Job Description

Position Details

Legal Services

Location: 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, Permanent

Closing date: 21st June 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 £890m turnover charity. We are one of the most ambitious higher education institutions in the UK, and are determined to be placed in the global top 50 universities. With more than 8,500 staff, 38,000 students and 350,000 alumni across the globe, we think, recruit, and compete worldwide. We are a proud member of the prestigious Russell Group, which consists of the UK’s foremost research-intensive universities.

Our heritage as the original ‘redbrick’ University is combined with one of the most compelling and ambitious agendas in higher education. The University has been transformed in recent years, characterised by major investments in academic staffing, investment of £1 billion in campus facilities, strong and improving outcomes for our students, and annual growth in research performance.

About Legal Services

Legal Services is one of the University’s Professional Service departments, led by the Registrar and Secretary. We are a part of the University’s Executive Division, which is led by the Chief of Staff, and brings together the teams which support policy, planning, data analysis, governance, legal advice, and change management.

Our in-house solicitors’ office provides high quality legal advice to both Academic and Professional Services departments on a complete range of the University’s activities. These include international projects, ground-breaking research, supporting an excellent experience for our students, the commercial arrangements which frame those activities, and a whole host of community, alumni, and sector-based initiatives underpinning the University’s strategic aims.

Recent projects in which Legal Services have been involved include the creation of the UK’s only University Training Secondary School, the construction and establishment of the University’s Dubai campus, the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, and the University’s involvement in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and World Blind Games 2023.

Legal Services also incorporates the University’s Data Protection and Freedom of Information Team, of which the successful applicant will be a member.

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic individual to join our well-established and highly regarded team, and welcome applications from individuals with, and without, legal qualifications.

The role primarily supports the compliance work of Legal Services in the areas of freedom of information, data protection, freedom of speech and records management, and includes some administration. In particular, the successful applicant will be responsible for:

• ensuring consistently high levels of compliance of GDPR (including SAR), FOIA, and other relevant legislation relevant to personal and institutional data;
• advising on the application of GDPR (including SAR), FOIA and other relevant legislation in a higher education context;
• embedding and continuously improving GDPR and FOIA compliance across the institution including for example, the University’s ROPA, DAR, Data Retention Policy, and supporting on related statutory and regulatory requirements such as freedom of speech;
• working with Professional Services and Academic departments to provide expertise in the management of the University’s records, to ensure that the University’s data, records and information are appropriately managed, stored, accessible and retrievable, drafting and developing frameworks, policies, and procedures where necessary;
• developing and supporting regular training and knowledge dissemination in relation to good practice on data protection and records management.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the right individual to enjoy an interesting workload and gain exposure to a wide range of issues across the University and in the sector. There is also the opportunity for the right candidate to gain exposure and experience in more complex and varied work appropriate to their skills, and to take on additional responsibilities as appropriate.

The terms of employment are generous; with 40 days’ holiday each year (including Bank Holidays and University closed days), reduced membership fees for the University’s Sport & Fitness Centre on campus and, subject to eligibility, membership of the Universities Superannuation Pension Scheme, where the employer’s contribution is significant. There are also a range of employee benefits, cycle to work scheme, on-site nurseries, and a range of cultural and social activities.

The role is based on our beautiful Edgbaston campus, and we are happy to discuss options to work remotely / from home for some of the time in line with the University’s hybrid working policy.

Main Duties

The successful applicant will report to the Head of Information Compliance and Data Management.

The successful applicant will be required to:

• draft, enhance, implement, monitor, and report on effective compliance practices in relation to GDPR, FOIA, and records management across the University, effectively collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders to promote and facilitate compliance across the University;
• review and draft responses to Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests, providing a view on the application of the law and appreciation of the broader external context, with supervision as appropriate, in line with statutory deadlines.
• support Legal Services with data protection and other statutory and regulatory matters including freedom of speech.
• where appropriate, identify and solve both legal and practical problems associated with the University’s activities, and to be proactive in identifying methods to reduce potential risk or liability to the University;
• under the supervision of your manager and other Legal Services colleagues where appropriate, give clear and concise explanations of legal issues to non-legally qualified members of the University at all levels, and provide training on existing and new legal initiatives and areas of statutory compliance;
• exercise judgement to answer queries or on the direction of work, within parameters set by your manager. The University seeks to empower its staff, and so on a day-to-day basis you will be expected to resolve more complex queries without necessarily referring to your manager.
• manage some smaller projects on your own initiative, and carry out desk research and source data from internal and external sources to contribute to wider projects.
• use a variety of complex University systems and processes to research, analyse and interpret complex data, producing bespoke reports as required. This may include identifying and resolving issues with the data.
• support the management, development and implementation of operational processes and systems.
• proactively manage and report on your own time and caseload, balancing competing priorities and taking appropriate action to keep matters on track, anticipating future requirements and acting always proactively, in good time, and in the best interests of the University;
• be willing to acquire new skills, and to cover for other members of the team as appropriate.

Person Specification

The successful applicant should possess:

• education to A-Level standard or equivalent, with a minimum of grade C in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent. Previous paralegal, or legal executive experience, preferably in the area of data protection or a regulatory/compliance environment, is advantageous but not essential.
• proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively and effectively managing their own (and sometimes others’) workloads, progressing tasks concurrently notwithstanding a high volume of work, and ensuring a high degree of attention to detail whilst meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• attention to detail, and written communication skills including the ability to write for different audiences, and to required deadlines, with particular attention to accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation, and presentation of documents.
• highly proficient IT skills, in particular the ability to handle complex electronic diaries and emails, MS Office programmes including Word, Teams, Excel and Powerpoint. The successful applicant should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• interpersonal skills with a proven ability to build effective and trusting partnerships, and work in a collaborative way.
• excellent oral communication and presentation skills, and confidence and presence in meetings with senior stakeholders within the University.
• flexibility, pragmatism and resilience, with an ability to work effectively under pressure and deliver to targets.
• a high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.
• a willingness to acquire new skills and areas of expertise, and to learn about statutory compliance within the University.
• a commitment to promote and adhere to the agreed values of the University and the Executive Division.

Informal enquiries to Nicola Cardenas Blanco, email: n.k.c.blanco@bham.ac.uk

Individuals who would prefer to apply by covering letter and CV may do so by emailing them to y.h.so@bham.ac.uk by 10.00am on 22 June 2026.

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