Strategic design lead jobs in manchester

Key information

Location: Manchester, Bristol, Newcastle, Nottingham, or London

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (full time)

Start date: ASAP (we are happy to work with notice periods)

Duration: Permanent

Salary: £31,830 - £35,280 per annum if based in London. £29,175 - £32,625 per annum if based in Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle or Nottingham, plus a £312 yearly tax-free work from home allowance.

Application deadline: 12 noon, Monday 10th November 2025

The application for this role will consist of a written application; a telephone interview; and an Assessment Centre (via Zoom).

Assessment Centres will take place week commencing 1st December and will consist of an interview and a task relating to the role.

About upReach 

Do you think that your socio-economic background should determine your career prospects?

upReach’s vision is of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full career potential. Our work is important because right now a student from disadvantaged background who gains a first-class degree from a top university is less likely to secure an elite job than a more privileged student with a 2.2. 

We are an award-winning charity employer working to address this issue in partnership with employers and universities. We help undergraduates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds achieve their career potential by providing an intensive programme of support that addresses socio-economic barriers to graduate employment. 

To find out more about our work, visit our website and read our Annual Report, and Impact Report. 

ROLE SUMMARY

This role will be pivotal in devising, executing, and evaluating impactful marketing and communication strategies that resonate with key audiences and advance upReach's mission of transforming social mobility in the UK. The successful candidate will split their time between PR and external affairs (50%) and marketing campaign development and delivery (50%), with flexibility to adjust based on organisational priorities.

Reporting to the Senior Marketing and Communications Manager, and closely collaborating with the Junior Marketing and Communications Manager on specific projects, focussed on increasing press coverage, creating compelling marketing materials, and delivering impactful campaigns. You will work closely with the wider team to ensure all communications align with upReach’s brand, with the ultimate aim of championing upReach's mission to transform social mobility in the UK. You will also support upReach in fulfilling our 2024-27 strategic objectives.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

PR, External Affairs & Policy:

• PR Strategy: Contribute to the development and implementation of a PR strategy to raise awareness of upReach and the cause of social mobility, secure new partners/funders, and attract student applicants. 

• Media Content: Create press releases, opinion pieces, blogs and research that reflect the charity’s policy positions on key social mobility issues, and keep upReach website up to date with the latest coverage and articles. 

• Impact Monitoring: Track and quality score incoming press coverage to analyse performance and adjust strategies based on incoming insights, pro-actively securing additional backlinks.

• External Stakeholder Management: Help respond to incoming media inquiries, ensuring timely responses and distribution of materials. Cultivate relationships with journalists, media outlets, influencers, other social mobility organisations, and other key stakeholders to expand upReach’s visibility, updating the CRM and journalist database accordingly.

• Media, Policy and Research Monitoring: Track and respond to relevant social mobility and education-related policy changes in the UK, ensuring upReach has an active voice in these discussions where appropriate and disseminating key updates to the wider team. 

• Award Submissions: Support the identification and submission of high-quality award entries to build upReach’s profile across key target sectors.

• Crisis Communications: Support in the preparation of responses to any external inquiries or crises, ensuring upReach’s reputation is protected.

• Patron and Ambassador Research: Assist in the research of potential high-profile ambassadors for upReach, ensuring they align with our mission and values.

Marketing Campaigns:

• Student Attraction: Support the delivery of upReach’s student attraction strategy to raise awareness of upReach amongst eligible undergraduate students.

• Campaign Support: Assist in the planning and execution of multi-channel marketing campaigns that drive engagement with beneficiaries, partners, donors, and funders.

• Content Creation: Work closely with the marketing team to produce compelling digital and print content, including case studies, social media posts/templates, blogs, email campaigns, videos and more.

• Brand Consistency: Assist in reviewing external-facing materials to ensure they align with upReach’s brand guidelines, tone of voice, and key messages. Act in a consulting role to support the successful delivery of Associate-focussed communications. 

• Marketing Asset Management: Maintain a comprehensive inventory of marketing materials, ensuring resources remain up-to-date and relevant, while monitoring distribution amongst the team.

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Assist in reporting on the success of campaigns using tools like Google Analytics and social media insights.

• Collaborative Marketing: Collaborate with other charities, higher education institutions, and student societies, to develop co-marketing opportunities that expand programme reach among target student audiences.

Other responsibilities:

• Manage the External Affairs rotation to help one member of the Future Charity Leaders Programme (FCLP), upReach’s internal graduate scheme, to learn more about this area of the charity.

• Continue to develop skills, knowledge and best practice that will enable you to excel in the role, including training on pitching to the media, crafting compelling content and building press relationships.

• Undertake other marketing, communications or administrative tasks that are required within this role.

Please note that it is not possible for the job description to cover the exhaustive list of responsibilities of your role due to the varied nature of the role. The job description aims to provide an overview of your remit. 

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

We are looking for someone who is passionate about social mobility and believe that background should not be a barrier to graduate employment. 

To be successful, you would ideally have experience in marketing and communications, particularly in executing PR and policy strategies, facilitating media relations and/or running successful communications campaigns. While not required, experience within a charity, social impact or education-focused organisation would also be highly beneficial for this role.

Required skills:

• Written Communication: Ability to write in a clear and persuasive way that breaks down complex issues into digestible content (e.g. press releases, social media posts and newsletters). Excellent verbal communication for networking, media relations, and public speaking.

• Creativity and Storytelling: Strong creative flair to develop engaging content and narrative that resonate with different audiences across digital and traditional platforms.

• Media Knowledge: Good understanding of the media landscape, with experience in managing media contacts, securing coverage, and building relationships with the press.

• Attention-to-Detail: Strong eye for detail, including excellent proofreading and editing skills, to ensure high-quality, error-free content.

• Brand Awareness: Understanding of how to promote and protect upReach’s brand reputation and the importance of maintaining brand-compliant messaging across all platforms.

• Project Management: Strong organisational and project management skills, with experience handling multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously. Ability to quickly adapt to changing situations, including responding to media inquiries or handling unexpected challenges.

• Pro-activity: A proactive attitude and an ability to suggest, research and implement new ideas to achieve our organisational objectives. 

Desirable (Not Required) Experience:

• Hands-on experience with some or all of the following tools/software:

  • G-suite

  • Zoom

  • Canva or similar design software.

  • Mailchimp or similar email marketing software.

  • Website content management systems (CMS).

  • Bigin, Zoho or similar customer relationship management tools (CRMs).

  • Trello

• Knowledge of GDPR compliance.

• Knowledge of regulations around charity communications, including compliance with data protection laws and ethical storytelling.

COMPETENCIES

In general, Senior Officer level involves you demonstrating more leadership capabilities than in an entry-level position. This includes having ownership of a new area (press/PR), and demonstrating an ability to informally lead and have positive influence on the wider team. We will be looking for you to demonstrate that you can plan ahead, proactively anticipate upcoming projects or risks, and problem solve independently.

Please see below a summary of the key competencies required for this role:

• Motivation (2) - Shows self-motivation to increase upReach’s impact, and develops an understanding of team strengths in order to provide support to the wider team where needed.

• Leadership (2) - Takes responsibility for leading on set projects, creating a supportive environment for any others’ working on the project, and inspiring the wider team by keeping them informed on progress.

• Continuous improvement (2) - Pursues this continuously, focusing on developing specific skills needed in your own role, actively implementing any learnings from training, and measuring your own performance.

• Planning and organising (2) - Organising own work effectively, including scheduling, prioritising, setting and communicating realistic timeframes, and negotiating successfully when faced with multiple requests / working on collaborative tasks.

• Problem solving & decision making (2) - Being the key problem solver within area of responsibility, using experience to analyse problems from different angles, including getting input from others, asking questions and using data before making decisions

• Innovative (2) - Proactively suggestions to improve team’s current working methods, applying own knowledge and expertise to solutions

• Management (2) (rotations)- Able to give clear instruction and lets people know what’s expected of them in collaborative work or in area of leadership, and able to manage partnerships / external relationships effectively

• Commitment to social mobility (2) - Has developed an advanced understanding of social mobility and complex concepts within the field, and can articulate upReach’s role within this to external stakeholders

• Communication (3) - Express ideas effectively and sensitively, confidently handling challenging conversations, and leading meetings and sessions where appropriate.

Team Culture & Benefits: 

We offer: 

• Flexible and hybrid working.

• Statutory Holiday Entitlement of 25 days and bank holidays. This increases to 2 additional days after 2.5 years and then to 3 additional days after 5 years of working with us. 

• Birthday leave and Voluntary leave

• Enhanced Parental Leave beyond statutory requirements for all team members. 

• 3% Pension Contribution, which increased to 5% after 5 years of working with us. 

• Cycle-to-work scheme.

• Monthly socials and annual wellbeing days

• Dedication to Staff Wellbeing through our Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aid Training. 

• Personal Development Budget, activated after 6 months in the role.

• The opportunity to participate in our fantastic staff networks: 

  • Disability and Inclusion Network

  • Diverse Roots Network 

  • Green Network 

  • LGBTQ+ Network

  • Mindfulness Network

  • Parents and Carers Network 

Ready to apply?

We are committed to making our recruitment process inclusive. All applications will be blind screened, and our job packs are available in Braille, large text or another format upon request. We can provide reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment application process and on the job, and we'll always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible.

Applications close on Monday 10th November at 12:00 noon.

Equal Opportunities

At upReach, we are committed to being an equal opportunities employer and do not discriminate in employment matters on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, social background or any other protected class. We celebrate and value the diverse perspectives that people from all backgrounds bring to our team. We are passionate about creating a workplace that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of communities across the UK. Thus, we encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, including Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds, those with disabilities, those who are care-experienced, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those who are LGBTQIA+.