Background to the company
pro-manchester is the largest business development membership organisation within the North West. pro-manchester is expanding their Business Development Team and are seeking a Products Manager to be responsible for SME Club and the soon to be launched Financial Directors Forum (FDFm). The role will be ideal for a Marketing Executive or Marketing Officer looking to take the next step in their career.
Launched in September 2011, the SME Club is already well established and aims to bring advice, tips and business information to small and medium businesses throughout the North West. Mailing to 20,000 SMEs throughout the UK on a weekly basis, content is provided by the pro-manchester member firms.
Following the success of the SME Club, FDFm will be officially launched in March 2015. The Financial Directors forum is an online information portal for Financial Directors across the North West, including but not exclusively, Greater Manchester. The forum will be an online community providing practical insight and advice in all areas of business, tailored for the financial professional. This role will form part of the business development programme, to enhance the opportunities for pro-manchester members to promote their services to businesses.
Main purpose of role
Specifically carry out all marketing, research, promotional and online activities for SME Club and FDFm, as part of the wider business development initiative.
The appointed candidate will also continually develop product’s offering to meet the strategic objectives of the organisation.
Position in Organisation
Reporting to the Head of Marketing and working with other members of the Business Development team to support additional pro-manchester activities.
Key responsibilities
- Management of SME Club and FDFm websites including user registrations, content uploading, performance and maintenance
- Manage the flow of content on the sites. Working with the Membership Manager to ensure that all members and / or contributors are fairly represented on the site and that this benefit of membership is clearly explained to them
- Managing and continue using to grow a community of over 20k SMEs throughout the UK and around 10,000 FDs
- Promote the sites, the content and any related activity via the social media platforms currently used. Also consider the use of new and emerging platforms to continue to enhance the social sharing capabilities of the site
- Regular creation of all e-communications for both products
- Assess the performance of SME Club and FDFm, paying particular attention to traffic, conversion and retention. Working to the specified KPIs for the site.
- Assess and report on the performance of the e-mail newsletter, including frequency of sends and continued engagement
- Assess and report on the performance of the online marketing programme and social media campaign
- Working with the Head of Marketing to secure ongoing sponsorship of the products.
Desired Skills and Experience
The ideal candidate will have previous marketing experience from either a Marketing Executive/Officer role, as well as web management, e-communication and social media skills.
Technical and Personal Skills
- Ability to use social media platforms and online tools such as Hootsuite, WordPress, Google Analytics and DotMailer
- Aptitude to quickly learn new software such as marketing automation software, email providers, social media management tools and analytics tools
- To provide professional and effective services to internal and / or external member /clients, to meet expectations, particularly in terms of Quality and Timeliness in line with departmental standards, procedures and guidelines
- To communicate courteously with internal and / or external clients by telephone, email and face to face, building positive relationships, investigating, responding to and progressing issues and queries to a successful conclusion at the earliest time
- To speak positively and enthusiastically about the company and its products and services to ensure that a professional company and brand image is provided at all times to clients and colleagues
- Strong commercial awareness and ability to demonstrate this
- Strong organisational skills including the ability to plan, organise and manage own workload
- Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to liaise with people at any level
- Ability to solve problems when required
- A keen eye for detail
- Calmness in a highly pressurised environment, working to set targets and deadlines
- Excellent negotiating, sales and business development abilities
- Good administration and Information Technology skills – excellent understand of all MS Office packages essential
- The ability to work alone or in a team with positivity, motivation and enthusiasm.
