Location: Great Central Railway, Loughborough
Hours: 30–37.5 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends
Reports to: Head of Marketing & Communications
About the Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway is one of the UK’s leading heritage attractions and the world’s only double-track heritage railway. Operating heritage train services, special events, dining experiences and educational activities, the railway welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year while preserving an important part of Britain’s railway heritage.
What We’re Looking For
We are seeking a creative, organised and proactive Marketing Executive to help grow audiences, increase visitor numbers and support income generation across the railway.
This is a varied and hands-on role, combining digital marketing, content creation, campaign delivery, website development, ticketing administration, audience engagement and creative design. The successful candidate will work across multiple channels to promote the railway’s experiences, events and charitable objectives while helping develop new products and initiatives.
We’re looking for someone who combines creativity with attention to detail, enjoys finding solutions to challenges and is passionate about creating engaging content that delivers results. You’ll be comfortable working across multiple projects, happy to get stuck in at events with a camera in hand, and capable of turning ideas into campaigns that encourage people to visit, support and engage with the Great Central Railway.
Key Responsibilities
Marketing Campaigns
- Support the planning and delivery of effective marketing campaigns that promote the railway, its events, experiences, retail activities and fundraising initiatives.
- Create engaging marketing content that reflects the Great Central Railway brand and values.
- Contribute ideas for new campaigns, products, visitor experiences and audience engagement initiatives.
- Support the implementation of the annual marketing calendar.
- Evaluate campaign performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Website Development & Digital Presence
- Work on the ongoing development and maintenance of the Great Central Railway website using WordPress.
- Ensure website content remains accurate, current and optimised for search engines.
- Support the creation and publication of new website content in collaboration with colleagues across the railway.
- Identify opportunities to improve user experience, engagement and online conversions.
Social Media & Content Creation
- Work on the delivery of the railway’s social media activity across multiple platforms.
- Attend key events, galas and special occasions to capture photography and video content.
- Produce live social media coverage during events where appropriate.
- Create engaging content tailored to specific audiences and channels.
- Support the planning, delivery and evaluation of paid social media campaigns.
- Monitor engagement, audience growth and channel performance.
Email Marketing & CRM
- Work on the delivery of email marketing campaigns using Mailchimp.
- Create compelling email content that drives engagement, ticket sales and visitor retention.
- Maintain audience databases and support customer segmentation to ensure communications are targeted and relevant.
- Monitor campaign performance and identify opportunities to improve open rates, click-through rates and conversions.
- Support the development of customer retention and repeat visitation campaigns through effective database marketing.
Creative Design
- Create marketing materials for both digital and print channels, including social media graphics, digital advertisements, email campaigns, posters, leaflets and promotional literature.
- Ensure all creative output is on-brand, accurate and produced to a high standard.
- Support the development of campaign assets using Adobe Creative Suite and Canva.
Ticketing & Commercial Support
- Work on the administration of the railway’s online ticketing system.
- Create and maintain event listings.
- Prepare events, experiences and products for sale online, ensuring information is accurate and up to date.
- Support promotional activity designed to increase ticket sales and visitor engagement.
Community Building & New Initiatives
- Work on the development and growth of the Great Central Railway Patreon community.
- Contribute to supporter engagement initiatives and communications.
- Support the development of new content initiatives including podcasts, video projects and emerging digital platforms.
- Assist with the marketing and launch of new products, experiences and events.
Analytics & Reporting
- Monitor and report on the effectiveness of marketing activity.
- Use analytics, audience insights and customer feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Contribute to regular campaign reporting and performance reviews.
Collaborative Working
- Work closely with colleagues across the railway, including operations, stations, events, commercial, fundraising and finance teams.
- Support marketing volunteers and contribute to a positive and collaborative team culture.
- Maintain excellent working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Essential Criteria
Experience
- Proven experience creating, delivering and evaluating marketing campaigns that achieve measurable outcomes.
- Experience managing websites using WordPress.
- Experience managing social media platforms and creating content for different audiences.
- Experience creating, delivering and evaluating paid social media campaigns across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Experience using website, social media and campaign analytics to inform decision making.
- Experience producing digital marketing assets for campaigns and communications.
- Experience creating, delivering and evaluating email marketing campaigns using platforms such as Mailchimp.
- Experience maintaining and segmenting customer databases to deliver targeted marketing communications.
- Understanding of GDPR and best practice in email marketing and customer data management.
Skills & Knowledge
- Excellent standard of written English.
- Strong copywriting skills with the ability to create engaging content for different audiences.
- Understanding of SEO principles and website best practice.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Photoshop and InDesign, together with Canva.
- Experience creating digital content including photography, graphics and video.
- Proficient user of Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
- Experience using email marketing platforms, particularly Mailchimp or similar systems.
- Understanding of audience segmentation and customer journey marketing.
- Ability to analyse email marketing performance and use insights to improve engagement and conversion rates.
- Strong organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Excellent attention to detail and commitment to high standards.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Creative thinker with a solution-focused approach.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends as required.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience working within a visitor attraction, tourism, leisure, heritage or hospitality environment.
- Experience supporting the launch and promotion of new products, events, experiences or visitor offers.
- Experience delivering successful campaigns that drive visitor numbers, ticket sales and audience growth.
- Understanding of visitor attraction marketing and customer behaviour.
- Experience managing multi-channel paid advertising campaigns, including PPC and display advertising.
- Experience using Meta Business Suite, Google Ads and associated analytics platforms.
- Experience working with local, regional or national media to generate positive coverage.
- Experience working alongside volunteers and diverse stakeholder groups.
- Digital Marketing qualification.
- Interest in heritage railways and an appreciation of the role they play in preserving Britain’s transport and industrial history.
If you’re interested please email recruitment@gcrailway.co.uk with your CV.
