Senior Officer: Marketing and Communications at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

• Recruit undergraduate and postgraduate students in alignment with the Faculty of Law’s recruitment strategy and institutional enrolment objectives. 
• Promote the faculty’s academic programmes through various communication and marketing channels, including digital platforms, career expos, school visits, subject selection evenings, and community engagement initiatives in collaboration with Student Recruitment Services (SRS). 
• Develop, implement, monitor, and review the Faculty of Law’s communication and marketing strategy in alignment with the university’s brand and strategic priorities. 
• Coordinate faculty advertising and marketing initiatives in collaboration with the Department of Communication and Marketing.
• Develop, design, coordinate, and distribute marketing and communication material for academic programmes, faculty events, and stakeholder engagement initiatives, including brochures, newsletters, videos, information guides, and digital content. 
• Ensure that all faculty communication and marketing content complies with UFS branding guidelines and promotes a consistent faculty identity across all communication platforms. 
• Coordinate faculty publications and newsletters, including the design and publication of Kovsilex, faculty rulebooks, annual reports, and other faculty-related publications. 
• Manage and regularly update the Faculty of Law website and social media platforms to ensure content remains current, relevant, accurate, and aligned with institutional digital communication objectives. 
• Develop and execute content strategies for faculty events, recruitment campaigns, and stakeholder engagement initiatives. 
• Monitor and analyse social media engagement and digital communication performance and compile regular reports for faculty management and relevant committees. 
• Attend and contribute to Faculty Marketing and Communication Committee meetings, providing reports, communication updates, and strategic input regarding faculty visibility and stakeholder engagement. 
• Write articles and communication content relating to faculty achievements, events, staff and student accomplishments, research activities, and community engagement initiatives and engage with the Department of Communication and Marketing for distribution.  
• Liaise with faculty staff, students, alumni, relevant university divisions, external stakeholders, and service providers to source, coordinate, and disseminate faculty-related information and achievements. 
• Ensure that faculty events and marketing initiatives comply with institutional policies, risk management requirements, and relevant university event procedures. 
• Develop contingency plans for faculty events and address operational challenges to ensure successful event execution.   
• Maintain and update the Faculty of Law alumni database and facilitate alumni engagement initiatives in collaboration with relevant university structures. 
• Collaborate with external vendors, designers, photographers, videographers, and other service providers to produce high-quality communication and marketing material where required. 
• Compile and coordinate the Faculty of Law internationalisation report using the Internationalisation Toolkit and support faculty internationalisation initiatives, partnerships, and exchange programmes. 
• Represent the faculty on relevant institutional committees and forums related to marketing, communication, recruitment, and internationalisation. 
• Serve as a point of contact for communication and marketing-related matters between the faculty and internal and external stakeholders. 
• Draft, manage, and monitor the Faculty of Law marketing budget and identify cost-effective and financially viable marketing opportunities. 
• Monitor expenditure related to faculty marketing and communication activities to ensure effective utilisation of allocated resources and alignment with institutional procurement processes.
• Support the coordination of prospective student databases and communication campaigns in collaboration with Student Recruitment Services
• Promote and protect the reputation of the Faculty through proactive communication, stakeholder engagement and brand management initiatives.
• Coordinate and curate photographic, video and digital content for use across faculty communication and marketing platforms.

Inherent requirements:

• A relevant Bachelor’s degree or a B. Tech degree on NQF Level 7 in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or related field.
• A minimum of two (2) years’ relevant working experience related to the duties and responsibilities.

Recommendations:

• An Honours degree on NQF Level 8 in Marketing, Communication, Public Relations, or related field.
• Evidence of successful social media and marketing experience.
• Experience within the higher education environment.
• Member of or registration with a professional body (i.e MASA, PRISA)(attach a copy).