Marketing and Communications Manager
Location: London (hybrid working – 3 days in the office)
Salary: £43,000 - £47,000 p/a
Hours: Full-Time 37.5 hours p/w
Employment: Permanent
Who We Are
The Useful Simple Trust (UST) consists of four professional design and consultancy practices: Expedition Engineering, Useful Projects, Useful Studio and Thomas Matthews. We share innovative ideas, space and experience, and collaborate on a range of high-profile projects in the UK and internationally. Our breadth of experience gives us a depth of inter-disciplinary thinking rarely found in the industry.
The company has 90+ talented and committed civil and structural engineers, architects, strategists and designers, sustainability & construction innovation consultants who work side-by-side creating positive outcomes for our changing environment following our key company values Work for Good, More with Less, Restore and Adapt and Get, Set, Zero.
As a Social Enterprise, B-Corp™ and Employee Benefit Organisation, we do things differently. Our people are highly motivated and committed, in part because our structure and values mean that our combined success is shared equitably. We share part of our profit and re-invest the rest in research, social and environmental projects. We deliver purposeful projects that we believe have a sustainable impact on our clients and the wider human environment.
What We’re Looking For
The Useful Simple Trust is seeking a like-minded Marketing & Communications Manager to work with us on a full-time basis. You will work closely with colleagues across the organisation to amplify the messages of our vision and purpose. This MarComms role needs a proactive, collaborative, creative thinker with good industry knowledge and a broad view of the built environment sector and associated disciplines to help contribute to the development of the business. We are looking for someone with real conviction and desire to make change and who will work hard to deliver measurable outcomes – someone enthusiastic, passionate and a believer in creating positive impact. You need to be both strategic and able to deliver on a day to day basis.
You will need to develop, drive, and deliver the marketing approach and outputs for the Trust and each of the constituent brands to ensure strength in unity and as stand-alone entities. The Marketing & Communications Manager role will support the Trust’s strategic priorities and will contribute to the delivery of our plans in our focus areas of zero carbon, restorative environments, social value and innovation. To be successful in this role you will need an excellent understanding of marketing strategies, techniques and tools, and be organised, professional, pragmatic and focused on achieving the best results for the Trust.
You will form part of our core team and lead marketing and communications for the UST and our family of companies: Expedition Engineering, Thomas Matthews, Useful Projects and Useful Studio.
The Role:
• Ability to identify strategic opportunities to promote our work by monitoring our projects and looking for relevant PR opportunities, capitalising on work/stories that will gain traction in the industry, get us noticed by clients, collaborators and potential employees, and regular publishing in industry and national press.
• Insight into our unique offer and communicating its relevance to clients and collaborators.
• Understanding of our specific governance and certifications (Bcorp, Social Enterprise, Employee Benefit Trust) and what this means externally and internally.
• Be the brand guardian, ensuring that UST and companies all make use of common messaging for greater impact and shared awareness.
The Specifics:
• Create and manage a marketing calendar so there is visibility of all activities for the Trust beneficiaries (our employees) – To include events, conferences, awards, social media comms, campaigns, press activities.
• Liaise with PR agencies, journalists, and clients to prepare and deliver appropriate content.
• Work with each of the brands to identify and deliver a planned schedule of relevant, trending, thought-provoking varied content on social media.
• Identify and liaise with organisers on speaking opportunities at relevant conferences/events.
• Work with each of the brands to identify and deliver a planned schedule of relevant campaigns.
• Manage the creation of marketing collateral for the Trust and individual Brand marketing campaigns including all written and visual material.
• Act as editor for all written information.
• Ensure company websites are up to date with news/press/articles, recruitment opportunities and project updates.
• Identify award opportunities and coordinate award submissions and supporting visual material.
• Manage content and deliver a quarterly external client newsletter.
• Manage content and deliver internal communications to keep the organisation up to date with cross-trust news and opportunities.
• Support in the management of Trust events.
• Support in the delivery and on-going input into a CRM system.
• Manage the marketing budget.
Reporting will include:
• Monthly updates to each service lead on marketing activities
• Bi-monthly update to the Board on marketing activities
• Quarterly update to the Business Development Forum
To include:
• Analytics for social streams and websites
• Marketing spend and success
About you:
• You are purpose-driven and want to make a difference in the world
• You are creative, responsive and can-do
• You have an excellent eye for detail and sights set on the future
• You can work in collaborative environments successfully
• You can initiate and drive ideas and bring people together behind them
• You understand and enjoy the variety of design offered at the Trust
• Experience in a similar role for Design, Engineering, Architecture or related industries
• You have a detailed knowledge of Marketing, Communications and PR functions within the industry and an understanding of the design/creative process
• You have a detailed knowledge of Marketing software tools such as mailchimp, CRM systems
Required skill/experience/qualifications:
• Experience in and awareness of our relevant industries (built environment)
• Excellent collaborative and interpersonal skills
• Creative and energetic personality
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Good experience of social media and online marcomms
• Excellent existing local and national press & PR relationships
• A questioning and inquisitive nature – unafraid to ask difficult questions
• Proactive and self-motivated, ability to prioritise own workload and lead workstreams
What we offer
We believe in investing and growing our people as much as we do our business. We foster talent, equal opportunity, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing to develop a high performing and sustainable workforce.
The package comprises
• Bupa Private medical insurance for employee and direct family members
• Supported route to chartership with enhanced learning and development opportunities
• Flexible and hybrid working including 9-day fortnight scheme
• Annual Eyecare Scheme
• Workplace Health Assured & WeCare 24/7 EAP access. Canada Life Assurance
• Workplace Nursery Scheme
• Company pension scheme and other benefits available to you from your first day at the Trust
• Cycle to work scheme
