Campaigns and Conversion Manager

The Campaigns and Conversion Manager will deliver the planning and execution of a wide range of recruitment campaigns and conversion activity to support the achievement of student recruitment targets for both the Home/UK and for international student segments.    Campaigns and conversion work drives prospects to Kent through the student journey for both UK and international audiences.  The work of this area delivers an essential part of the university’s core strategic objectives in achieving enrolment targets and as such this is a role of particular responsibility in the context of a demanding, competitive and complex market environment. 

 The postholder will support the Student Recruitment teams in shaping the Directorate’s responses to changing patterns of demand for higher education in general, and University of Kent programmes in particular, in order to  achieve strategic goals.  They will provide effective forward planning and anticipate market demands by creating plans for campaigns and conversion work that are proactive and engaging. The postholder will be responsible for contributing to the development of advertising and promotional campaigns in a structured way and to a brief for optimal return.  They will plan, coordinate and with the support of colleagues, implement conversion activity, collaborating with student recruitment teams in the specialist functions of Directorate Support Services including the CRM Technical Manager, the Academic School Partners and other relevant colleagues; and they will work effectively with external providers.  

 As a Campaigns and Conversion Manager you can expect to be involved in:

Working with the Home/UK Student Recruitment Lead to support the development of the strategy for student recruitment with particular responsibility and accountability for execution of the portfolio of activity aimed at the initial engagement and progression through the prospective student funnel, delivering creative and engaging online and offline programming along the student journey which motivates application and enrolment choices in order to achieve student cohort targetsContributing to and supporting the development of the high-performing teams involved in the delivery of student recruitment activity and provide clear objectives to teams.  Offering specialist and functional training where needed and providing strong motivation, ensuring excellent outcomes for the work undertaken in this portfolio  Delivering acquisition advertising campaigns to support student recruitment across all audiences.  Managing agency advertising contracts working to deliver maximum successful return for these investments and ensuring compliance with all procurement regulations and processesTranslating the Directorate’s conversion strategy into an annualised conversion plan for UK/Home and international audiences, working closely with the CRM Technical Manager and Student Recruitment Leads for Home/UK and International.  Executing programmes designed to improve the conversion rates between key stages in the student journey: pre-application (awareness raising) to prospective (interest) to application, to offer holder, to accepted offer holder, to enrolled student at pre-arrival and finally to registered student; with content and activity designed to attract and engage future students and their influencers (parents, teachers, advisers, agents and so on), ensuring that touchpoints in the process are maximised

What will you bring to the role?

Educated to degree level or equivalent Demonstrable experience of working at an equivalent level in an education industry or related commercial setting such as in media, communications and marketing Up to date knowledge and understanding of the UK higher education market and of the decision-making environments of prospective student audiences, both in the UK and internationally Evidence of effective negotiation and influencing skills, particularly the ability to persuade and inspire colleagues to work collaboratively to ensure strategic objectives are metDemonstrable presentation and/or copywriting skills and an ability to create and offer a persuasive, compelling narrative to varied audiences 

What we can offer in return:

As a member of our team, you can expect a friendly, open and collaborative working environment and support in your development and wellbeing. You'll enjoy a range of great staff benefits including:

Hybrid working options allowing a flexible blend of office and home working (to be agreed in line with business needs)43 days' leave per year (personal leave, bank holidays and additional days allocated for the Christmas period, pro rata for part-time staff)Excellent pension scheme with generous employer contributionsCorporate employee-funded healthcare plan, in partnership with Benenden Health

For more information about what you can look forward to if you join us, visit our dedicated webpage: Working at Kent

We are ambitious for our people, our communities and the region we serve – join us in making the world a better place. Visit our website for more on who we are: http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/

Please see the links below to view the full job description and to apply for this post. For further information regarding the application process, please contact [email protected] quoting reference number EE-005-25-R. 

 

Closing Date: 03 Feb 2026

Section: Professional/Managerial

Salary: £39,906 to £44,746 per annum