Position Details
External Relations
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £27,546 to £29,171, with potential progression once in post to £32,595
Grade: 4
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to July 2027
Closing date: 25th August 2026
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham
Background
The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.
Department overview
External Relations is comprised of nine teams which help drive delivery of the University’s strategic framework. External Relations communicates with Birmingham’s many different audiences in order to build purposeful relationships internally, locally, nationally, and globally. We enable those who wish to apply to study on undergraduate and postgraduate courses to make informed choices whilst ensuring our partnerships, profile and reputation reflects the success of the University and delivers impact. External Relations sits within the University’s Professional Services structure which provides outstanding support to our researchers, enables an exceptional educational experience for our students, and helps the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally.
External Relations drives forward crucial strategic developments to maximise competitive advantage for the University and support flagship institutional projects.
External Relations plays an important role in the University’s research ambition, working closely with academic colleagues to support research grant bids, help ensure political and public engagement, and assist in REF and impact development. To support international reputation and research impact, we also develop strategic partnerships in key priority regions, utilising our offices in China and India to further broaden international engagement.
The Student Recruitment and Outreach Office forms part of External Relations and our responsibilities cover a wide range of functions relating to widening participation and access, admissions, student recruitment, international strategy and overseas links and collaboration of many kinds. This includes delivering the commitment of the University to widening participation in Higher Education, to ensure that able students from under–represented groups are encouraged to access a university education.
An important part of the ethos of our Office is that staff work co-operatively across all sections to provide an effective, efficient and friendly service to the University, its staff, students, applicants and all those with whom we come into contact.
This post will work between Aimhigher’s central coordination hub based in the University of Birmingham and the delivery team based at University of Worcester as part of the OfS funded Uni Connect Programme. The Aimhigher Assistant Outreach Officer will provide and deliver vital in-school outreach activity including, but not limited to, assemblies, masterclasses, mentoring, workshops, campus visits and talks to partner schools across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. They will also be required tosupport the running of the partnership’s Oracy programme and ad-hoc delivery of activities across the wider partnership in and around Birmingham. It is therefore vital candidates are willing to travel between Birmingham, Worcester and surrounding areas, and are confident and enjoy working with the young people the programme supports (school learners from years 7 to 13).
Main Duties
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) or a relevant Level 3 or 4 qualification.
Knowledge and understanding of UK education system.
Awareness of widening participation activity and the role of outreach programmes in supporting access to higher education.
Experience of working within the HE/education sector.
Experience of working with young people.
Experience of supporting the organisation and delivery of events or educational activities.
Excellent interpersonal skills whether dealing with students, academic staff, external organisations or other members of the office team.
Excellent communication skills (oral and written), including the ability to present engagingly, answer questions and maintain a professional demeanour.
Ability to build relationships at all levels.
Ability to work as part of a team but also without direction.
The ability to empathise with young people and prospective students.
Proven IT skills (Microsoft Office) including use of databases.
Ability to prioritise workload and manage time effectively.
Flexibility, tact and diplomacy.
Attention to detail and ability to work under pressure.
Willing to travel around the region for work.
A full, current, clean driving licence to drive hire vehicles and be willing to drive for work.
Awareness of Child Protection issues. Prepared to undergo enhanced DBS check.
Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to analyse information and data.
Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace. Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures relating to equality and diversity.
DBS required
The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
Informal enquiries to Eve McGlynn, email: e.l.mcglynn@bham.ac.uk
View our staff values and behaviours here
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website
