Hays has identified a major opportunity for marketers in Australia.
The recruitment company says there's a gradual shift away from traditional brand marketing to data-driven, highly analytical roles.
This, says Hays in its Jobs Report covering January to June 2020, has left a skills gap at mid-level roles.
The report identifies the roles in demand including social media and SEO digital marketing specialists, digital content managers, communications managers, marketing insights analysts and public relations specialists.
In agencies, employers are looking for "extremely skilled and high-performing" people who can work in a full-service business.
Hays says it has found, talking to employers, that organisations see marketing as representing the voice of their customers or consumers.
"For marketers, fulfilling this function can be achieved credibly by reinforcing intuitive expertise with data," says Hays.
"Consequently, we’re seeing an increasing demand for marketing professionals in all roles and at all levels who use data to make evidence-based decisions."
Employers wants marketers who can identify which insights are relevant and then use them to inform decisions.
And executive-level marketing professionals must be able to present data to senior stakeholders who do not come from a marketing background.
"They must do this in an operational tone that is aligned with the context of the wider business," says Hays.
"As a result, employers look for commercially-minded marketing executives who can clearly present the relevancy of data to all other verticals using the language of business."
Hays says employers expect generalists to possess integrated digital skills to lead and execute marketing strategy.
"However, today’s mid-level candidates began their career in more siloed roles and are therefore required to quickly upskill to remain relevant," says the Hays Job Report.
"Entry-level marketers are typically more digitally savvy and are often required to manage up when it comes to new tools and platforms.
"Consequently, many employers prefer to recruit a less experienced manager who has advanced digital skills in order to drive the online and offline presence.
"They also prefer to commit to more in-house resources rather than outsourcing to specialised agencies."
Within the agency market, full service offerings are more common with consolidation in the advertising industry.
In the past a company would engage separate advertising, creative, digital and PR, but today most agencies either offer a fully integrated service or work in unison to offer a one-stop shop.
"Naturally then, agencies require extremely skilled and high-performing employees who can work beyond their capacity," says Hays.
"However, agency turnover is high while the supply of suitable candidates is low."
In a final trend, job seekers view temporary assignments as an attractive method to upskill and experience new industries or organisations.
"In a market that is extremely fast-paced, competitive and job-rich, where candidates are aware of the demand for their skills, many professionals prefer to trial an organisation by working in a temporary assignment before they commit to a permanent role," says Hays.
"For their part, employers are using temporary assignments to test new roles or trial a new structure before committing to new permanent headcount."
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