Emeris consolidates resources and expertise from IIE Varsity College, IIE MSA, IIE-Vega School, and IIE School of Hospitality & Service Management, with a unified approach ensuring a consistent standard of excellence in teaching, learning, and student support. 

We are looking to appoint a Marketing Manager: Social Media & Digital 
This position is based at our Waterfall National Office.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Social Media Strategy & Platform Management

• Develops and executes the annual social media strategy across all active platforms — including TikTok, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and YouTube — aligned to brand objectives, audience growth targets and student enrolment goals.
• Maintains an expert working knowledge of each platform's algorithm, content formats, publishing tools and advertising capabilities, applying this knowledge to continuously improve organic reach, engagement and follower growth.
• Manages all social media accounts across the institutional brands, ensuring that content is published consistently, is brand-aligned and adheres to institutional governance and community standards.
• Identifies and evaluates emerging social media platforms and trends, making evidence-based recommendations to the Head of Marketing regarding new channel investments or platform activations.
• Develops platform-specific channel strategies and content frameworks that reflect the unique audience behaviour, content expectations and engagement mechanics of each platform.
• Manages social media content calendars, ensuring planned content is briefed, produced, approved and published on schedule across all platforms and all institutional brands.
• Paid Digital Media Management
• Plans, builds, manages and optimises paid campaigns across Google Ads (Search, Display, Performance Max and YouTube), Meta Ads Manager and TikTok Ads Manager to deliver lead generation, brand awareness and enrolment conversion outcomes.
• Develops paid media briefs, audience targeting strategies, campaign structures and bidding approaches that maximise return on ad spend within approved budget parameters.
• Manages the day-to-day operation of all active paid campaigns, making real-time adjustments to targeting, creative, bids and budgets to improve campaign efficiency and performance.
• Conducts A/B and creative split testing across paid campaigns, using results to drive continuous improvement in click-through rates, cost-per-lead and conversion rates.
• Monitors and reports on paid media spend and performance against approved budgets and KPIs, providing regular updates and recommendations to the Head of Marketing

Content Strategy & Creative Direction

• Develops the social and digital content strategy, ensuring content themes, formats and narratives are aligned to brand strategy, audience insights and platform-specific best practice.
• Leads the conceptualisation and briefing of all social and digital content — including short-form video, static posts, stories, reels and long-form YouTube content — ensuring creative excellence and audience relevance.
• Works closely with the in-house design studio, videographers and external content creators to produce high-quality, platform-native content that drives engagement and brand affinity.
• Develops and manages a comprehensive content calendar that plans content across all platforms, campaigns and institutional brands on a monthly and quarterly basis.
• Ensures all content produced for social and digital channels is consistent with the institutional brand identity, meets platform specification requirements and reflects the voice and tone appropriate to each target audience.
• Sources, manages and directs student ambassadors, influencers and content creators to produce authentic, audience-resonant content particularly suited to youth-facing platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

SEO & Organic Digital Performance

• Develops and implements an SEO strategy that improves the organic search visibility, traffic and rankings of the institution's websites and digital assets.
• Conducts regular keyword research, technical SEO audits and on-page optimisation activities, working with web and content teams to implement improvements.
• Manages and optimises the institution's YouTube channel as an organic search and brand-building asset, ensuring all video content is fully optimised for discoverability.
• Monitors organic search performance using tools such as Google Search Console and SEMrush, reporting on key metrics and translating insights into prioritised optimisation actions.
• Keeps abreast of Google algorithm updates and SEO best practice, ensuring the institution's digital content and website structure remains compliant and competitive.

Brand Building & Audience Development

• Leads the development and execution of digital-first brand-building campaigns that strengthen brand awareness, desirability and consideration among prospective students across all relevant digital platforms.
• Develops deep audience intelligence on the institution's core target segments — with a particular focus on youth audiences — applying platform-level insights to inform content strategy, creative direction and media targeting.
• Builds and grows the institution's social media communities across all platforms, developing audience engagement strategies that drive follower growth, loyalty and advocacy.
• Ensures that the institution's brand voice, tone and visual identity are applied consistently and compellingly across all social and digital channels and all institutional brands.
• Works with the Brand and Marketing Manager to ensure that social and digital brand-building activities are integrated with and amplify the institution's broader brand strategy and annual brand plan.

Community Management & Audience Engagement

• Manages the institutional social media community, ensuring that all comments, direct messages, mentions and reviews are responded to promptly, professionally and in accordance with the institution's community management guidelines.
• Monitors social media channels for brand mentions, sentiment shifts, reputational risks and emerging issues, escalating matters to the Head of Marketing timeously and managing online responses appropriately.
• Develops and maintains the institution's social media community management guidelines and response frameworks, ensuring consistency and brand alignment across all platforms.
• Drives active online community engagement by implementing initiatives that encourage user-generated content, social sharing, student participation and brand advocacy.

Analysis, Reporting & Optimisation

• Establishes and monitors KPIs for all social media and digital marketing activities, producing regular performance dashboards and reports for the Head of Marketing.
• Analyses platform analytics, paid media data and website traffic to extract insights, identify performance trends and surface opportunities for optimisation across all channels. Monitors performance using tools such as Sprout social.
• Translates data insights into clear, actionable optimisation recommendations and implements changes across social and digital channels in a structured and measurable way.
• Conducts quarterly reviews of social and digital strategy performance, presenting findings and updated recommendations to the Head of Marketing.

Agency & Budget Management

• Manages the day-to-day relationship with external social media and digital agencies, ensuring all briefs, deliverables, timelines and performance targets are clearly defined and consistently met.
• Develops and manages the annual social media and digital marketing budget, monitoring monthly expenditure against approved allocations and reporting variances to the Head of Marketing.
• Evaluates agency and supplier performance on an ongoing basis, providing structured feedback and making recommendations to the Head of Marketing regarding agency partnerships.
• Ensures all paid digital activity and agency procurement adheres to institutional financial governance policies and approved procurement processes.

Competencies required:

• Social Media & Platform Expertise
• Paid Digital Media Management
• Content Strategy & Creative Direction
• SEO & Organic Digital
• Advanced Communication
• Analytical Thinking
• Creativity
• Customer Focused
• Pro-active

Minimum Qualification:

• Minimum of a Diploma / Bachelors Degree (NQF Level 7) in Marketing / Digital Marketing.
  

Minimum Work Experience Requirement:

• 8-10 years Online Marketing Management experience

Salary:

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience. 
  

Benefits:

• Lifelong learning opportunities through LinkedIn Learning subscriptions.
• Staff and family discounts on educational programs within our brand portfolio.
• Incentive bonus structure based on performance and achievement of goals.
• Provident fund contributions, including Death & Funeral Cover, to support your financial well-being and future planning.
• Birthday vouchers to celebrate your special day.
• Competitive annual leave allowance for well-deserved time off and rejuvenation.

Application Response:

• Due to the high volume of CVs received, please note that personal contact with all applicants may not be feasible. Only candidates whose qualifications and skills closely align with the position requirements will be contacted for interviews.

Technical Support:

• Should you experience technical difficulties applying for the position, kindly use the following URL for further assistance : https://hire.simplify.hr/ContactUs

Emeris is an Equal Opportunity Employer. However, preference may be given to previously underrepresented groups in accordance with the South African Employment Equity Act. The company reserves the right to close or place the vacancy on hold at any time, without prior notice.