During Your Programme

These web pages aim to provide a handy access point for information that you will need during your Digital Community Manager apprenticeship programme.

On this page:

View Learner Handbook

Your Tutors & Coaches

Derek Lumb

Derek Lumb
Tutor

Email
Owen Twidale

Owen Twidale
Coach & Adviser

Email

Explaining the Roles

There are three key roles in the team which will support your apprenticeship. Some members of staff cover more than one of these.

Your tutor will lead you through your workshops or seminars and deliver a large proportion of the knowledge elements of your apprenticeship with you.

Your coach will meet with you each month to help develop and evidence your skills and behaviours within the workplace. Your line manager will attend part of this session. They will help you gather evidence to demonstrate your overall competency.

Your learner progress adviser will help provide additional support where needed and monitor your progress. You will meet with them, and your line manager, every three months.

We use OneFile as our e-portfolio system. This is where your assignments will be set, you will submit your work and you will log your off-the-job training.

Your regular reviews will be stored on here as will some resources for your course. You will complete a learning journal, be able to monitor your progress towards your Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours and refer to your workplace training plan.

Our training video covers all the key features of OneFile you need to know. Visit the Support and FAQs page if you have questions or issues.

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours

During your Digital Community Manager apprenticeship, you will learn to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and behaviours.

  • K1: Company brand, goals and commercial objectives in order to communicate effectively and appropriately with the wider community.

  • K2: Expert level of familiarity with their product and brand in order to promptly address concerns and enquiries that are often complex and non-routine.

  • K3: Social media platforms and their customer profiles, understanding that each platform caters for a different demographic of customer and that modifying communication to suit each platform can maximise the impact of the message.

  • K4: Key competitors, wider trends and ‘hot topics’ in the relevant industry outside of own brand.

  • K5: Internet forum software and content management systems.

  • K6: Principles of data analytics and how to report findings.

  • K7: Platform holder policies and best practice guidelines.

  • K8: Company policy and standards.

  • K9: Conflict management techniques and theories.

  • K10: Demographics and how this impacts on online behaviour and communication.

  • K11: Neuro linguistic programming theory and practice

  • K12: Understanding of best practice of community management in the relevant industry.

  • K13: Working safely online and understanding that interactions with the online community are on the behalf of the organisation and not personal

  • K14: Theory and practice of digital marketing, its role in overall communication strategy and how best to communicate a brand or product value

  • K15: Cyber security, how to spot potential threats and protect data and systems as per company guidelines and current data protection regulations

  • K16: Online security procedures as per company guidelines

  • K17: Basic understanding of how to identify and deal with any malicious or criminal activity as per company and legal guidelines

  • S1: Actively moderate community forums, steering and encouraging debate and conversation in line with overall communication strategy and business objectives.

  • S2: Communicate clearly, in writing, adapting the message in order to address the particular audience appropriately.

  • S3: Work autonomously as online interaction and communication is fast moving and response to the community often needs to be delivered promptly.

  • S4: Create and contribute to creation of assets for publication online including written, visual, audio or video to engage community.

  • S5: Listen, assess, engage and react appropriately to an online situation or requests from the online community.

  • S6: Use custom and internal forum software and Content Management System to manage and schedule posts and content delivery.

  • S7: Craft the tone of communications to appeal to the different audiences on different digital platforms, in keeping with company brand and message.

  • S8: Ability to deliver the organisations message and goals to the community in a manner appropriate to the community and forum

  • S9: Analyse, interpret and evaluate the information and ideas that are raised by the online community.

  • S10: Deliver what the community may regard as unwelcome information about a product, such as a game release, in a positive manner, protecting brand reputation

  • S11: Deliver effective written communication when messaging the online community via forums and online media channels.

  • S12: Use data analytics created by software packages and community tools dashboards to create reports for internal use

  • S13: Identify and moderate users who violate the forum or company policy, intervening to change behaviour or issuing warnings, suspensions and bans as appropriate.

  • S14: Ability to manage conflict positively.

  • S15: Analyse and evaluate the information created by data analytics to review the effectiveness of their actions

  • B1: Proactively stimulate and drive customer interaction with their brand.

  • B2: Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.

  • B3: Self-motivated and comfortable working autonomously with good self judgement in a fast paced, challenging environment.

  • B4: Interest in current trends and innovations in the relevant industry

  • B5: Reliable with a high degree of professionalism

  • B6: Maintain a positive and friendly manner.

Off-the-Job Training

You will need to dedicate around 20% of your working hours to your learning and development, which equates to around one day a week.

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How Can I Evidence My Learning?

Your coach and tutor will work with you to best gather evidence of your training. This can take various forms.

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Functional Skills

Apprentices aged 16-18 at the start of the apprenticeship need a level 2 qualifications in both English and maths to complete the course. If you can provide evidence of GCSEs at A*-C or 4-9 (or equivalent eligible qualifications) you will be exempt. Otherwise, you will need to complete a functional skills qualification. Apprentices aged 19 and over without level 2 English and/or maths can choose to study functional skills level 2.

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Helpful Tips, Tricks & Techniques

We’ve compiled resources to supercharge your apprenticeship journey. Delve into our “Helpful Tips, Tricks & Techniques” guide, covering everything from polished business documents to expert minute-taking. Level up your skills for ensure your success.

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Completing Your Apprenticeship

End Point Assessment (EPA) is the process at the end of your programme for you to demonstrate to a third party assessor that you have acquired the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard. This will only happen once yourself, your line manager and Skills Coach have agreed that you are ready.

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Safeguarding, Prevent, Welfare & British Values

Paula Wakelin
Paula WakelinSafeguarding & Prevent Officer
There is nothing more important than keeping you safe. If you or someone you know is at risk, click on the button to raise your concerns.

We are strongly committed to practices that protect you from the risk of abuse, neglect or significant harm. Our staff recognise and accept their responsibility to develop an awareness of the risks and issues involved in safeguarding. All staff and learners should have zero tolerance for abuse, bullying, neglect and violence.

Prevent is about safeguarding people and communities from the threat of terrorism. At the heart of Prevent is safeguarding children and adults and providing early intervention to protect and divert people away from being drawn into terrorist activity.

We provide expert support to help you on your apprenticeship journey. This includes mental health and neurodiversity, careers guidance and academic and financial challenges.

We want to help you achieve your full potential. We offer careers consultancy to ensure you have impartial and constructive information and guidance to help you decide and then to action your career decisions.

We aim to create an equal, diverse, inclusive and respectful culture. All of us contribute towards this culture through our actions and words. JGA aims to address any barriers to equality in our systems, policies and decision making as well as in our behaviour and ways of working.

The Fundamental British Values underpin what it is to be a citizen in a modern and diverse United Kingdom, valuing our community and celebrating diversity.

There is a code of conduct which applies to you and all learners on our programmes. This lays out the expectations for your behaviour whilst on the apprenticeship.