Head of Marketing & Communications

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Job Description

Permanent Full-time

Location: Agile, Sale, Manchester UK

Reports to: Commercial Director

Salary: Circa £65,000

Line management responsibilities: Yes

Overview

About TQUK

Training Qualifications UK, part of the AQA Group, is the fastest-growing Awarding Organisation in the UK and a market-leading Apprenticeship Assessment Organisation. We work with over 500 schools, colleges, universities, and training providers across the world to provide qualification certificates, endorsements, and apprenticeships to over 150,000 learners.

Training Qualifications UK is entering its next phase of growth - and we're investing in top talent to build what comes next. And what comes next is big. Multiple senior roles. Launched together. One shared future. This isn't a backfill. It's a build. We're looking for exceptional people across qualification development, assessment development, people services and marketing & communications to help define what a market-leading organisation in vocational education and FE really looks like.

About the Head of Marketing & Communications role

The Head of Marketing & Communications is the most senior marketing leader within TQUK and is accountable for shaping and delivering the organisation's brand, market positioning, and go-to-market strategy within a regulated but commercially dynamic vocational and technical awarding environment.

In a market where centres make more frequent awarding decisions, the role will ensure TQUK remains visible, relevant and competitive at each renewal and procurement cycles.

The successful candidate will:

• Lead the development and execution of a reform-aligned marketing strategy that drives qualification growth, strengthens market share, and delivers measurable revenue impact - balancing digital innovation with proven traditional channels such as events, sponsorships, and sector media.

• Build and embed a commercially focused, insight-led marketing function that uses data, customer intelligence, and digital performance tools to accelerate acquisition and retention, while ensuring campaigns resonate across the diverse vocational and technical education landscape.
• Position TQUK as a credible, agile, industry-focused awarding organisation, confidently shaping our presence across digital platforms, sector events, employer networks, and the wider skills ecosystem.
• Ensure all marketing and external communications uphold regulatory requirements, protecting organisational reputation while still enabling bold, creative, and modern brand expression.

As a senior member of the TQUK Leadership Team, the Head of Marketing & Communications will provide strategic market intelligence, reform insight, and brand direction, ensuring the organisation remains competitive, forward-thinking, and aligned to both commercial ambition and regulatory expectations.

Please note, this role is an agile role that requires regular presence in our head office, located in Sale, Greater Manchester.

Key Responsibilities

1. Market-Aligned Strategy

• Lead a forward-looking marketing strategy aligned to organisational growth, vocational and technical reform, and regulatory expectations.
• Translate organisational objectives and reform developments into clear, compelling propositions for centres, employers, and learners.
• Ensure the organisation is fully prepared for qualification transitions, withdrawals, and launches driven by policy or funding change.
• Provide strategic insight to Executive, Product, and Leadership teams on market trends, customer behaviour, and competitive response to reform.

2. Brand Positioning & Regulatory Credibility

• Own and protect the TQUK brand strategy, ensuring clarity of purpose, strong differentiation, and sector credibility across all channels.
• Safeguard organisational reputation through compliant, transparent, and responsible communications.
• Shape the organisation's narrative within the wider skills ecosystem, including providers, employers, government, and regulators.
• Position TQUK as a leader in awarding, assessment innovation, and employer-relevant skills solutions, grounded in integrity and trust.

3. Commercial Growth & Competitive Performance

• Lead an insight-driven strategy across priority sectors and customer segments to accelerate growth.
• Establish measurable marketing contribution to revenue, market share, and customer retention.
• Develop agile, responsive campaign frameworks that adapt quickly to competitive activity and evolving customer behaviour.
• Ensure all marketing investment is evidence-based, commercially sound, and supports long-term sustainable growth.

4. Integrated Go-to-Market Delivery

• Lead go-to-market strategies for new products, qualification launches, and regulatory changes.
• Work together with the Commercial Director and partner closely with Product, Commercial, Business Development, and Customer teams to align proposition, pricing, messaging, and launch timing.
• Ensure customer journey design supports centre onboarding, conversion, and long-term retention.
• Manage the marketing budget and provide regular financial reporting to the Board on spend effectiveness and impact.

5. Market Intelligence & Growth Insight

• Collaborate with Business Intelligence to deliver structured competitor, customer, and sector analysis across vocational and technical education.
• Ensure customer insight informs portfolio development, campaign prioritisation, and commercial decision making.
• Present market and reform intelligence to leadership to support risk management, investment decisions, and strategic planning.

6. Leadership & Capability

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing marketing team with strong digital, content, events, and campaign capability.
• Embed commercial discipline, performance measurement, and accountability across the function.
• Foster a culture of creativity, innovation, and data-driven decision-making.
• Represent TQUK as a senior ambassador with sector stakeholders where appropriate.

7. Internal Communications & Culture Alignment

• Partner with People teams to ensure internal communications reinforce organisational values, change programmes, and strategic priorities.
• Support organisation-wide understanding of market position, growth plans, and qualification strategy.

8. Partnership & Commercial Support

• Work closely with commercial, business development, and relationship management teams to support centre acquisition and retention.
• Develop partnership marketing strategies with employers, training providers, industry groups, and technology vendor.
• Strengthen tender responses with targeted marketing intelligence and aligned messaging.

9. Performance Measurement & ROI

• Define KPIs and dashboards to measure the effectiveness of all marketing activity.
• Monitor campaign performance, customer engagement, brand awareness, and lead conversion.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to optimise performance and guide
  future investment.

Cultural and Communication Expectations

• Drive and deliver a culture that emphasises continuous improvement, efficiency and value for money, creating psychological safety for others and challenging each other and the status quo.
• Be a cultural architect. Use the non-negotiables to inform all decisions, conversations and actions, influencing others to do the same, holding them to account as required.
• Work closely with other Heads to manage cross-pillar issues, initiatives and incidents, taking full accountability for completion of company objectives.
• Shape strategies and plans which help put into practice and support TQUK's vision and long term direction taking account of financial and implementation issues.
• Weigh up competing views to generate ways forward which will meet organisational goals.
• Take quick, confident decisions at a strategic level to move things forward.
• Define and integrate clear structures, systems and resources required across the Pillars to promote efficient service delivery, making difficult decisions about allocation of resources as necessary.
• Ensure an in-depth and evolving understanding of the broad range of customer requirements is embedded in TQUK.
• Be an excellent, proactive communicator, prepared to have difficult conversations and communicate or defend unpopular messages company-wide.
• Represent TQUK, speaking credibly and authoritatively on behalf of the Executive Team as required.
• Remain an expert in your own areas of responsibility.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Proven leadership experience, ideally within an awarding organisation or regulatory environment.
• Strong understanding of qualification development, endorsed product design, learning resource creation, and Ofqual/CCEA regulatory requirements.
• Analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and make evidence-based decisions.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Experience leading teams through change and fostering innovative, improvement-focused cultures.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Knowledge of the vocational education landscape and current sector reforms.

Key Characteristics

• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• Bold, decisive, and commercially minded, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Energetic, ambitious, and driven by results, with a "make it happen" mindset.
• Self-motivated and proactive, able to work independently while fostering strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Strategic thinker with strong communication and influencing skills, able to simplify complexity and inspire confidence.
• Resilient and adaptable, comfortable navigating evolving policy landscapes and shifting market conditions.
• Creative and innovative, with the ability to blend modern digital marketing approaches with traditional education-sector channels such as events, sponsorships, and media partnerships.

Key Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus 8 days Bank Holiday (33 in total).
• A further 3 days holiday awarded after long service.
• An extra day off to celebrate your birthday.
• BUPA Private Medical Insurance.
• BUPA Healthcare Cash Plan.
• Life Insurance.
• Income Protection Insurance.
• Annual Loyalty Bonus.
• NEST pension.
• Employer supported volunteering.

* We are an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Should you require any additional support during the recruitment process due to a disability, please contact us so we can assist you.