Deputy Head of Candidate Marketing

Role: Deputy Head of Candidate Marketing 

Location: Flexible, depending on location of candidate

Job type: Full time, permanent – remote or hybrid

*Please note, this role is open to internal candidates only*

The role

The Deputy Head of Candidate Marketing supports the Head of Events & Candidate Marketing in driving the global candidate marketing strategy, ensuring operational excellence, and fostering a high-performance, client- and candidate-centric culture. This role acts as a key partner to the Head, providing leadership to regional marketing directors and teams, and ensuring the effective execution of marketing initiatives across all regions.

Role responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

Support the Head of Candidate Marketings in cultivating a high-performance culture within the Candidate Marketing teams, promoting collaboration and alignment with QS values.

Mentor and manage regional marketing directors, fostering professional growth and a digital-first, innovative mindset.

Act as a deputy and stand-in for the Head as required, ensuring continuity of leadership and decision-making.

Strategy & Planning

Translate the global candidate marketing strategy into actionable regional plans, ensuring alignment with business objectives and KPIs.

Lead the development and implementation of scalable, candidate-centric marketing and social media plans across regions.

Collaborate with the Head and regional leaders to build strategic marketing plans that prioritise quality lead delivery and meet regional volume targets.#

Market Intelligence & Reporting

Consolidate and analyse market intelligence and performance data from regional teams to inform global strategy and identify growth opportunities.

Deliver insightful trend and data analysis to the Head and global stakeholders, emphasising actionable opportunities to enhance ROI.

Evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and channels, providing actionable insights to optimise candidate quality and conversion rates.

Collaborate with data analytics and product teams to ensure robust data collection, integrity, and reporting on candidate pipelines and outcomes.

Monitor and report on the impact of new marketing initiatives on candidate quality, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with business goals.

Support the development of predictive models and segmentation strategies to enhance targeting and improve the quality of candidate pools.

Operational Excellence

Oversee the optimisation of marketing operations with a strong focus on candidate quality, efficiency, and scalability, leveraging automation, analytics, and best practices.

Support the development and management of an innovation agenda for candidate marketing, ensuring QS remains at the forefront of industry trends.

Ensure robust risk management and compliance processes are embedded across marketing activities.

Stakeholder & Customer Success

Foster effective collaboration with internal stakeholders (sales, events, digital, customer success) to deliver integrated campaigns and exceptional candidate/client experiences.

Support account management and customer service operations, identifying opportunities for service enhancement through technology and process improvement.

Other duties

Any other duties that fall within the purpose and scope of the role.

Key skills and experience

Significant experience in higher education marketing and student recruitment, with a proven track record in multi-regional or global roles.

Strong leadership skills, with experience managing and developing diverse, cross-functional teams.

Expertise in digital marketing, content strategy, and data-driven decision-making.

Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

High emotional intelligence, adaptability, and a passion for building high-performing teams.

Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational execution.