COMMUNICATIONS AT HIGHGATE SCHOOL

The Communications team at Highgate was established in September 2018. During our first year we have grown our social media presence, designed a new website, launched our Marketing Campaign ‘Beyond’ and set up a portal for our parents. We are now looking to grow the Communications team to help take us to the next level.

The Communications team operates collaboratively, strategically and creatively to develop and deliver communications to internal and external audiences including parents, prospective pupils and parents, staff, alumni, donors, potential employees, Partnership Schools and the wider community. The role of the Communications team is to shape Highgate’s outward and internal media and to dictate the way in which Highgate is seen, heard and perceived. We aim to demonstrate Highgate’s aims and ethos in action and present an authentic, Highgate-specific narrative. The team has both a creative, story- and content-generating role as well as a reactive responsibility working with internal clients. In the messages and stories we tell about the School, we try to balance tradition and modernity, our academic prowess with our holistic approach to education. We have a great story to tell and now is an exciting time to join the team!

All members of the Communications team are expected to:

• Contribute to the development of the School Communication Plan and continually work to maximise opportunities for effective marketing and communication
• Maintain and develop a strong Highgate brand identity (via brand messaging frameworks, visual identity, editorial tones, style guides) across all communications.
• Quickly develop a thorough knowledge of the School, its ethos and activities
• Keep up to date with developments in the Communications, Marketing and PR sector, enabling Highgate to reach and engage new or existing audiences
• Earn the respect and understanding of the Highgate staff, encouraging them to think pro-actively of media possibilities: help them to help you.
• Participate in training activities and sessions offered by the School and external agencies in order to gain further relevant knowledge and skills and keep up to date with technical requirements relevant to the job.
• Keep under review good marketing practices, particularly but not exclusively within the School sector, to strive to improve our own processes
• Ensure all activities are managed within the departmental budget

THE ROLE

The Communications Officer will develop, manage and oversee the School’s relations and communications with current parents and staff. They will work quickly to build knowledge of the School and work strategically as the lead copy-writer of exciting written content which maximises the School brand and profile within the Highgate Community.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Knowledge of the School and Parents

• Work proactively across all three Schools to build relationships with key staff and build knowledge of the School’s activities.
• Hold regular meetings with key stakeholders across the School to ensure that they are considering communications as part of their work.
• Lead on commissioning regular Parental Surveys and present the results of these to the Senior Team.
• Develop an in-depth knowledge of parent needs to inform School marketing strategies.
• Introduce a regular system for interviewing pupils and holding focus groups, using the existing “Pupil Voice” structures.
• Develop effective parent engagement programmes and regularly interact with parents to build insights and positive relationships.
• Meet regularly with the Senior School Departmental “Champions” and the Communications representatives in the Pre-Prep and Junior Schools to keep abreast of news and developments across the Schools.
• Work pro-actively to discover stories, both small and large, from different parts of the School and ensure that content reflects school life accurately.

Content calendar

• Create and maintain a calendar of key dates for the Communications team in our project management software which will reflect internal events and significant external events and anniversaries.
• Develop a content management plan for both digital and traditional channels.

News

• Lead the gathering, creation and editing of news stories for publication on the School website, social media and in printed materials.
• Work with the Graphic Designer to ensure that all stories have strong images to accompany them.
• Raise awareness amongst staff from across the School of the importance of telling and sharing exciting stories within the School community and outside it. Encourage staff to write stories and contribute content.
• Work closely with the Website and Digital Content Manager to keep the School website updated on a regular basis with news and events from across the School.
• Pass any significant stories to the Marketing and PR co-ordinator to turn into press releases.
• Work with Sixth Form pupils, our communications volunteers, to train them in journalistic techniques and support them in writing stories showcasing Highgate School.

Social Media

• Develop a Social Media Strategy which continues to grow our social media presence and facilitate a growth in engagement amongst the School community.
• Be responsible for the writing or checking of social media posts (on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), using Hootsuite to monitor all Highgate-related social media accounts on a daily basis.
• Ensure that there are regular social media posts and tweets which represent all aspects of the School, being pro-active where areas are under-represented.
• Train and manage staff who are posting and tweeting on behalf of the School and work with staff to ensure the best use of social media.
• Alert the Assistant Head (Communications) of any inappropriate comments or posts on social media.
• Ensure that all staff are following our social media policy and guidance, following up where necessary.
• Encourage the use of Highgate hashtags related to our key communication themes.
• Set up a social media account for pupils to share photos of Highgate life
• Manage requests for new social media channels.

Marketing collateral

• Provide input into the design of new marketing campaigns and the development of our existing campaign.
• Continually develop a bank of case studies to be used in our marketing campaign. Meet with staff and students, organise the logistics of photoshoots, working with the Graphic Designer.
• Write the text to accompany our marketing campaigns.
• Regularly update the website with new copy, reflecting changes across the School.
• Regularly source student, parent and alumni testimonials/ quotations for use in our marketing materials.
• Collect data from across the School community for “Highgate by numbers”
• Feed content through to the wider communications team to ensure it is repurposed and supports the Highgate story.
• Establish measures to begin content marketing to our parents, using our educational expertise to make a series of short articlescontaining advice which parents will want to share with others.

Communication with parents

• Establish and refine our systems for collating and checking messages which go out to parents via SchoolPost and inform all staff about the systems and deadlines.
• Personally monitor the messages going out to parents on Fridays via SchoolPost to ensure that the style and format are consistent and that the volume and frequency of messages are appropriate.
• Ensure all communications – letters/emails/texts – reflect consistently high standards and maintain Highgate branding across all communications
• Check any content being uploaded onto the parent portal for accuracy, grammar and style.
• Establish the production of regular newsletters to parents, working with the Graphic Designer to develop the optimal format template in InDesign.
• Once established, manage the co-ordination of content, setting and publication of digital newsletters to parents.
• Explore the possibility of creating annual booklets specifically designed for the parents of each year group.
• Liaise with academic and administrative staff to request and collate information for in-house publications eg. co-curricular booklets.
• Write and produce marketing materials for the School’s programmes, liaising with the relevant academic staff including the Deputy Head (Academic) and the Director of Music as necessary.
• Contribute content for the annual School Alumni magazine, which is edited by a member of the English Department.
• Liaise with administrative staff and departments to ensure consistency of quality and branding across all communications with parents.

Internal Communications

• Work with the Assistant Head (Communications) to develop a School-wide internal communications strategy, including digital and email communication eg. encourage staff to have short meetings and phone calls rather than use email. 
• Develop and implement the new strategy, educating staff regarding new policies and procedures.
• Work with the Website and Digital Content Manager to develop and implement a new Intranet for staff. Research into appropriate methods to convey messages within the organisation, build awareness and grow our organisation’s culture.

Marketing Projects

• Write clear and detailed project briefs for the production of marketing materials during meetings with internal clients.
• Provide general marketing advice and communications support to other departments where required.
• Undertake any other marketing projects which present themselves, as requested by the Assistant Head (Communications).