Role brief Marketing production and brand manager Directorate Marketing and communications directorate Base location Bristol Grade C 16 Reports to Head of marketing production 1. Background This is a new role in the customer experience directorate. Jisc is the UK higher, further education and skills sectors not-for-profit organisation for digital services and solutions. We: Operate shared digital infrastructure and services Negotiate sector-wide deals with IT vendors and commercial publishers, and Provide trusted advice and practical assistance for universities, colleges and learning providers. This role sits within the marketing and communications directorate. The directorate is charged with designing, developing and delivering a cohesive customer experience strategy and an organisational approach that ensures and reflects a deep and sustained understanding of our customers needs, delivers joined up engagement and support and that informs and drives all Jisc s operational and strategic priorities moving Jisc increasingly to a member focussed and driven organisation. All parts of the directorate champion the customer throughout the engagement lifecycle, forging lasting relationships, and enabling them to get the best value from us. The directorate integrates and directs all front-ofhouse activities so that Jisc services are more accessible and it is easy to work with us as preferred partners. It ensures that our supporting infrastructure is modern, innovative and effective and that, in this context, our marketing working practices are cohesive and leading edge. Furthermore, it ensures and supports all these activities with excellent PR, effective internal and external communications, public affairs and the development of a strong and positive overall Jisc identity and brand. 2. Purpose and scope The role has two main areas of focus. The first of these is to facilitate the production of all Jisc marketing materials and production needs (print, digital, physical, multimedia etc.). This end to-end process begins with liaising with the internal clients and the marketing business partners in the initial production brief, and progresses through identifying the appropriate external resources to work with to deliver the item, negotiating on price, briefing the supplier, managing rounds of feedback and ensuring the delivery of the final product ensuring payment is arranged and delivered in a timely fashion. This whole process requires excellent relationship management with both internal stakeholders and external suppliers. Page 1
This role holder is also responsible for managing the brand and ensuring that all outputs conform to the brand guidelines. This involves the development of a deep understanding of the Jisc brand and related sub brands, which covers existing formats but also includes advising and working with consultants to apply brand guidelines and principles to new executions. The brand guardian role also requires communication and negotiation with senior stakeholders within Jisc to ensure appropriate use of the brand. In addition to these areas of focus, there is also the need to constantly review and update processes within the production function to ensure maximum effectiveness both within the team, and also in dealings with external suppliers. The marketing production and brand manager sits within the Jisc group marketing area and the head of marketing production holds the formal reporting line. The production team is primarily an office based team and operates within the marketing team, and works with a range of external partners in a virtual agency model where creative skills and expertise are outsourced. 3. Key accountabilities, responsiblities and duties Responsibilities are expected to be developed and finalised over time and include but are not restricted to: General: Maintaining an up-to-date understanding of best practice and innovations in marketing and communications to support the development of innovative marketing and communications solutions and specifically: o Actively seek out and champion new opportunities and techniques within the design and production of industry-leading marketing collateral, services and multimedia techniques Playing an active role in the marketing team by supporting colleagues where needed and contributing to the ethos of finding new and exciting ways to engage our customers and members Taking responsibility for remaining up-to-date with current codes of practice and industry standards and guidelines, including ensuring accessibility standards are adhered to Leading on the instigation of a green policy working towards more sustainable production marketing, setting ambitions targets for the team and contributing to Jisc s environmental policy Developing and maintaining internal stakeholder relationships including: o Developing an understanding of the particular needs and characteristics of cluster areas products and services and the ways in which marketing activities and events might respond to these needs o Instilling a communicating and marketing led ethos throughout the business, aiming to improve marketing and communications service provision to the organisation Developing effective working relationships with suppliers and partners (eg design agencies, media agencies, and internal specialist team members) to support delivery Accountable for our content strategy and ensuring the development and curation of a central content database Acting as a specialist in the areas of brand and marketing production Page 2 Willing to undertake travel including overnight stays and occasional weekend work
Line management responsibilities: Line management responsibility for admin staff in the team and temporary and contract staff as required Planning and delivery: Within the context of marketing production, responsible for supporting the delivery of marketing plans, managing and overseeing the production process for individual projects so that they are produced on time and within budget and in particular: o Responsible for ensuring collateral and outputs are produced on time and are of high quality and in line with all branding requirements; o Responsible for sourcing quotes, negotiating and ordering production items including merchandise and printed materials; o Responsible for ensuring necessary administrative requirements are completed and procurement rules are followed - including but not limited to: raising purchase orders and requisitions, contacting suppliers; o Responsible for monitoring financial budgets and report on variances to ensure value for money is achieved; o Responsible for creating and maintaining project plans and work schedules with suppliers. Producing and/or curating content/copy for use in marketing/communications campaigns Contributing to significant marketing campaigns, activities and events, managing aspects of projects that impact across the whole organisation Responding to evaluations and feedback from external stakeholders and members to improve the impact of marketing collateral and the brand Maintaining and managing all production processes and systems including the central content database Seeking out opportunities to improve marketing processes and systems, identifying opportunities to try new ways of working Being accountable for specific budgets as required Working alongside the multimedia manager to support the production of key outputs including but not limited to the production of podcasts, webinars and online events Working alongside events and activities managers to support the production of key outputs Responding to and supporting marketing business partners and the campaigns manager as required Brand Day-to-day management of the Jisc brand including: o Acting as brand guardian, offering expert advice and guidance on brand use; o Managing brand rollout and brand changes; o Managing brand naming processes and workshops working with the product development and services management team Instilling and communicating the Jisc brand ethos throughout the organisation Negotiating with senior externals stakeholders to explain and support the proper usage of the Jisc brand and brand changes Working with the director of group marketing to continuously improve the brand Working with the sector intelligence team, monitoring and evaluating the brand and brand awareness across all audience groups through market research on a regular basis (quarterly) Page 3
4. Skills, knowledge and experience Essential Qualifications Degree or equivalent in a related subject such as marketing, graphic design etc. Desirable Marketing qualifications eg CIM qualifications Experience Experience of brand management, development and guardianship Experience of managing a busy multi-disciplined production slate Experience of managing a wide variety of external suppliers including design agencies, printers, audio and video producers etc. Experience of managing print, digital and multimedia production Experience of workload management, managing a work schedule and prioritisation Knowledge A good understanding and experience of procurement processes and managing budgets Strong technical knowledge of all aspects of marketing production and associated technologies Skills Ability to negotiate, advise and work effectively with senior stakeholders both internally and externally Organisational and prioritisation skills to manage and deliver a complex and varied workload Ability to act decisively and have strong problem-solving capabilities Good ICT literacy skills and experience High level of oral and written communication skills ability to apply these at a senior level Self-motivated with the drive and perseverance to work on own initiative and carry out projects and programmes of work independently as well as working within a team environment where necessary Page 4
5. Key contacts Executive director marketing and communications Group director marketing Marketing business partners Campaigns manager Other production team members Directors of and specialist teams and within the marketing and communications directorate Senior stakeholders across the organisation Executive director of marketing and communications Group director marketing Executive leadership team members and teams Heads of Jisc corporate functions and senior managers across the organisation Marketing business partners Campaigns manager Jisc partners and collaborators including commercial providers Suppliers / agencies and other bodies, commercial and non-commercial, relevant to the role and purpose of the directorate Important additional information The head of marketing production will discuss all elements of the role brief with the appointee on appointment and after six months, recognising that some elements may need changing. The above is provided for guidance, is not contractual, and is not an exhaustive list of all accountabilities, responsibilities and duties that the post holder may have. Page 5