Marketing Manager: SME & Education

Core Group ZA; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Core Group ZA is seeking an experienced Marketing Manager for SME & Education to lead integrated marketing strategy and execution across two key channels within a technology and retail environment.

You will drive campaigns that build brand awareness, engage customers, generate leads and grow the sales pipeline, while overseeing budgets, agencies and partner activations. A hands-on role combining strategic marketing with execution and people leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or a related field.
• 3-5 years' experience in marketing management or senior marketing coordination.
• Experience in retail, technology, FMCG or a similar fast-paced consumer environment would be advantageous.
• Proven experience managing integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Strong experience managing paid and organic digital campaigns through agencies.
• Working knowledge of GA4, UTM tracking, campaign analytics and performance reporting.
• Experience managing marketing budgets and measuring campaign ROI.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated marketing plans for SME and Education channels.
• Plan and manage end-to-end campaigns across digital, traditional, retail and experiential channels.
• Develop clear creative briefs and manage the creative development, review and approval process.
• Collaborate with internal marketing teams to coordinate media campaigns and ensure activity launches on time.
• Ensure campaign landing pages, content and supporting assets are ready and accurately implemented ahead of launch.
• Brief and manage digital marketing agencies across paid search, social media, display, video and retail media.
• Develop media schedules covering target audiences, regions, budgets, flighting and required assets.
• Monitor campaign performance and use data to optimise campaigns.
• Ensure campaigns tracked through GA4 and relevant tracking technologies.
• Analyse results and translate performance data into actionable recommendations.
• Develop and manage the newsletter and customer communication calendar.
• Plan and oversee organic social media content and ensure consistent communication.
• Work with content teams to develop marketing assets.
• Collaborate with CRM teams on targeted lifecycle campaigns.
• Partner with Trade Marketing to support in-store and retail initiatives.
• Develop event strategies, briefs, objectives and budgets for SME and Education initiatives.
• Manage agencies and partners to deliver events on time and within budget.
• Create event toolkits and brief sales and internal stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to generate leads through events and activations.
• Coach and develop the Events & Marketing Administrator.
• Own marketing budget tracking and monthly reconciliation.
• Ensure marketing spend aligns with budgets and funding requirements.
• Manage co-funded/vendor marketing investment and maintain documentation.
• Ensure compliance with brand, regulatory and legal requirements including POPIA.

Skills

Marketing strategy

Campaign management

Digital marketing

Content marketing

Events management

Budget management

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or related field

Tools

GA4

UTM tracking

CRM platforms

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Marketing Manager: SME & Education to lead the integrated marketing strategy and execution for two key business channels within a leading technology and retail environment.

This role is responsible for developing and delivering campaigns that drive brand awareness, customer engagement, lead generation and sales pipeline growth across the SME and Education markets.

The successful candidate will manage campaigns across digital and traditional channels, oversee agency and creative partners, manage marketing budgets and funding requirements, and lead events and partner activations. This is a hands-on role that combines strategic marketing, campaign execution, digital performance, content, events and people leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Integrated Marketing Strategy & Campaign Management

• Develop and execute integrated marketing plans for the SME and Education channels, aligned to commercial objectives.
• Plan and manage end-to-end campaigns across digital, traditional, retail and experiential channels.
• Develop clear creative briefs and manage the creative development, review and approval process.
• Collaborate with internal marketing teams to coordinate media campaigns and ensure activity launches on time.
• Ensure campaign landing pages, content and supporting assets are ready and accurately implemented ahead of launch.

Digital Marketing & Performance

• Brief and manage digital marketing agencies across paid search, social media, display, video and retail media.
• Develop media schedules covering target audiences, regions, budgets, flighting and required assets.
• Monitor campaign performance and use data and insights to optimise campaigns throughout their lifecycle.
• Ensure campaigns are correctly tracked through UTM structures, GA4 and relevant tracking technologies.
• Analyse campaign results and translate performance data into actionable recommendations and future testing opportunities.
• Develop and manage the newsletter and customer communication calendar across both business units.
• Plan and oversee organic social media content and ensure consistent communication across channels.
• Work with internal content teams and creative partners to develop relevant, engaging marketing assets.
• Collaborate with customer value and CRM teams on targeted lifecycle and customer engagement campaigns.
• Partner with Trade Marketing teams to support in-store, mall and retail marketing initiatives.

Events & Partner Engagement

• Develop event strategies, briefs, objectives and budgets for SME and Education initiatives.
• Manage agencies, suppliers and external partners to ensure events are delivered on time, within scope and budget.
• Develop event toolkits and ensure sales and internal stakeholders are fully briefed.
• Identify opportunities to use events and activations to generate leads, strengthen relationships and support commercial objectives.
• Lead, coach and develop the Events & Marketing Administrator, providing clear objectives and regular performance feedback.
• Own marketing budget tracking and monthly reconciliation across the SME and Education channels.
• Ensure marketing spend is accurately allocated and aligned with approved budgets and funding requirements.
• Manage co-funded/vendor marketing investment and maintain accurate supporting documentation.
• Ensure marketing activities comply with relevant brand, regulatory and legal requirements, including POPIA and advertising standards.

Website & Owned Channels

• Work closely with digital and e-commerce teams to ensure website content remains current and relevant.
• Brief and coordinate website design, content and copy updates.
• Ensure campaign landing pages are delivered accurately and on schedule.
• Identify opportunities to improve owned digital channels and customer journeys.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or a related field.
• 3-5 years' experience in marketing management or a senior marketing coordination role.
• Experience within retail, technology, FMCG or a similar fast-paced consumer environment would be advantageous.
• Proven experience managing integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Strong experience managing paid and organic digital campaigns through agencies.
• Working knowledge of GA4, UTM tracking, campaign analytics and performance reporting.
• Experience managing marketing budgets and measuring campaign ROI.
• Experience within the SME, B2B or Education sectors would be advantageous.
• Experience with vendor-funded or co-funded marketing programmes would be beneficial.
• Previous experience managing, mentoring or developing team members is advantageous.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong strategic and commercial marketing mindset.
• Excellent campaign and project management skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building abilities.
• Confident managing agencies, suppliers and creative partners.
• Strong creative judgement and ability to translate commercial objectives into compelling marketing campaigns.
• Highly analytical and comfortable using data to make marketing decisions.
• Strong budget management and financial discipline.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver against tight deadlines.
• Proactive, innovative and solutions-focused.
• Strong people leadership and coaching capability.
• Customer-focused, collaborative and committed to delivering results.