Growth Manager

The role: UCT Vocational College launches its first student intake in July 2027, offering occupational qualifications designed to build job-relevant skills and create pathways to employment. We are looking for a Growth Manager to build the growth engine that attracts and converts students to it. This is a role for a builder. There is no existing funnel to inherit, no channel benchmarks and no conversion baselines – you will create them. You will own how prospective students discover UCT Vocational College, how they move from interest to application, and how many of them are enrolled and paying when the doors open. You will have support: dedicated data, technology and sales resources, external paid media help, and a marketing team around you. We are also honest that a new institution means a good deal is still being worked out. As an early member of the Vocational College team, you will help shape how its growth and sales function operates, within the commercial priorities, budget and brand parameters agreed with the COO and relevant functional leaders. Key responsibilities for this role include: Demand generation Own paid and organic acquisition across search, social and SEO Manage the vocational marketing budget and channel mix, and be accountable for its return on investment Develop creative and messaging briefs in partnership with our marketing and creative teams, and keep a continuous testing programme running Establish the cost and conversion benchmarks we do not yet have Paid media Set direction for paid media, with day-to-day execution delivered through our digital consultant and delivery partners Own the cost-per-conversion and cost-per-enrolled-student numbers Ensure paid-media campaigns are properly tracked and optimised towards enrolled students rather than raw lead volume Funnel and conversion Own performance across the full funnel, from first click through to enquiry, application and enrolment Work with our technology team on the website and application