Digital Strategist

UCAS is at the heart of connecting people to higher education.

UCAS is the world’s leading shared admissions service for higher education. We provide application services for UK universities and colleges as well as delivering a wide range of research, consultancy and advisory services to schools, colleges, careers services, professional bodies and employers.

We’re a successful and fast-growing organisation, which helps hundreds of thousands of people every year. We're committed to delivering a first-class service to all of our customers — they're at the heart of everything we do.

Led by Dave Penney, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. This broad business unit and incorporates the following functions:

• UCAS Media education and industry Sales
• Education and Industry Marketing
• Digital Marketing Operations
• Events
• Partnerships
• Apprenticeships
• Public Affairs, Press and Communications
• Insights

The business unit is set up to deliver against the objectives of UCAS charity and operate UCAS Media (UCAS’s commercial subsidiary) to help fund UCAS’s charitable operations. For the charity, our objective is to provide everyone with the information, advice and guidance they need to make informed decisions on their next steps. We deliver on this via our media ecosystem which consists of information, advice and guidance on ucas.com, our social media feeds across various channels, email, live events and webinars.

For UCAS Media, our business objective is to generate revenue through paid collaborations with higher education providers who wish to improve their position in the market, and commercial brands who want to reach students. All brands wishing to use our media ecosystem and insight services must align with our framework. All profits generated are gift aided to UCAS the charity and in turn fund the charitable objectives, such as our recent announcement that students in receipt of free school meals will no longer need to pay the UCAS application fee.

Sitting within the Digital Marketing Team, you will work between Sales and Digital Delivery teams to develop appropriate digital strategies to ensure that campaigns reach their target audiences as effectively as possible on the most impactful platforms.

During this 12 months maternity cover, you will lead the digital strategy across several our priority client accounts, bringing together paid media, display, email and analytics to create multi-channel campaigns designed to help our clients achieve their business objectives. In addition to this you will play a key role in the scaling of our digital strategy, assisting the Senior Digital Marketing Manager in proposition and process development.

Duties will also include analysing digital marketing metrics, collaborating with sales teams and clients to refine marketing objectives.

Key accountabilities:

• Give advice and guidance on trending creative themes, best practice and optimal set up for high performing strategy.

• Work alongside our Commercial Insight Analyst to ensure reporting reflect client goals.

• Pull insights from additional sources such as Google Analytics and UCAS applicant data to inform storytelling of wider campaign impact.

• Own the delivery and growth strategy of a portfolio of key multi-channel accounts.

You can find the full job description in the attached role profile below.

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or relevant field.

• A minimum of 3 years’ experience as a media planner or in a similar role.

• Excellent knowledge of digital channels, analytics tools and campaign evaluation metrics.

• An analytical mind with a creative eye.

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.

• Must be able to work well within a team.

• Experience in a similar role (ideally agency-side but an environment where multiple campaigns are managed at once is also considered).

• Previous hands-on experience in at least two of: Paid Media, Display, Email, Analytics.

• Very strong knowledge of the appropriateness and effectiveness of digital marketing activities.

• Good understanding of online web analytics, specifically Google Analytics.

• Experience in objective setting, setting performance indicators and reporting for a portfolio of multi-channel accounts.

• Exceptional client management skills and be able to tell us how you deliver great experiences.

• Be a strong communicator, both written and verbal.

Salary – up to £38,000

• Purpose-driven work in a charity-led organisation connecting people to education and opportunity

• Internal training, mentoring, and access to industry-recognised certifications through our development academies

• Hybrid working model built on trust and flexibility, with a 35-hour week and flexible contracts

• 30 days annual leave, 3 concessionary days over Christmas, bank holidays, and the option to purchase additional leave

• Everyday wellbeing support through Perkbox, offering discounts and wellness tools

• Onsite facilities including a free gym, subsidised café, and free parking at our Cheltenham office

• Inclusive culture supported by employee networks, wellbeing champions, and Mental Health First Aiders

• Recognition and reward through our quarterly employee scheme and an ex-gratia bonus for going above and beyond

Studies have shown that some groups of people are less likely to apply to a role unless they tick every box. At UCAS, we recognise that talent comes in various forms and we are committed to delivering a fair and equitable recruitment process where applicants have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills. So, if you are interested in this vacancy, but don't necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still apply.

If you have any questions and would like to find out more about the role before applying please email the Talent Acquisition team via careers@ucas.ac.uk and one of us will be in touch.