Marketing Officer

Heriot-Watt University; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Edinburgh seeks a Marketing Officer to support and implement marketing strategies. Responsibilities include content creation, campaign management, and budget reporting. The ideal candidate has strong IT skills, experience in marketing, and excellent communication abilities. Flexible working patterns are welcomed. Apply by August 31, 2025.

Benefits

33 days annual leave

Flexible working patterns

Total rewards calculator for benefits

Qualifications

• Proven experience in planning and implementing marketing projects.
• Ability to produce clear, concise copy with excellent attention to detail.
• Experience developing a wide range of written and visual content.

Responsibilities

• Support marketing and communication plans to meet strategic objectives.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive multi-channel campaigns.
• Report on marketing budgets and activity.

Skills

Analytical problem-solving skills

Strong IT/ digital media skills

Excellent communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Adaptability

Education

SCQF level 7 or equivalent experience

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Content Management System (CMS)

Customer Relationship Manager (CRM)

Job description

Role: Marketing Officer

Grade and Salary: Grade 6, £31,236 - £36,636 per annum

FTE and working pattern: 1FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday - Friday

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

Purpose of Role

Support and implement marketing and communication plans to meet the School’s strategic objectives and priorities and the wider University’s overarching marketing and recruitment strategies.

The post-holder will develop sector-leading, inclusive content and activity to enhance the School’s profile, student recruitment activity, and reputation in line with our Strategy 2025/26 ambitions.

As part of the Marketing team, the post-holder will report to the Marketing Manager and work closely and collaboratively across multiple schools, with staff and the wider MRAC team to deliver a flexible and innovative approach to a broad spectrum of marketing and communications, whilst ensuring compliance with the University’s brand and relevant legislation.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

1. Work collaboratively with the Marketing Manager to develop and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate (taught and research) recruitment and conversion plans/campaigns ensuring that they are informed by University and School strategies and aligned with central marketing plans.
2. Support the Marketing Manager in liaising with Schools to build and maintain relationships with academic and professional service colleagues, including the Executive Deans, programme directors, and wider MRAC colleagues, to develop and drive activity.
3. Create and share a broad range of marketing content to support University brand and student recruitment campaigns across a range of platforms. Ensure the content is timely, engaging, inclusive, and relevant to the target market to support annual marketing plans. Undertake regular content audits to identify gaps and consider alternative methods of distributing and showcasing content.
4. Develop and deliver comprehensive multi-channel campaigns to highlight Schools and priority programmes to meet agreed student recruitment targets and KPIs. Liaise with design and media buying agencies to deliver engaging and targeted campaigns, across SEM, Digital Display, and direct marketing, utilising data to drive decision making and optimisation throughout.
5. Report on relevant marketing budgets and School activity on a monthly and post-campaign basis, to ensure value for money through ongoing budget reviews and regular analysis of campaign activity.
6. Co-ordinate and represent the schools at recruitment events (on/offline); working closely with the Marketing Manager, Student Recruitment team, and academic colleagues to ensure all events are delivered to the highest professional standards and achieve desired marketing outcomes within agreed budgets.
7. Proactively work with school contacts, Communications team, and Alumni team to ensure a regular flow of information and to identify areas for media coverage/ PR opportunities across MRAC and the wider University.
8. To work adaptively across the various schools at the direction of the Marketing Manager, ensuring resource is available where needed.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake other relevant duties commensurate with the grading of the post.

This includes supporting the delivery of events, which may fall outside of core working hours i.e., evenings and weekends. This includes (but is not limited to) Open Days, Graduation, Enrolment, Confirmation and Clearing, Commercial/Research Events, Student Events, and External Events.

Activities may be subject to amendment over time as the role develops and/or priorities and requirements evolve.

Essential & Desirable Criteria

Essential

1. Educated to at least SCQF level 7 or equivalent practical experience in the workplace
2. Proven experience in planning and implementing marketing, communications, or recruitment projects that deliver tangible business results and reputational benefits
3. Analytical problem-solving skills
4. Strong IT/ digital media skills
5. Experience in developing and distributing a wide range of written and visual content across multiple channels and using a range of mediums (web content, social media content, videos, and print)
6. Experience of developing creative briefs across a range of media forms.
7. Excellent communication skills with the ability to produce clear, concise copy in accessible English with excellent attention to detail, grammatical competence, and proof-reading skills
8. Well-developed interpersonal skills and ability to build effective stakeholder relationships across a large organisation
9. Ability to work quickly, flexibly, and accurately in a dynamic, changing, and pressured environment
10. Experience in managing and monitoring the effectiveness of the budget
11. Contributes to the team with a professional and proactive approach

Desirable

1. Marketing-related degree or professional qualification (e.g. CIM)
2. Experience working in marketing within Higher Education
3. Knowledge of the admissions recruitment cycle of Higher Education and student recruitment
4. Good understanding of a range of software packages such as Adobe Creative Cloud
5. Experience working within a Content Management System (CMS) and Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) system

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Sunday 31st August 2025.

Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g., part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.