Job Description

Position Details

External Relations

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 21st June 2026

UK and International travel may be required for this role

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

Department Overview

This role is based in the International Team within External Relations, which directly contributes to the delivery of the University’s International Strategy. The International Team comprises international partnerships and international student recruitment and is led by the Deputy Director of External Relations. International partnerships are integral in delivering our global research and education and Global Top 50 reputation priorities.

The role will contribute to the delivery of the University’s International Strategy through supporting the development of international partnerships and collaborative opportunities for the University. Working with academics and professional services colleagues across the University, the post holder will be responsible for building trusted, collaborative relationships that support the development of sustainable and mutually beneficial international partnerships and strategic opportunities.

The role will require the post holder to act as a trusted partner to Colleges and senior stakeholders across the institution, providing informed advice, regional insight and strategic support to advance the University’s international ambitions.

Whilst primary responsibility for a region, or regions, will be defined for the post holder the role is not limited to any specific geographical region. The post holder may therefore be required to develop a detailed understanding of the political, economic, policy and legal environment of countries in which the University operates. This includes producing and contributing to policy, market and regional briefing materials to support institutional decision-making and senior engagement activity.

The post holder will also lead a range of partnership engagement activities and events, including symposia, round tables, receptions, institutional visits and delegations.

The post holder may be required to undertake occasional overseas travel, including weekends and public holidays. The post holder must be able to operate effectively and autonomously under these circumstances.

Main Duties

• Contribute to the University’s International Strategy by evaluating research, reputation and education opportunities and progressing initiatives for partnership development (both in the UK and overseas) that will enhance the University’s global reputation and profile and realise strategic objectives. This may include the management and promotion of internal pump-priming funding, visiting fellow schemes or directly supporting a regionally-focused (virtual) institute, which acts as a community of practice across the University.
• Develop a detailed understanding of the opportunities, policy landscape and initiatives that support mutually beneficial collaboration in defined regions, in order to be able to advise academic colleagues in Colleges and other professional service divisions and operationalise our International Strategy.
  • Work collaboratively with internal and external colleagues to identify potential funding streams.
  • Disseminate information and provide advice and guidance on best practice in partnership development.
  • Organise and lead workshops, seminars and training sessions to enhance knowledge and understanding of partnership development with prioritised institutions.
• Provide advice and guidance to Colleges on the development of new and existing schemes that promote the development of sustainable partnerships. This could involve education, research and reputating building activity. This will involve:
  • Establishing, developing and maintaining trusted professional relationships and networks across the University to enable a detailed understanding of how College priorities and international ambitions align with the University’s International Strategy.
  • Develop and deliver an effective communications plan for areas of responsibility, sharing information effectively online and through direct communications both internally and externally.
  • Evaluating external data sources to identify and respond to potential partnership opportunities that align with the International Strategy, disseminating this information as appropriate.
  • In consultation with the relevant Head of Global Partnerships, provide detailed market, policy and regional background information, briefing materials and assessments of opportunities.
  • Assessing proposals for international engagement and approaches from potential partners, and providing market intelligence to aid decision making on new initiatives.
• Manage programmes of incoming overseas delegations, partnership engagement events and other activities involving partnerships, including symposia, round tables, receptions and senior stakeholder visits.
• Organise and undertake overseas travel in support of partnership development, usually accompanying academic colleagues. This may include:
  • Organisation and and management of outgoing and incoming academic and institutional delegations and visits, ensuring the programme will maximise outcomes and opportunities for collaboration.
  • Organising, leading and participating in international conferences, seminars, receptions, round tables and other strategic engagement events.
  • Leading discussions with academic departments and professional services to realise partnership objectives through the engagement.
  • Ensuring actions are followed up and any agreed, prioritised opportunities are taken forward.
  • Preparing costings and managing designated budgets.
• Provide high level project management support for defined projects and initiatives, which may include research and education partnerships (such as direct entry or articulation arrangements).
• Act as the principal contact point for identified partners, collaborating academics and professional services colleagues engaged in the development of joint initiatives.
• Manage defined budgets effectively; prepaing and submitting budgets for consideration, undertaking accurate forecasting, reconciliation and reporting as required.
• Ensure that priorities are balanced, taking action to deliver agreed deliverables against timelines.
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff.
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures.
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent plus practical managerial experience or significant relevant experience demonstrated through increasingly more demanding roles evidencing the experience necessary for this role.
• Knowledge of the international higher education sector and current opportunities and challenges.
• Experience of planning, coordinating and delivering high-quality stakeholder engagement events, including conferences, symposia, delegations, receptions or similar activities.
• Ability to produce high-quality policy, market and regional briefing materials to support strategic decision-making and senior stakeholder engagement.
• Experience of working collaboratively with academic Colleges and/or complex stakeholder environments.
• Working knowledge of partnership development and evidenced ability to formulate operational plans that deliver on strategic objectives.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data.
• Excellent people-management skills.
• Excellent budgetary management skills and experience.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office and website editing software. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• Excellent interpersonal, intercultural, communication, relationship building and influencing skills with the ability to deal confidently with a range of internal and external stakeholders/contacts and build effective and trust-based relations.
• Excellent organisational, project management, problem solving and multi-tasking skills with a methodical approach to work and the ability to prioritise workloads in order to meet deadlines.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

Informal enquiries to Wenwei Wu, email: w.wu@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