Resident Marketing Executive

A Resident Marketing Executive handles the marketing for a residential property scheme or portfolio - typically student accommodation (PBSA), build-to-rent apartments, co-living or retirement living - with the goal of filling rooms and keeping existing residents happy enough to renew. The job mixes lettings-driven marketing (campaigns, listings, open days, social media) with running the events and communications programme for people already living in the building. You usually work for an operator, developer or managing agent, either based at a single site or covering several across a region.

Starting salary: £24k–£30k
Live graduate jobs: Search all jobs
Main way in: Direct entry from an advertised graduate or junior marketing…
They usually ask for: A degree is usually expected but the subject often does not…

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around £24,000–£30,000 to start, though this varies widely by employer, location and whether the role is single-site or regional. London and multi-site roles tend to sit at the upper end, and some roles add a bonus or commission linked to occupancy targets.

What you'd actually do

Planning and posting social media content for the building or portfolio - room tours, resident takeovers, event promos, 'last few rooms' pushes - and replying to comments and DMs from prospective tenants
Running or supporting resident events: a pizza night at the start of term, a wellbeing week, a Christmas giveaway - including booking suppliers, making posters, setting up on the day and photographing it for content
Updating listings and property pages on booking platforms and listing portals, checking pricing and availability are accurate, and writing or refreshing room descriptions
Tracking enquiries and conversions in the CRM (customer relationship management system - the database of leads and residents), chasing up unanswered enquiries and reporting on where bookings are coming from

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Producing on-site and digital marketing material - email campaigns to current residents about re-booking, signage, window vinyls, welcome packs - often using templates within brand guidelines
Working with the lettings or operations team on occupancy targets: looking at how many rooms are left, which room types are slow, and adjusting the campaign or suggesting an incentive
Local partnership and outreach work - university accommodation offices, students' unions, local gyms or cafes, housing fairs and open days

How graduates get in

Direct entry from an advertised graduate or junior marketing role with a residential operator, student accommodation provider or build-to-rent landlord - this is the most common route, and these jobs are often advertised as 'marketing executive' or 'marketing and community executive'
Internal move from a front-of-house or lettings role - working as a resident assistant, customer service assistant or lettings negotiator and then shifting into the marketing side. Very common in student accommodation, where many operators recruit resident ambassadors from among their own tenants
A placement year or summer internship with a property operator, managing agent or property marketing agency, converting into a graduate offer
Sideways entry from general marketing - starting at a marketing agency, retail or hospitality brand and moving into property. Employers care more about campaign experience than sector background at this level

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Graduate schemes at larger property management or real estate services firms, where marketing is one rotation or one business stream. Less common than direct entry, because most residential marketing teams are small
Apprenticeship routes (multi-channel marketer, or property-sector apprenticeships) exist and are a genuine alternative to a degree, though this guide is aimed at graduates

What employers ask for

A degree is usually expected but the subject often does not matter much. Marketing, business, communications, events management and English are common; so are completely unrelated subjects where the candidate has demonstrable campaign or social media experience
Evidence you have actually marketed something - a society's events, a student media account, a side project, a placement. For junior property marketing roles this usually counts for more than grades
Grade requirements are generally looser than in finance or law. Many employers ask for a 2:2 or simply 'degree or equivalent'; some ask for a 2:1. Very few filter on A-level points
Comfort with the standard tool set: scheduling platforms, a CRM, basic email marketing software, and simple design work in Canva or Adobe tools. Full design skills are a bonus rather than a requirement

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Professional qualifications are optional and usually come later - CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) qualifications are the most recognised, and some property-side staff take ARLA Propertymark qualifications if their role touches lettings
A driving licence and flexibility on hours are often asked for, particularly in multi-site roles and in student accommodation where evening events and weekend move-in days are part of the job

Skills that matter

Content creation on a phone, fast

Most of what goes out is short-form video and photos shot in the building that week, so being able to film, edit and caption something usable in an hour matters more than polished agency-standard production.

Reading occupancy and enquiry data

You need to look at how many beds are unsold, which room types are lagging and which channels are producing enquiries, then change the campaign accordingly - marketing here is judged against a hard occupancy number.

Event organisation under real constraints

Resident events happen on a small budget in a shared lounge with a fixed date, so you need to be practical about suppliers, risk, numbers and clearing up afterwards.

Copywriting for a specific audience

You will write the same offer for 18-year-olds choosing their first flat, for parents paying for it and sometimes for international students reading English as a second language - the tone has to shift.

Handling people face to face

You are not behind a screen: you give viewings, run stalls at freshers' fairs and deal with residents who want to tell you about their broken shower while you are setting up a bake-off.

Working within brand guidelines you did not write

Most operators have a central brand team, so the skill is producing local content that still looks on-brand and getting sign-off without endless rounds.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Resident Marketing Executive or Marketing and Community Executive at a single site, usually reporting to a general manager on site and a central marketing manager
Senior Marketing Executive or multi-site / regional marketing role, covering a cluster of buildings and taking more ownership of campaign budgets and lease-up (the push to fill a brand new building before it opens)
Marketing Manager or Brand Manager at portfolio level, managing a small team, agency relationships and the annual campaign calendar. Timeframes vary widely - some reach this in a few years, others take considerably longer depending on how fast the operator is growing
Head of Marketing or Head of Customer Experience for an operator, or a specialist route into digital, CRM or performance marketing
Sideways routes are common and worth knowing about: into operations and general management of a building, into lettings and revenue management (pricing rooms), or into property marketing agencies and consultancies serving multiple operators

What people get wrong

“It is a desk-based marketing job that happens to be in property.”

A large part of it is physically on site - running events, giving viewings, putting up signage, being present on move-in weekends. If you want a purely strategic or office-based marketing role, this is not it.

“The word 'resident' means you live on site.”

In most cases it means you market to residents and work at a residential site, not that accommodation is included. Live-in packages do exist in some student accommodation and co-living roles, but you should check the advert rather than assume either way.

“Success is measured in likes, reach and engagement.”

It is almost always measured in occupancy and renewals - how full the building is and how many residents re-book. A campaign with great engagement and no bookings is a failed campaign, and you will be asked about the funnel from enquiry to signed tenancy.

“Student accommodation marketing is a year-round steady job.”

It is intensely seasonal. The booking cycle, clearing, move-in and re-booking periods create peaks where you work long and unsociable hours, followed by quieter planning stretches. Build-to-rent and retirement living are steadier but have their own lease-up spikes when a new building opens.

Where this varies

The job differs a lot by sub-sector. In purpose-built student accommodation it is heavily seasonal, social-media-led and event-heavy, with a young audience and a hard annual booking deadline. In build-to-rent it leans more towards brand, lifestyle positioning, interiors photography and partnerships, with a rolling rather than annual let cycle. In retirement and later-living schemes the audience is often the resident's adult children as much as the resident, and the marketing is more print, local press, open days and relationship-building with advisers. Structure varies too: at large operators you are a local executor of a central brand strategy with design and paid media handled by head office or an agency, while at a small operator you may be the entire marketing function and do everything yourself. Some roles are mostly marketing with a bit of community work; others are mostly community and events with marketing attached - read the advert carefully, as the same job title covers both.

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General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.