Jobs - available roles in the Ukie team

Digital Schoolhouse Programme and Communications Manager

Pay: £36k per annum, depending on experience. PIPs pension, bonus scheme, private medical scheme, and generous leave.

Location: We offer a mixture of remote and in the office working at Black Bull Yard, 24-28 Hatton Wall, London, EC1N 8JH. This role includes regular office-based team and member related activities and national travel.

About Ukie

Ukie is the trade body for games and interactive entertainment in the UK, with a mission to make the UK the best place in the world to make, sell, and play games and interactive entertainment.  We are an agile, not-for-profit company of under 20 people and owned by the industry. Ukie is an inclusive employer, and our culture supports entrepreneurship, teamwork and a can-do work ethic. We encourage you to have a look at the Ukie website to see our values and beliefs.

About the role

This role is focussed on supporting future industry talent through our education initiative Digital Schoolhouse. Ukie Education endeavours to support the next generation of industry talent from 5 – 21+ years and beyond. Under the Ukie Education umbrella sit our flagship education initiatives, Digital Schoolhouse and Student Membership alongside the Video Games Ambassadors Scheme and supporting family friendly video games through Ask About Games. Working together we aim to enable anyone with a passion for video games to flourish. We promote a fun and playful approach to education, with creativity and innovation sitting at the heart of what we do. The education team at Ukie sits across disciplines, supports our members, and works with a broad range of partners and stakeholders.

Digital Schoolhouse is a nationwide programme that operates out of 76 Schoolhouses in the UK and a further 9 schools in Nigeria. Delivering inspirational computing and immersive careers education using a play-based learning approach to schools is the fundamental core of the programme. Our pioneering esports tournaments are the first and largest formal school-based esports tournaments in the UK. Since its inception in 2014 the programme has now supported over 140,000 pupils.

The Digital Schoolhouse Programme & Communications Manager works with the Head of Education to create and deliver impactful and engaging communications to ensure the continued growth and expansion of the Digital Schoolhouse programme across the UK and beyond. As second in charge of Digital Schoolhouse, the Programme & Communications Manager will work with the Head of Education to ensure the smooth running of Digital Schoolhouse, whilst seeking business opportunities, leading on and organising events and projects and developing effective processes for the day-to-day operations of this ever expanding programme.

There are opportunities for the successful candidate to showcase their strategic leadership and entrepreneurial spirit and co-ordinate activity whilst working with people from different backgrounds and levels of seniority. Therefore, some line management responsibility will be expected. Stakeholder and relationship management are key to this role.

Ukie has a supportive work culture, actively encouraging continuing professional development for all our staff. If you are excited by the role on offer, but do not feel you meet 100% of the requirements or qualifications we encourage you to apply anyway explaining why your skills and experience make you an ideal candidate.

Main areas of responsibility:

1.          Deputy Digital Schoolhouse programme management

2.         Communications strategy & implementation

3.         Content creation & management

4.         Maintenance of website & social channels

5.         Events & operations management

1.     Deputy Programme Management

• Take responsibility for Digital Schoolhouse in the absence of the Head of Education.
• Work alongside the Head of Education to implement core programme operations.
  
• Work alongside the Head of Education to help shape and implement programme strategy.
  
• Explore opportunities for revenue generation and programme sustainability in a bid to help ensure the Digital Schoolhouse programme is self-sustaining.
• Assist in actively seeking sponsorship and funding for the continuation of the programme.
• Undertake any other reasonable professional task as directed by the CEO or Head of Education.
  
• Work alongside other Digital Schoolhouse team members and delegate tasks as and when appropriate.
  
• Hold line management responsibilities for selected Digital Schoolhouse team members, as discussed and agreed with the Head of Education.
  

2.     Communications strategy & implementation

• Create ideas, develop partnerships and deliver public relations activity that maximises positive media coverage for DSH events, and encourages sponsorship and school recruitment.
• Develop messaging at key points throughout the year to maximise publicity for the programme in a bid to seek new sponsors and participating schools.
  
• Manage communications with DSH’s funding partners and other key stakeholders through a range of channels, providing regular updates and resolving queries where necessary.
  
• Working independently, in partnership with the wider Ukie Communications team and when required with third party agencies to deliver PR & marketing for the programme.
  

3.     Content management

• Produce high-quality copy for all internal and external communications and ensure brand compliance for all materials produced.
• Work alongside contributing authors to help create new content for Digital Schoolhouse
  
• Generate new content for implementation across print and digital media, including our website and social media channels.
  
• Work alongside Digital Schoolhouse and wider Ukie Education team members and delegate tasks as and when appropriate.
  

4.     Maintenance of website & social channels

• Oversee the management of the website, ensuring it remains up-to-date and includes regular blogs and news items, whilst working with third party agents where necessary.
• Manage social media, ensuring platforms appropriately target DSH’s key audiences in a timely and informative way.
  
•  Regularly monitor website and social media analytics and use these to inform future communications.  
  

5.     Events & operations management

• Manage and effectively develop processes for the day-to-day operations of DSH including general administration, budgeting, reporting and project management.
• Lead on the organisation, management and delivery of all DSH events, including but not limited to the DSH Esports Tournaments.
  
• Manage staff brought on to support with the delivery of DSH events; including the Tournament Co-ordinator to support our esports work.
  
• Organise a Digital Schoolhouse presence at external events including BETT, and other industry or education conferences to improve programme visibility and encourage both sponsorship and schools to participate either as an attendee or as a Digital Schoolhouse.

Desired experience and qualities:

• Ideal for someone with demonstrable experience in a relevant role.
• Experience in stakeholder and relationship management with a demonstrable track record in establishing and building business relationships.
  
• Experience in stakeholder and relationship management with a demonstrable track record in establishing and building business relationships.
  
• Knowledge of the current educational landscape, especially within the context of computing, creativity, and digital skills.
  
• Experience in stakeholder and relationship management with a demonstrable track record in establishing and building business relationships.
  
• Experience in stakeholder and relationship management with a demonstrable track record in establishing and building business relationships.
  
• Knowledge of the current educational landscape, especially within the context of computing, creativity, and digital skills.
  
• Excellent organisational skills with experience of organising events co-ordinated across multiple partners.
  
• Excellent communication skills, including written, planning and analytical along with verbal communication and listening skills.
  
• Familiarity with the esports sector.
  

Other information:

Working hours are Monday to Friday – 9.00am to 5.30pm and there is an expectation that some evening and weekend work will be required to attend events as the business requires. Ukie supports remote working, but there is an expectation of regular visits to the office.

This role profile is not exhaustive; it will be subject to periodic review and may be amended to meet the changing needs of the business.

How to apply:

Please send a CV and a covering letter explaining why you are perfect for this role to hello@ukie.org.uk by 9am on Wednesday 20th July 2022.