Position Details
External Relations
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,062 to £31,900, with potential progression once in post to £35,883
Grade: 5
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to July 2027
Closing date: 19th 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
External Relations is the division responsible for delivering the University of Birmingham to the world and prides itself in seizing opportunities that will enhance the profile and reputation of the University. We communicate with many different audiences in order to build purposeful relationships internally, locally, nationally and internationally. We enable those who wish to apply to study on undergraduate and postgraduate courses to make informed choices.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the University of Birmingham as it seeks to establish itself as a global top 50 institution. The Digital Marketing Assistant will be working in the Communications and Reputation team in External Relations and will support our efforts to build a strong digital presence across the world, showcasing the University’s reputation in learning and research.
The Digital Marketing Assistant will support the delivery of engaging, high-quality digital communications that enhance the University of Birmingham’s reputation as a Top 50 global institution. Working collaboratively with teams across the University, the role will contribute to the creation, management and optimisation of content across social media, web and digital channels. The post holder will support day-to-day social media activity, content development, SEO implementation and performance analysis, while monitoring engagement and responding to enquiries on core institutional channels. Acting as a Brand Ambassador, the Digital Marketing Assistant will ensure all content is creatively excellent, on-brand and inclusive, while supporting the wider Communications and Reputation team to deliver effective, insight-led digital communications.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
This role supports the digital marketing and communications for the University. You will proactively devise and deliver activities and provide support to the Communications and Reputation team. You will also provide advice and support to colleagues through a range of methods. In order to flexibly use resource, you may be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or across the University.
Research, plan and write engaging copy for a wide range of digital channels, including (but not limited to) social media, video and web content.
Work collaboratively with teams across the University to develop plan, coordinate and deliver effective social media content that reflects the University’s position as a Top 50 global institution.
Create high-impact, creative digital content that supports the University’s objectives and enhances engagement across social media platforms.
Monitor and respond to direct messages and comments received on the University’s core institutional social media channels, ensuring timely and appropriate engagement.
Undertake social listening across all channels to identify emerging issues, opportunities and trends, escalating concerns where appropriate.
Collate, analyse and interpret digital performance data and metrics, reviewing activity and making recommendations for improvement based on insights.
Support the development, delivery and ongoing promotion of the University’s Social Media Framework to the wider social media community.
Assist with the launch and delivery of social media training to relevant staff across the University.
Deal independently with a wide range of more complex enquiries and correspondence, using judgement to escalate or redirect matters to senior colleagues or other departments where necessary.
Monitor budgets where relevant, including processing payments, authorising expenditure and raising concerns where spending is not aligned with agreed budgets.
Act as a Brand Ambassador for the University of Birmingham, ensuring all content is creatively excellent and adheres to University brand guidelines.
Support the wider Communications and Reputation teams, contributing to a collaborative “one team” approach.
Support equality and value diversity, moderating own behaviour to ensure actions and decisions do not result in unfair or discriminatory impact or bias.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
Minimum of grade C/4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent.
Some experience in a Communications and/or Marketing role.
Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office and website editing software. The post holder should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
Proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively planning own (and sometimes others’ workloads) to manage time effectively, progress tasks concurrently and work to deadlines.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for different audiences, and to required deadlines.
Excellent interpersonal skills. The post holder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times.
A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.
A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach.
Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
Informal enquiries to Claire Doggett, email: c.j.doggett@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 everyone on our website
