Mar Balboa Carbón

Communications professional with 10+ years in higher education communications and digital marketing, now focused on EdTech. Experienced in planning and executing multi-channel campaigns, building cross-functional alignment, and translating institutional needs into marketing priorities. Bringing first-hand knowledge of the education sector from both sides, as a communications leader and as a researcher, and genuine insight into how schools, educators, and learners engage with technology.

Currently delivering Spanish-language digital marketing content for a LATAM-focused EdTech provider. Bilingual ES/EN (C2), MSc Digital Marketing (UOC, 2026), and HubSpot certified.

Digital Marketing Curriculum Designer (Freelance) at CITRAD (2026-04 – Present)

• Designing Spanish-language curriculum and multimedia content for two professional online courses in Digital Marketing and Digital Accessibility, tailored to the needs of LATAM learners
• Working closely with CITRAD colleagues to align course content with local market context, learner expectations, and regional educational frameworks

Digital Communications Manager at University of Sussex (2021-08 – 2025-02)

Part of a dedicated student communications team at a major UK university, contributing to the co-design and implementation of the student communications strategy. Specialised in strategy and channels, with sole responsibility for the institution's primary student-facing communication channel and its highest-stakes feedback campaigns, working directly with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, Head of Student Experience, Heads of Schools, and Vice-Chancellor.

• Contributed to building and maintaining the team's annual campaign roadmap across email, social media, web, and events channels, coordinating with Student Experience, academic Schools, and senior stakeholders
• Solely responsible for the annual NSS campaign end-to-end (strategy, multi-channel content, stakeholder briefing, and reporting), achieving 74% participation (+6 pts YoY, above the 72.3% national benchmark)
• Solely responsible for the weekly newsletter to 20,000 students (MailChimp, later NewZapp), achieving 68% average open rate; the transition to NewZapp established reliable campaign analytics for the first time
• Co-managed four successive cohorts of 5-10 student peer content creators alongside teammates (selection, onboarding, briefing, quality control), with Instagram engagement up 40% across the programme
• Led knowledge-sharing sessions and coordinated comms staff across four STEM Schools without direct authority, standardising output quality and driving alignment ahead of a major organisational restructure
• Reported channel and campaign performance (email, social, web analytics) monthly to senior leadership, translating data into clear priorities and recommendations

Communications Officer at University of Sussex, School of Psychology (2018-07 – 2021-08)

• Ran a full website migration (competitor analysis, keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, content rewriting, navigation restructuring), resulting in a 15% increase in international visits within 3 months
• Built the School's first data-driven email newsletter operation (MailChimp, 70% open rate) and a multi-platform social media strategy (adding Instagram and LinkedIn alongside X/Twitter), growing overall reach by 50%
• Ran the School's blog as editor-in-chief (strategy, editorial calendar, commissioning, editing, original content), growing it to 136 posts and a ranking among the UK's top psychology blogs (Psyreg, 2021)
• Managed the School's Canvas LMS staff hub, developing digital content for an institution-wide platform used daily by academic and administrative staff

Events & Communications Coordinator at University of Sussex, School of Psychology (2014-07 – 2018-07)

• Launched the School's blog and social media presence from scratch; grew X/Twitter from 600 to 3,000 followers (400%) through a consistent content and publication strategy
• Delivered 10+ Open Days and Applicant Visit Days annually (200–400 attendees each, 97% satisfaction rate); recruited, trained, and supervised 5–10 event staff per event

MSc in Digital Marketing – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) (2024 – 2026)

Professional Certification in Digital Marketing – BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT (2019 – 2021)

PhD in Linguistics – Universidad Complutense de Madrid

BA in Linguistics – Universidad de León

BA in English – Universidad de Salamanca