Marketing and Brand Manager
-
School:
Schools North East -
Location:
Newcastle -
Salary:
Senior Manager Band 5 – £40,775–£52,196, depending on experience -
Hours:
36 -
Contractual Status:
Permanent -
Closing Date:
27th Aug 2025
Marketing and Brand Manager
Salary: Senior Manager Band 5 – £40,775–£52,196, depending on experience
Location: Central Newcastle (with flexibility to work from home on Fridays)
Hours: Full-time, 36 hours per week
Holidays: 30 days plus Bank Holidays
Travel: Some regional and national travel, as required
Closing Date: 5pm Wednesday 27 August 2025
Interview Date: Tuesday 16 September 2025
Make a Difference with Schools North East
Schools North East is a dynamic, purpose-driven charity that champions the schools sector across the North East. Representing a collaborative community of over 1,150 member schools, we are recognised nationally as the Voice advocating for North East schools, the Glue fostering collaboration, and the Bridge connecting them with the wider world. Now approaching our 20th year, we are entering an exciting new phase of development, strengthening our influence, expanding our reach, and enhancing the value we deliver to our members.
As Marketing and Brand Manager, you will be a senior leader responsible for setting and delivering our strategic marketing and communications agenda. You will ensure alignment across all marketing activities, communications, policy, events, and external relations, integrating workstreams to achieve organisational goals and reinforce SNE’s position as the authoritative voice of North East schools. This is a pivotal, high-profile role requiring a dynamic, commercially aware, and highly experienced strategic thinker with a strong background in PR and marketing.
We are looking for a values-led leader who can anticipate long-term trends and align strategies with the organisation’s vision, taking account of the political, economic, and educational landscape. You will make bold yet considered decisions, taking calculated risks where appropriate, and responding promptly and effectively to critical events. You will lead by example, actively promoting SNE’s values and vision both internally and externally, and influencing our strategy, direction, and culture to increase organisational effectiveness.
You will bring a collaborative, resilient, and adaptable approach, fostering a culture of learning and development that helps the team grow and succeed, while sharing your own expertise to support others. With exceptional communication skills, you will engage stakeholders with purpose and conviction and ensure that service delivery is efficient, impactful, and aligned with stakeholder needs. This is an opportunity to join a respected and ambitious organisation at a key point in its journey—and to play a personal role in shaping its next chapter of success.
Key Responsibilities
Organisational Leadership
- Contribute to the strategic leadership of Schools North East as a senior manager, ensuring marketing work supports the organisation’s long-term mission and values.
Strategic Marketing Leadership
- Develop and deliver a forward-thinking marketing strategy that elevates Schools North East’s brand regionally and nationally, aligning with organisational goals and values.
- Act as the senior lead on all marketing and brand initiatives, embedding marketing thinking across the organisation.
Brand Development & Management
- Strengthen Schools North East as the authoritative voice of education in the region and a credible influencer on the national stage.
- Manage and refresh as necessary the brand identity to ensure consistency across all channels, content, campaigns, and events.
Content & Campaign Strategy
- Create and oversee a compelling multi-channel content strategy that delivers high-value engagement across all audiences – from school leaders and policymakers to media and potential funders.
- Lead integrated marketing campaigns that amplify the impact of events, policy work, and membership services.
Audience Engagement & Insight
- Develop segmented engagement strategies to better serve diverse stakeholder groups, ensuring messages land with clarity and purpose.
- Use audience insight, member feedback, and data analytics to shape messaging, improve outcomes, and report on ROI.
Media & Public Relations
- Act as brand guardian and media lead by proactively shaping public narratives, overseeing media inquiries, and managing external comms.
- Build/manage strategic relationships with regional and national media to drive influence and awareness.
Digital & Social Media Strategy
- Transform Schools North East’s digital presence, particularly on LinkedIn and other platforms, to increase visibility, engagement, and thought leadership.
- Introduce a more dynamic and audience-friendly approach to communications and e-newsletters, reducing information overload and improving open and engagement rates.
Revenue Generation & Innovation
- Identify new, and retain existing, income-generating opportunities through memberships, partnerships, sponsorships, or creative campaigns that align with SNE’s mission.
- Support diversification of income streams while maintaining the organisation’s charitable ethos.
Systems & Tools
- Oversee the development and optimisation of CRM, website, and digital tools to streamline marketing operations and track impact.
- Ensure data compliance and user experience best practices are upheld.
Team Leadership & Collaboration
- Lead and mentor direct reports setting clear KPIs and fostering a creative, ambitious, and collaborative team culture across the organisation.
- Work closely with Directors, Business, Events and Policy teams to ensure marketing activity supports and enhances core functions.
Person Specification
(A – Application, I – Interview, T – Task)
Essential:
- Proven experience (approx. 10+ years) in senior marketing, communications, or brand roles, ideally in complex or mission-led organisations (A, I)
- Strategic thinker with a demonstrable track record of delivering marketing plans that grow brand awareness, reputation, and engagement (A, I, T)
- Experience working across digital, PR, content, and campaign planning, with measurable impact (A, I)
- Strong leadership experience, able to inspire a team and embed marketing thinking organisation wide (A, I)
- Expertise in media handling, brand positioning, and stakeholder communications (A, I)
- Demonstrable understanding of the role marketing plays in policy influence, membership retention, and charitable growth (A, I)
- Excellent copywriting and messaging skills, with the ability to distil complex information into clear, compelling content (A, I, T)
- Confident using analytics, CRM platforms, email marketing tools, and social media to drive engagement (A, I)
- Highly collaborative, with a can-do attitude and the ability to engage internal and external stakeholders (A, I)
- Ability to innovate within resource constraints and remain calm under pressure (A, I)
Desirable:
- Experience in the education, charity, or membership sector (A, I)
- Knowledge of the education landscape in the North East or wider national policy context (A, I)
To apply
Please submit your full CV, clarifying any gaps in employment, along with a cover letter clearly linking your skills and experience to the job description and person specification to recruitment@schoolsnortheast.com, FAO Pauline Aitchison.
If you would like an informal conversation about this role please email Pauline Aitchison, Deputy Director: p.aitchison@schoolsnortheast.com to arrange a suitable time.
Supporting documents
Marketing and Brand Manager Recruitment PackSchools North East
Schools North East is a grassroots, school-led organisation representing all 1,150 schools in the North East. Founded in 2007 by a group of Head Teachers after a region-wide consultation, it was created to give schools a collective voice in the national education debate. As the UK’s first and only regional schools network, we are independent, entirely self-funded, and driven by school engagement.
The charity’s mission is to influence both regional and national policy to improve conditions for North East schools and the children they serve. While apolitical, we are not neutral; we actively campaign on issues affecting education, working with partners across sectors, and championing innovation to tackle current challenges and shape the future.
Collaboration is at the heart of Schools North East. We believe that through a united voice, our schools could “lead not plead,” advocating directly to those in power for the resources, environments, and policy changes needed to enable our young people to thrive.
We are the Voice, Glue, Bridge of all North East schools.
As The Voice, we put a strong regional accent on the education debate, ensuring the national conversation reflects the urgent needs and concerns of North East school leaders.
As The Glue, we bring our schools and trusts together to create a purposeful community for the benefit of all of our region’s children and young people.
As The Bridge, we help connect our region’s schools and trusts with politicians, policymakers, universities, think tanks, and funding organisations that operate way beyond our border.
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