Post Details
Faculty/Administrative/Service
Department
Last Updated: 08/01/2016
Marketing and Communications
Job Title
Job Family
Responsible to
Head of Digital Marketing
Professional Services
Job Level 6
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Responsible for (Staff) Digital Platform Development Manager, Digital Project Lead, UX
Designer, Digital Acquisition Manager and Senior Web Editors (x2)
Job Purpose Statement
The post holder will provide leadership and direction for the Digital Marketing team with a specific focus on student recruitment and reputation building. This role aligns the University’s commercial imperatives with Marketing’s vision for online engagement of key audiences. The post holder will be responsible for strategic planning and management of online lead generation for high quality undergraduate and postgraduate admissions. They will develop and manage a digital marketing strategy that will excite, attract and engage the University’s key audiences (students, staff, key opinion formers, businesses and other Research and Academic institutions). They will have responsibility for the website effectiveness including traffic volumes, leads generated, cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on investment (ROI) and also the overall website customer experience.
They will be a qualified digital marketing professional with extensive experience of managing a team (covering web support, developers and digital acquisition and content marketing) as well as key brand digital channels.
Key Responsibilities This document is not designed to be a list of all tasks undertaken but an outline record of the main responsibilities (5 to 8 maximum)
1.
The post holder will be accountable for the planning and prioritisation of the activities of the
Digital Marketing Team, in line with University objectives.
2.
The post holder will manage digital specialists, agencies and technology teams whilst controlling and managing budgets.
3.
The post holder will be expected to participate at a strategic level in the formulation of the
University’s digital marketing strategy in collaboration with campaign managers, relevant
Heads of section and IT colleagues where appropriate.
4.
This position will be expected to have a high level of project management acumen to ensure timely delivery of key projects with tight operational control and communication of project status. They will be accountable for ensuring transparency of resource allocation to aid prioritisation within the multi-project matrix management approach applied across the marketing and communications team and the overall University.
5.
The position is responsible for prioritising, developing and implementing digital campaign marketing and communications activity including budget allocation, ongoing review of activity and ROI and presentation of results to senior EB members.
6.
Taking insight and turning it into effective recruitment and reputation building activity to deliver end-to-end digital campaigns and report progress/results effectively to stakeholders.
7.
Work with IT and Academics to deliver a suitable digital platform content Management system/platform to ensure that the University is linked to and takes advantage of the numerous University Research groups/centres that are hosted outside of the core University web infrastructure.
N.B. The above list is not exhaustive.

All staff are expected to:
 Positively support equality of opportunity and equity of treatment to colleagues and students in accordance with the
University of Surrey Equal Opportunities Policy.
 Work to achieve the aims of our Environmental Policy and promote awareness to colleagues and students.
 Follow University/departmental policies and working practices in ensuring that no breaches of information security result from their actions.
 Ensure they are aware of and abide by all relevant University Regulations and Policies relevant to the role.
 Undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your Manager.
 Work supportively with colleagues, operating in a collegiate manner at all times.
Help maintain a safe working environment by:
 Attending training in Health and Safety requirements as necessary, both on appointment and as changes in duties and techniques demand.
 Following local codes of safe working practices and the University of Surrey Health and Safety Policy.
Elements of the Role
This section outlines some of the key elements of the role, which allow this role to be evaluated within the University’s structure. It provides an overview of what is expected from the post holder in the day-to-day operation of the role.
Planning and Organising
 Develop a strategic digital plan to support overarching University business objectives, leading the development of a digital roadmap (interfacing with the appropriate governance structures and in particular the IT team to deliver the roadmap) that is shared and agreed with the Executive Board IT Committee(EBIT).
 The post holder will provide rigour to business prioritisation through development of business cases and reporting, seeking to identify new opportunities where Digital can help optimise the recruitment process.
 Manage paid campaign activity (e.g. PPC, SEO and social media in domestic and key international markets), ensuring optimisation of paid media via creative, media and landing page testing.
 The post holder will also be required to take on ad-hoc projects at the request of the VP of
Marketing & Communications and will work in partnership with the heads of sections within the Marketing and Communications functions and the broader University.
 The post is not wholly covered by defined procedures and has only broad objectives set.
Therefore, they have considerable discretion and freedom to determine priorities and to manage staff and resources in order to achieve departmental objectives. They must apply judgment and initiative when managing long-term goals to successfully balance a range of broad, university-wide priorities.
Problem Solving and Decision Making
 The post holder is required to apply their in-depth, comprehensive knowledge gained through substantial digital experience to assess issues and to develop imaginative solutions based on sound understanding of changes and developments within their field.
 They will have to frequently apply their knowledge, experience and judgment as well as analytical and interpretive skills in order to devise pragmatic solutions that facilitate progress.
As the ‘expert’ in their specialist area, the post holder is expected to resolve the majority of issues they face; however, when responding to particularly complex and novel situations, some guidance may be sought from their line manager.
 Success in this role is heavily dependent on engaging with internal stakeholders and building an understanding of the internal workings and political dynamics of the University, as well as fostering strong relationships with key individuals across the University.
 The post holder will need to demonstrate highly effective and developed negotiation and persuasion skills, in order to achieve buy-in. The post holder must also be a strong and effective communicator as they must consult with Senior Managers and Academics to develop opportunities to exploit digital opportunities and further enhance Surrey’s reputation and to manage contentious issues, surrounding challenges such as the workflow and governance of information through the organisation.

Continuous Improvement
 Working with the Head of Insight, the post holder will develop online insight via analytics, usability testing, surveys and formulate key KPI's and metrics to measure the channel (with dashboards to communicate to senior management).
 The post holder will also develop online marketing tracking, attribution and reporting to track
CPA, ROI and A/B testing/optimisation. They will work with the faculty web coordinators to develop web analytics (at a central and faculty level) to optimise the customer journey and to provide focus and prioritisation.
 Working with the wider campaign team using customer insight, propensity modelling and segmentation, they will map customer touch points to understand how digital works as part of the multi-channel journey across UG and PG.
Accountability
 As Head of Digital Marketing, the post holder is fully accountable for the effectiveness of the overall Surrey.ac.uk website, and the provision of the University of Surrey’s digital marketing platforms (including social media) and Intranet for staff and student engagement.
 The post holder is responsible for the management, motivation, training and development of the Digital Marketing Team and for ensuring that they support the overall objectives of the department. They will act as an escalation point for their direct reports, and in cases where particularly unusual or complex issues or problems are raised, they are expected to refer to their own experience and expertise to provide either guidance or a resolution.
 Working with the Senior Web Editors and UX Designer the post holder will be accountable for the development of a digital strategy to tell a consistent and compelling brand story to drive student recruitment/acquisition and engagement for staff and students.
 They will develop processes for development, migration and distribution of digital content
(including permissions and training across the university), driving SEO and social media activity. The overall objective being to improve customer experience for acquisition, through optimising key journeys and providing compelling / targeted content.
 Taking overall responsibility for online demand generation via search (SEO and paid), display, referral, mobile and social media channels. The post holder will be accountable for the delivery of localised campaigns in foreign markets (including SEO and landing pages).
Working with the campaign team, they will need to ensure these digital campaigns are fully integrated with all channels. They will also work with the Campaign team to support and integrate CRM/ email marketing, thus ensuring the optimum online and offline customer journey is followed.
Dimensions of the role
 Average monthly website sessions: 500,000 with a targeted 2% annual uplift.
 Average monthly unique blog visits: 3,000 with targeted 5% month-on-month uplift.
 Current total social media reach: 67,000 with targeted 10% month-on-month uplift.
 Work to ensure the three main strands of the Team (digital marketing, web support and digital development and platforms) interface in the most efficient/effective way.
Supplementary Information
N/a
Person Specification This section describes the sum total of knowledge, experience & competence required by the post holder that is necessary for standard acceptable performance in carrying out this role.

Qualifications and Professional Memberships
Professionally qualified with a relevant degree/postgraduate qualification, plus broad demonstrable management experience in similar or related roles
Or:
Substantial vocational and relevant management experience demonstrating management ability in an appropriate professional or specialist area, and success in similar or related roles, supported by evidence of significant appropriate specialist knowledge, acquisition of appropriate specialist knowledge and involvement in a series of progressively more demanding/relevant work/roles.
Technical Competencies (Experience and Knowledge) This section contains the level of competency required to carry out the role (please refer to the Competency
Framework for clarification where needed and the Job Matching Guidance).
Essential/
Desirable
E Strong digital marketing experience with a good understanding of online media, campaign planning, data, creative and measurement. They will also have strong technical understanding of online marketing, SEO, PPC display etc
Significant senior experience in developing digital functions in a sales and marketing environment, including demonstrable experience in growing online lead generation
Experience in developing online insight and analytics, and how to communicate these to relevant teams and senior management
Strong leadership competencies and influencing skills as they will be required to influence senior peers across the University
Proven track record of developing optimum customer experience with a deep understanding of customer behaviour and how to use analytics to drive improvements in conversion
Credible experience in leading and managing large project teams
Evidence of successful management of strategic digital development projects
Experience in the Higher Education sector
E
E
E
E
E
E
D
E
Level
1-3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2 n/a
Special Requirements:
Ability to work outside of regular office hours as required
Core Competencies This section contains the level of competency required to carry out this role. (Please refer to the competency framework for clarification where needed). n/a (not applicable) should be placed, where the competency is not a requirement of the grade.
Essential/
Desirable
E
Level
1-3
Communication
Adaptability / Flexibility
Customer/Client service and support
Planning and Organising
Continuous Improvement
Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills
Managing and Developing Performance
Creative and Analytical Thinking
Influencing, Persuasion and Negotiation Skills
Strategic Thinking & Leadership
This Job Purpose reflects the core activities of the post. As the Department/Faculty and the post holder develop, there will inevitably be some changes to the duties for which the post is responsible, and possibly to the emphasis of the post itself. The
University expects that the post holder will recognise this and will adopt a flexible approach to work. This could include undertaking relevant training where necessary.
Should significant changes to the Job Purpose become necessary, the post holder will be consulted and the changes reflected in a revised Job Purpose.
Organisational/Departmental Information & Key Relationships
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

Background Information
The Marketing and Communications Department is comprised of 4 distinct areas incorporating
Marketing, Campaign Management and Creative Services; Market Insight and Data;
Communications and Public Relations and Digital Marketing. This particular post is based in the
Digital Marketing team.
The Department is responsible for ensuring that the University is optimally positioned in domestic and
International markets against a variety of different target audiences ranging from Research
Councils, students, prospective parents, schools, businesses, public bodies and local communities. Attraction of students; research funding and ongoing reputation building and management are some of the performance indicators against which the department will be judged.
The post holder will be responsible for prioritizing, developing and implementing digital marketing and communications activity, ongoing activity and ROI review and presentation of results to senior management. They will work with the IT Department to define, document, plan and deliver integrated digital systems that enable transactions and stronger engagement between the
University and its audiences.
The post holder will be expected to participate at a strategic level in the formulation of the
University’s marketing strategy in association with Heads of Section and the relevant Campaign
Managers.

Department Structure Chart
Vice President
Marketing and
Communications
Head of Digital
Marketing
Digital Project
Lead
Content Assistant
Digital
Development
Manager
Developer x2
Digital
Acquisition
Manager
Social Media
Coordinator
UX Designer
Faculty Web
Coordinators x3
Digital
Coordinator
Relationships
Internal
 Digital Marketing team
 Campaign team
 Insight
 Brand and creative team
 CRM team
 IT Services
 Recruitment
 Communications team
 Faculty and central service colleagues
External
 Agencies and suppliers
 Freelance support
 End-users
Senior Digital
Editor x2