Communication and Marketing Manager

The British School of Guangzhou is looking for someone to work with the school and Regional MAC team to develop and deliver the right brand messages to all our stakeholders (parents, students, and key influencers) within the school and wider community throughout all phases of the Parent Experience Journey. To engage all internal and external stakeholders with timely, relevant, and engaging customer-focused content that brings to life the unique identity of the school and fully integrates it into all communication touchpoints.

About the job:​​​​​​​

Support the DAM and Regional MAC Team to define the USP of the school within Nord Anglia Education brand context.

• Develop local market parent and competitor understanding to feed into the definition of the ‘DNA’ of the school and the work led by the DAM and regional team on the brand equity framework, USP, messaging and brand style guide.
• Support the work on how the school’s brand messages fit into the NAE brand and how they should be presented to parents
• Support the development of local proof points aligned to the school brand framework
• Support the development of campaigns for the school based on the USP

Implement the brand style guide to ensure consistency and quality of positioning and visual identity in all school collateral.

• Ensure full implementation in internal and external facing materials both offline and online (school marketing collateral, website, advertising materials etc.)
• Work with the DAM, Principal and Regional MAC Team to ensure that décor/furnishings in the buildings (current and planned) reflect the brand positioning and visual identity
• Ensure that the USP and school brand are consistently presented

Implement NAE brand and campaign materials in the school

• Create all internal and external marketing materials, aligning with the NAE visual identity and tone of voice
• Ensure the NAE brand is visible and adhered to within the school
• Design and implement all marketing campaigns across the school
• Ensure clear visibility of campaigns in our printed collateral and digital presence

Support the Regional and Central Digital Marketing team to optimize the development of the website and demonstrate leadership for the school at every stage of the parent online research journey

• Manage the school website via the CMS
• Work with the regional and central teams to optimize SEO and implement recommendations for improvement § Input into the social media strategy and execution in the school
• Support and execute the email marketing and lead generation strategies for the school
• Find, develop and nurture relationships with media and KOL partners in Guangzhou and beyond to garner earned media opportunities

Develop a content strategy for the school and an ongoing pipeline of content that can be used year-round to inspire, engage and inform all relevant internal and external stakeholders including parents, students, staff and alumni.

• Work with the School DAM to develop and sign off a content strategy for the school aligned to the brand framework and school USP (developed in conjunction with Regional MAC).
• Engage with academic staff throughout the school to collect news and updates from the classroom and from offsite trips, events and activities.
• Work with external contributors including parents, alumni and appropriate influencers to create additional content for the school.

Execute the school content strategy across all school communication channels including News, Blogs and social media.

• Draw down the global news items and amplify with local stories to ensure a continuous stream of interesting and relevant updates about the school and Nord Anglia Education.
• Oversee all ad hoc logistical and news communication for the school, ensuring consistency and appropriate frequency in communication.
• Lead, manage and maintain the school’s WeChat, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, executing the content strategy to optimise engagement with target readership and ensure that new content is published in a timely fashion.

Develop the Photography and videography repository for the school, ensuring the highest standards are adhered to in line with global guidelines and school aesthetic quality.

• Develop the school photo / video bank, based on global guidelines, high aesthetic quality, brand fit and appropriate parental usage rights
• Refresh the school photo / video bank regularly and annually using a Nord Anglia approved photographer or videographer
• Develop own photography, videography and editing skills, drawing on regional and global expertise

Build the school online community through social media, driving both followers and engagement (shares and comments).

• Spend quality time each day / week around the school, capturing formal events and the day to day life within the school. Aim to get content out on social media during the same day the images were taken.
• Monitor key social media metrics on a weekly basis and share across the MAC team and wider school.
• Actively work to develop content that drives the ‘conversation’ and generates engagement from the school community through shares and comments.
• Coach and develop other social media contributors throughout the school, always ensuring the highest quality standards are adhered to.

Ensure that all current parents are kept up to date on school news and information.

• With the support of the School DAM and working in collaboration with key stakeholders, develop a single Communications Policy for the school for sign-off by the Principal and School SLT.
• Provide input as requested into the school policy for academic / pastoral communication with parents.
• Deliver a regular newsletter for parents using global templates and best practice and in keeping with the school’s visual identity, brand character and tonality. Cascade via Mailchimp or equivalent.
• Tracking CTR and Opening Rate on a weekly basis and communicate to all relevant stakeholders, using data to optimize what resonates with the target audience.
• Co-ordinate across the various school departments to understand the breadth of parent communications, and keep a finger on the pulse to understand from parents what is working and not working. Provide clear feedback to the academic team to enable improvement.
• Promote the parent survey and its results annually.

Working with the School DAM, lead the PR and media strategy for the school.

• Develop and build media relationships so the school is top of mind and first choice when journalists are looking for contributors.
• Leverage paid advertising and advertorials to gain editorial coverage aligned to school brand messages.
• Support the school team on crisis communications working with the Regional and Central teams as appropriate.

Support the School DAM to develop the annual marketing plans for the school aligned to the regional marketing plan.

• Support the analysis of prior year performance.
• Support the development of strategies and tactics for the coming year.
• Manage the marketing budget and the ROI of marketing activities carried out. Lead the development and execution of event management procedures to ensure all events are executed efficiently and effectively.

Lead the logistical planning and project management for all major events

• Manage an efficient invitation and attendee tracking process.
• Develop procedures and guidelines to support other members of the school team to execute events effectively.
• Co-ordinate management and collateral required for external events such as school fairs and open days
• Lead the on-the-ground execution for all major events. § Co-ordinate and attend the weekly school event management meeting.
• Manage a roster of external vendors to provide quality and cost effective event services
• Co-ordinate across the MAC team to ensure all school recruitment events are appropriately staffed with MAC team members.

Work with the School MAC team and Regional office on any other Marketing related activities as required.

• Perform regular competitive audits and provide business intelligence to the school MAC and SLT team and regional / central colleagues.
• Run required analytics and / or assist with preparing data for analysis.
• Assist with brand related projects such as alumni networking support.
• Support the MAC team through attendance at school recruitment events.

Provide appropriate leadership, coaching and best practice sharing to other members of the MAC and wider school team.

• Provide supportive and focused leadership to enable a Marketing Executive to reach their individual, team and school goals.
• Act as a role-model to other members of the MAC Team and coach the best from them.
• Support the DAM to develop a culture where the school engages as one and works to ensure admissions is a whole school responsibility.
• Contribute to the sharing of best practice in marketing across the MAC school team, region and group.

Take a proactive approach to personal development planning using company toolkits and procedures as appropriate.

• Take ownership for personal development and works with DAM to develop and implement a focused and straightforward Personal Development Plan.
• Take ownership for requesting feedback from others in a timely fashion. § Provide both constructive and appreciative feedback both unprompted and when asked.

About you:

• Bachelors Degree
• Minimum 5 years working in a marketing team / environment (agency or client side)   
• Native or Bilingual level English skills – proficiency in Mandarin a plus   
• Advanced copywriting skills (a pre-employment writing test is required)   
• Advanced graphic design skills using Adobe Creative Suite   
• Advanced understanding of brand visual identity and tone of voice   
• Expert understanding of digital marketing and social media platforms (Chinese and English)          
• Experience working with a CMS system – Sitecore experience a plus   
• Strong leadership skills   
• Experience of having managed a team   
• Experience of having worked within a service delivery sector, education sector experience a bonus   
• Experience of brand equity development   
• Experience of campaign development including creative materials   
• Good analytical skills and evaluation of ROI, KPIs       
• Experience in monitoring competitor market activity   
• Excellent time management skills and flexibility in dealing with multi-functional tasks   
• Strong aesthetic eye in evaluating collateral – both in terms of design and in terms of driving effective behavior change  Creative and technical thinking ability   
• Self-motivated, flexible and adaptable to different tasks at hand   
• Proactive and able to prompt others to ensure deadlines and targets are achieved, calm working under pressure   
• Uses evidence to support arguments or positions taken   
• High level of integrity   
• Excellent time management and organizational skills   
• Proficient communicator both oral and written   
• Excellent attention to detail   
• Affinity with and interest in education   

To Apply 

Please send a copy of your C.V. along with a portfolio of your design and writing examples