Job Title - Head of Marketing
Reports to - Sales and Marketing Director
Location - Peripatetic role with 2-days per week based at the Operations Centres in either Aylesbury or Lincoln
The Role
The Head of Marketing will lead the delivery of enquiry generation across all divisions, ensuring that every marketing initiative directly contributes to occupancy growth and admissions. This is a hands-on leadership role, combining strategic direction with practical delivery.
The postholder will manage a team of Regional Marketing Managers, Digital Marketing Manager, and Senior Graphic Designer. As brand guardian, they will ensure our marketing reflects the Trust's values as a not-for-profit care provider, promoting the quality of our residential, nursing, dementia, and learning disability services. Success in this role is measured by generating the right enquiries, supporting high conversion rates, and ultimately enabling us to support more people to live fulfilling lives.
Key Accountabilities
Enquiry Generation & Occupancy Growth:
* Take direct accountability for achieving enquiry targets across all regions, ensuring activity translates into admissions and sustained occupancy.
* Support Regional Marketing Managers to create and deliver tailored local marketing plans, stepping in directly during absence to maintain progress.
* Collaborate with the Digital Marketing Manager to optimise paid search, paid social, website, and other digital channels for maximum reach and impact.
* Use CRM data and business analysis to allocate team resources and marketing spend where they will achieve the strongest results, with a focus on cost per enquiry (CPE), cost per admission (CPA), and return on investment.
* Monitor the full customer journey from first enquiry to admission, identifying points of friction and working with Sales colleagues to ensure a seamless, high-quality experience for families and professionals.
Marketing Mix & Market Positioning:
* Apply the full marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) to ensure our services are positioned competitively in the self-funded and local authority-funded care markets.
* Work with Operations and Finance colleagues to ensure that our service proposition (Product) and pricing models (Price) are clearly communicated and understood in the market.
* Tailor marketing activity (Place) to reflect the unique demographics and demand in each local authority and regional market.
* Drive consistent and innovative use of communications channels (Promotion) to build reputation, increase visibility, and generate enquiries.
Partnership & Collaboration:
* Partner with Operational Leaders to prioritise marketing activity around homes with the greatest potential for occupancy growth.
* Work with the People team to develop and communicate the Employee Value Proposition (EVP), supporting recruitment and retention.
* Ensure marketing and design services provide timely, high-quality support to colleagues across all support functions.
* Maintain awareness of CQC expectations regarding marketing and information provision, ensuring all external communications are transparent, accurate, and compliant.
Brand & Content:
* Act as brand guardian, ensuring consistent tone, messaging, and visual identity across all materials and channels.
* Lead an annual brand review process, embedding refinements that reflect both our market positioning and our social purpose.
* Direct the Graphic Design function, ensuring priorities align with organisational needs and service level agreements.
* Develop engaging content for the intranet (HUB), making resources, marketing assets, and internal stories accessible and relevant for operational colleagues.
Leadership & Team Development:
* Lead, motivate, and support direct reports, building a collaborative, high-performing, values driven team.
* Chair weekly and monthly Marketing Team meetings, ensuring clear agendas, accountability, and action follow-through.
* Ensure all departmental roles are supported by clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to deliver consistent, reliable outcomes.
* Oversee professional development, providing coaching and growth opportunities for team members.
Key Deliverables:
* Enquiry generation targets achieved across all regions, leading directly to improved occupancy and admissions.
* Local marketing plans delivered and measured against agreed KPIs, with clear evidence of impact.
* Digital marketing activity optimised to deliver sector-leading CPE and CPA.
* Improved enquiry-to-admission customer journey, with measurable increases in conversion rates.
* Annual brand refresh completed, ensuring the Trust's offer remains distinctive, values-driven, and competitive.
* Marketing HUB fully implemented and actively used by operational teams as a central source of resources and updates.
* High team engagement, with evidence of skills development and progression.
* Regular monthly and quarterly reports produced, providing clear analysis and actionable recommendations.
Direct Reports:
4 x Regional Marketing Managers, Digital Marketing Manager, and Senior Graphic Designer
Financial responsibility:
Yes
Person Specification - Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
Qualifications
* Educated to degree level or minimum 7-years as a Senior Marketing Manager and/or Head of Marketing in sector
* Professional marketing qualification (CIM or equivalent).
Experience
* Proven senior marketing leadership experience with responsibility for enquiry generation and occupancy growth in the health & social care sector (residential, nursing, dementia, or learning disability).
* Proven knowledge of the self-funded (private pay) care home market, alongside understanding of local authority and NHS funding streams.
* Proven experience of developing and delivering localised marketing strategies that drive enquiries, conversions, and admissions.
* Expertise across the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion), with a strong grasp of digital marketing channels.
* Evidence of data-driven decision-making, including use of CRM and marketing analytics to optimise investment and performance.
* Proven experience managing and developing multi-site marketing teams, with a collaborative and supportive leadership style.
* Experience of marketing in related sectors such as housing, healthcare, or hospitality with a strong customer service ethos.
* Experience of developing and managing intranet or digital engagement platforms.
* Strong project management skills, able to deliver multiple initiatives to tight deadlines.
Behaviours
* Empathetic and supportive style with the confidence to challenge constructively.
* High levels of initiative and accountability for results.
* Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.
* Collaborative and team oriented.
* Results-driven.
Specific Skills
* Able to deliver multi-channel local marketing plans comprising e-marketing, digital advertising, and print advertising and distribution.
* Strong evidence of brand management skills, with the ability to safeguard and evolve a values- based not-for profit brand.
* Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build relationships across operational and support functions.
* Awareness of regulatory standards relating to marketing and information in the care sector, particularly CQC requirements.
* Strong interpersonal and influencing skills; able to work collaboratively with home managers.
* Action-oriented with the ability to prioritise and deliver at pace.
Other Requirements
* Ability to fulfil hybrid working
* Willingness to travel to visit homes, services and sites
* Willing to attend meetings and training in other Trust locations during office hours; Occasional overnight stays where required.
* Car owner with clean driving licence