SEO Lead Department: Marketing Contract Type: Permanent/Full Time Hours: 37.5 hours per week with hybrid working Reporting t o: Web & SEO Manager Location: Manchester (with travel expected as required) Salary: £35,000 Access Education Group Are you passionate about all things SEO? Do you thrive on improving search rankings, driving traffic, and optimising websites for performance? We’re on the lookout for a results-driven SEO Officer to take the lead on enhancing the visibility of our websites across a range of dynamic education brands. From keyword research and technical SEO to content optimisation and analytics, this role is a fantastic opportunity for someone with a strategic mindset and hands-on SEO experience. About Us Access Education Group is the UK’s largest independent training provider for 16–18s in the creative industries, which boasts 32 campuses nationwide with over 5,000 students & apprentices across ACC, dBs Institute (Higher Education) & Access Sport. Backed by private equity and growing fast, we deliver Further Education, Higher Education, and Apprenticeships to over 5,000 learners annually. From Esports to Music, Games to Health & Fitness—we’re empowering the next generation of creators and innovators. What do we offer? Generous Holiday Allocation Wellbeing Benefits: Health Cash Plan, Doctorline GP Service, Employee Assistance Programme, Access to Counselling and Cycle to Work Staff Discounts & Benefits: access to Accolade, our benefits platform, which offers discounts at over 800 retailers! Paid Leave: Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Sick pay. What You’ll Do Develop and execute SEO strategies to improve organic search performance across multiple brand websites. Conduct in-depth keyword research and optimise content, meta data, and internal linking for visibility and conversions. Implement technical SEO improvements, from site speed and mobile responsiveness to fixing crawl errors and broken links. Collaborate with content writers and designers to produce SEO-friendly content and UX-optimised web pages. Track performance using Google Analytics, Search Console, SEMrush and other tools – reporting on rankings, traffic and engagement. Keep our sites ahead of Google algorithm updates and best practices through regular audits and innovations. Build and manage a backlink strategy to improve domain authority. Work across departments (Marketing, Outreach, Creative, and SLT) to align SEO efforts with broader strategic goals. What You Bring 1–3 years’ experience in a dedicated SEO role. Strong technical SEO knowledge, including on-page and off-page optimisation. Proficiency with SEO tools: Google Analytics, Search Console, SEMrush, Screaming Frog. Experience with CMS platforms such as WordPress. Basic HTML/CSS/JavaScript understanding for SEO purposes. Experience optimising content and landing pages for search performance. Strong analytical and reporting skills using Looker Studio or similar tools. Confident communicator with a collaborative, proactive attitude. Bonus points for experience with Google Tag Manager, Google Business Profile, and local SEO. Why Join Us? Be part of a purpose-driven organisation making a real impact in education. Work in a supportive, creative environment where innovation and experimentation are encouraged. Collaborate with a diverse, talented team across design, content, and marketing. Enjoy flexible hybrid working and a forward-thinking workplace culture. A full job description and person specification is available for download alongside our full benefits booklet. Access Creative College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and adults, and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The post is subject to basic Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) clearance We are committed to promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity for all our employees and potential employees. Diversity and open expression are fundamental to creativity. We believe in the diversity of thought, as that's what helps us help our learners. We therefore welcome applications from all backgrounds.