Position Details
Campus 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 (1820 Annualised Hours)
Permanent
Closing date: 3rd September 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
As part of Campus Services, the Food, Beverage & Retail department offers a wide variety of outlets to staff, students and visitors across campus and in our student accommodation. These range from small coffee shops and bars to large restaurants, as well as providing hospitality services for conferences and events held on campus. The post-holder will be responsible for managing a team and providing excellent customer service in any one of those areas/outlets.
Role Summary
The External Partner Event Co-ordinator will be responsible for co-ordinating the planning, administration and operational delivery of events involving external providers across the University estate.
The post holder will act as a key point of contact between external partners, internal departments, Food, Beverage and Retail, Conferences and Events, venue teams, Estates, Security, Portering, Cleaning, AV and other relevant service areas. They will ensure that event requirements are accurately captured, recorded on the Spoonfed system, communicated to all relevant stakeholders and delivered in line with agreed procedures.
The role will include facilitating event logistics such as access, power requirements, equipment positioning, delivery timings, set-up and breakdown arrangements, waste management, health and safety documentation and on-the-day provider coordination.
The post holder will be expected to attend events where required, particularly where external providers are operating on campus, to ensure the event runs smoothly, issues are resolved promptly, and the University’s standards are maintained.
The role requires excellent organisational skills, strong communication, attention to detail, customer focus and the ability to work flexibly, including evenings and weekends where event activity requires.
Main Duties
Event Administration and Booking Management
- Act as a key point of contact for external partner event bookings, ensuring all event details are accurately captured and recorded.
- Update and maintain event bookings on the Spoonfed system, ensuring all relevant information is entered accurately and in a timely manner.
- Ensure event records include all operational requirements, including timings, provider details, menus or services, access requirements, power needs, delivery windows, set-up requirements and breakdown arrangements.
- Liaise with internal teams to ensure all services required for the event are formally booked and confirmed.
- Maintain accurate event documentation and ensure information is shared with relevant departments within agreed timescales.
- Co-ordinate the production and circulation of event information, provider schedules, operational notes and briefing documents.
- Ensure changes to event bookings are updated promptly and communicated to all relevant stakeholders.
External Provider Liaison
- Liaise directly with external providers before, during and after events to confirm operational requirements and ensure compliance with University procedures.
- Ensure external providers are aware of site rules, access arrangements, delivery points, parking restrictions, waste arrangements, safety requirements and agreed service standards.
- Request and collate required documentation from external providers, including risk assessments, method statements, public liability insurance, food hygiene documentation, allergen information, licences and any other due diligence documentation required.
- Co-ordinate the onboarding of external providers by ensuring expectations are clearly communicated and that all operational requirements are understood.
- Build and maintain professional working relationships with approved suppliers and external event partners.
- Escalate any concerns regarding provider performance, compliance, behaviour or service delivery to the appropriate manager.
Internal Communication and Coordination
- Communicate event requirements clearly to internal University departments, including but not limited to Food, Beverage and Retail, Conferences and Events, Estates and local building contacts.
- Attend planning meetings, operational briefings and event debriefs as required.
- Ensure all departments involved in event delivery have the information they need to ensure the event operates safely and effectively.
- Co-ordinate the clear communication between Conferences and Events, Food, Beverage and Retail and external providers to ensure a joined-up approach to event delivery.
- Follow up with internal teams after events to capture feedback, identify operational issues and drive continuous improvement.
Event Logistics and On-the-Day Delivery
- Be present at events where required to co-ordinate the arrival and set-up of external providers and to ensure agreed arrangements are followed.
- Act as an operational point of contact during events, resolving issues where possible and escalating concerns appropriately.
- Ensure external providers operate within the agreed event footprint and comply with site-specific requirements.
- Monitor event activity to ensure providers maintain appropriate standards of presentation, safety, cleanliness and customer service.
- Co-ordinate the smooth running of the event by coordinating with venue staff, internal departments and external providers throughout the event.
- Ensure event breakdown is completed safely, efficiently and within agreed timescales.
- Report any incidents, damage, complaints, safety concerns or operational issues to the relevant manager.
Compliance, Safety and Standards
- Ensure all external provider activity complies with university policies, health and safety requirements, food safety standards, fire safety requirements and relevant legislation.
- Review and record provider documentation as required, ensuring risk assessments and method statements are received in advance of events.
- Ensure external providers understand and follow University rules relating to allergens, food safety, licensing, alcohol service, waste, access and conduct.
- Monitoring of event spaces before, during and after events to ensure areas are safe, clean and suitable for use.
- Ensure that any use of power, temporary structures, catering equipment, vehicles or other event infrastructure is properly planned and approved by the relevant department.
- Escalate any non-compliance or unsafe practice immediately to the appropriate manager or responsible department.
- Support sustainability objectives by encouraging responsible waste management, efficient logistics and compliance with university sustainability standards.
Financial and Commercial Awareness
- Ensure accurate recording of chargeable services, provider requirements and internal support costs.
- Ensure any additional services requested are captured and communicated to the relevant team for charging or approval.
- Assist with gathering information required for billing, reconciliation or post-event review.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary cost and improve the event delivery process.
Customer Service and Continuous Improvement
- Protect operational standards, customer experience and commercial reputation during external events.
- Provide a professional, helpful and customer-focused service to internal stakeholders, external providers and event organisers.
- Hold post-event reviews and gather feedback from stakeholders and providers.
- Identify recurring issues and recommend improvements to systems, processes and communication.
- Represent Food, Beverage and Retail and Campus Services in a professional manner at all times.
Other Duties
- Work flexibly across campus and at other University locations as required.
- Support wider Food, Beverage and Retail activity where appropriate.
- Undertake evening and weekend work where event delivery requires.
- Carry out any other duties commensurate with the grade and nature of the role as reasonably requested by the relevant manager.
- Treats everyone with dignity and respect in line with current equality legislation.
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 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualifications.
- Professional experience in a Hospitality or Events role.
- Ability to analyse numerical and financial data.
- 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 as in-house systems are used for procurement.
- 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. You 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.
Dimensions
You will provide proactive contributions in developing and delivering sales and service plans.
Planning and Organising
The role is required to work independently on daily, weekly and monthly tasks but also on projects with medium-longer-term horizons without daily supervision. You will use your knowledge and experience to plan and deliver a number of events concurrently and effectively, with a strong focus on service level standards and the customer experience. Ability to work well under pressure and to deadlines and targets, with a flexible and adaptable approach to your work and working hours which will require evening and weekend working.
Problem Solving and decision making
You will work with direction from your managers, but you will have a significant degree of autonomy. You will deal with more complex queries and be expected to resolve any problems in your area of responsibility. You will need to proactively recognise possible challenges and provide innovative solutions before they become an issue.
Internal and External relationships
You will liaise with internal colleagues and stakeholders University-wide and also with external stakeholders. Develop and maintain a professional working relationship with the team, clients and stakeholders and lead and deliver departmental briefings.
Informal enquiries to Stewart Turner, email: [email protected]
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 .
