibility.
• Support the development and delivery of targeted email campaigns to prospective and current students.
• Assist with managing CRM data, including segmentation, data quality, and list management.
• Monitor and report on email campaign performance, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
• Ensure all content adheres to the College's brand guidelines and tone of voice.
• Comply with relevant legislation, including GDPR, copyright, and digital accessibility standards.
• Stay current with paid media platform developments, algorithm changes, and best practice in the further education sector.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential Criteria

• Qualification or equivalent experience in Design, Marketing or Communications.
• Experience in a digital marketing role with hands-on responsibility for paid media.
• Proven track record managing PPC campaigns across Google Ads and paid social platforms, including budget management and performance optimisation.
• Strong analytical skills, with experience using Google Analytics and reporting on campaign performance.
• Good working knowledge of SEO principles and how paid and organic search interact.
• A collaborative team player who is comfortable working across a small, integrated team and sharing knowledge to support collective delivery.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to write clearly for different audiences and channels.
• Comfortable working with data to evaluate performance and inform decisions.
• Awareness of GDPR and digital accessibility requirements.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience supporting email marketing campaigns and managing data in a CRM system.
• Experience working with creative agencies or external partners.
• An understanding of, or experience in, the education or public sector.

Benefits

• Pension Scheme: You'll be part of the Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 20.20%.
• Leave entitlement: Up to 30 days annual holiday allowance, plus 1 wellbeing day.
• Employee Benefit Platform: Access to discounts at major supermarkets, fashion and lifestyle retailers, tech stores, travel providers, and more.
• Health and Wellbeing: Access to the Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
• Travel: Interest-free loans to help you buy annual travel passes from Merseytravel and Merseyrail.
• Flexible Working: Flexible working options depending on business need.
• Professional Development: A mix of formal and informal professional development opportunities.
• College Benefits: Access to sports and fitness facilities, discounted hair and beauty treatments, and staff discount at our Academy Restaurant.