The Communications Department oversees all marketing, press, and PR activity for The Place, which includes London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS), the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Programme and Public Programmes.

Currently comprising eight members of staff, this team is responsible for implementing student recruitment, sales for performances and classes, audience development, and digital and content strategies in line with corporate goals and The Place’s ambitious business plan.

The Communications Team are custodians of The Place and London Contemporary Dance School brands and contribute to ultimately raise the overall profile of the institution whilst ensuring it remains true to its values across all communications. The Communications Team is highly dynamic and collaborative, and works to reach targets whilst also being encouraged to experiment and innovate.

JOB OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes), the Marketing Officer (Education Programmes and Student Recruitment) is a new role that will support the development, implementation, and evaluation of marketing and student recruitment campaigns for London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) and the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT). They will deliver specific projects in areas including regional and international outreach for LCDS student recruitment, Prospect and Offer Holder Engagement for LCDS, and outreach and event marketing for the CAT programme.

This role will work closely with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes), Head of Widening and Participation, Admissions and Registry Manager, Outreach Coordinator, and CAT team. They’ll also work closely with the wider Communications Team including Press and PR Manager, the Digital Content Manager, and the Communications Trainee, as well as the wider school faculty and students.

Based at The Place, London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) has been one of the most exciting and influential contemporary dance education spaces in Europe since it first opened its doors in 1969. The school champions new ideas, embraces artistic innovation, and enables  extraordinary experiences for students to reach their full potential. Learn more about LCDS here.

The Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) at The Place is part of the Department for Education’s national Music and Dance Scheme (MDS). Established as one of a network of specialist dance centres, CAT was co-founded by The Place to provide high-quality training for talented young dancers aged 11 to 18, preparing them for progression into higher education, vocational dance pathways, and related fields of study. Learn more about out CAT programme here.

The performance programme includes more than 90 performances a year presented in the theatre at The Place, with visiting companies and The Place’s own commissions and productions, as well as an expanding touring strand of work, producing and presenting more work than ever before locally, nationally, and internationally.

The Classes & Courses Programme includes approximately 45 classes per week, with sessions available for all ages 2 to 60+ and suitable for all levels.

SALARY & CONTRACT TERMS

SALARY

The full-time salary for this position is £30,492 per annum, rising to £31,102 per annum after successful completion of the probation period.

Salaries are reviewed in August each year when any cost-of-living increases are made. No salary changes are made until after successful completion of a probationary period.

CONTRACT TERMS

This is a 12-month, fixed-term contract. This a full-time position (equivalent to 40 hours per week). All hours are inclusive of a one-hour paid lunch break each day. Your hours of work will be agreed with the line manager.

Whilst in the six-month probationary period the notice period will be two weeks. Once this period is successfully completed the post holder will be confirmed in the post and the notice period will be six weeks.

CLOSING DATE

The application closing date is Thu 27 Nov 2025 at 12:00pm (noon).We reserve the right to close applications early depending on the volume of applications we receive and so we advise it is better to apply early.

For an informal chat about this role to answer any questions you may have before applying, please email Akshara Vasavada, Marketing Manager (Education Programmes).

INTERVIEW DATES

We anticipate that interviews will be conducted on Tue 09 Dec 2025 either in person at The Place or remotely via Microsoft Teams (or similar platform as necessary). Interview dates may be subject to change.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

KNOWLEDGE

• Good understanding of the competitive environment for student recruitment.

SKILLS

• Experience using Canva or Adobe Design suite.
• Excellent IT literacy skills (including Microsoft Officer 365) and website content management systems.
• Excellent communication skills and written English, including copywriting skills for different mediums and audiences.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with youth or community engagement projects on social media.
• Experience supporting the delivery of marketing campaigns for the higher education or cultural sector (including print production, digital reciprocal marketing, advertising, etc).

ATTRIBUTES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Ability and interest in ensuring students or other stakeholders' feedback into campaigns.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

KNOWLEDGE

• Good knowledge of contemporary dance.
• Good knowledge of dance higher education and conservatoire sector.

SKILLS

• Familiarity with Dotmailer or some form of bulk email software.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with a CRM system such as Spektrix, Tessitura, Salesforce, etc. and a CSM such as Craft, WordPress, etc.
  
• Experience of building and maintaining strong relationships with a range of stakeholders.
  
• Experience in campaign evaluation.
  
• Familiarity with Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro (or other video editing software).
  
• Experience in social media campaign planning and delivery.
• Experience creating media content for Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences.

ATTRIBUTES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• A flair for design and good attention to detail.
• Enthusiasm for contemporary dance.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

CAMPAIGN PLANNING

• Work with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes) to build, implement, and evaluate marketing and recruitment campaigns for LCDS and CAT.
• Support the delivery of intelligence-led recruitment plans for LCDS courses in line with The Place’s strategic objectives and the Access and Participation Plan’s recruitment targets through collaboration with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes) and the Head of Widening Participation and Recruitment.
• Manage marketing campaigns for LCDS summer schools, CAT sharings, Open events, outreach projects and events.
• Work with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes) to design marketing campaigns for events, performances, and workshops (LCDS summer schools, CAT sharings, LCDS graduations and performances, postgraduate sharings, and open events).
• Work with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes) to support LCDS Directors and the Director of Communications to establish and maintain international and UK-based partnerships and relationships, including other universities, feeder institutions, and agencies.
• Collaborate with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes) to ensure the promotion of the student voice through student recruitment campaigns.

CAMPAIGN DELIVERY

• In collaboration with the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes), write and edit copy for promotional material, including for print, posters, advertisements, email, webpages, online posts, and videos.
• Manage the production of print and digital marketing materials on specific campaigns for LCDS and CAT, including briefing and liaising with designers, proofing and overseeing the work of printers.
• Support in managing the booking of photographers and arranging planned photoshoots for LCDS and CAT student shows and other events.
• Organise the distribution of marketing materials on specific campaigns through emailing programmes, social media channels and distribution runs.
• Create engaging email campaigns, working with strategic segmentation of audience data.
• Ensure relevant sections of The Place’s website are up to date, tailoring online content to maximise its promotional effectiveness.
• Monitor ticket sales for LCDS and CAT events to maximise marketing impact at The Place, working closely with colleagues to modify campaigns in line with sales trends.
• Ensure that data is collected and student recruitment touch points are tracked to continually analyse and evaluate recruitment activity.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

• Support the delivery of the LCDS student conversion campaigns to engage with offer-holders to meet local, international, and demographic targets.
• Organise quarterly focus groups with LCDS and CAT students and compile insights and learnings.
• Work with the other Marketing Officer (Education Programmes) to engage students with the breadth of activities offered by The Place, particularly encouraging them to experience public performances in our theatre.

GENERAL DUTIES

• Along with the rest of the Communications team, ensure that The Place’s website is up to date and optimised.
• Stay up to date with marketing and student recruitment trends across social media, best practice, equality and inclusion.
• Occasionally lead on ad hoc marketing projects and callouts.
• Build strong working relationships with a range of stakeholders including current students, prospective students, offer-holders, LCDS and CAT teams, outreach partner organisations, and recent alumni.
• Attend Higher Education fairs, LCDS/CAT Open Days, and act as an ambassador for The Place and LCDS.
• Any other duties as may be reasonably requested by the Marketing Manager (Education Programmes).

HEADER PHOTO CREDIT

LCDS BA Graduation Show | 2025 | Photo by Camilla Greenwell