Position Details
External Relations
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: 5th July 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
Department overview
External Relations is the division responsible for delivering our University to the world and prides itself in seizing opportunities that will enhance the profile and reputation of the University. We engage with many different audiences to build purposeful relationships internally, locally, nationally and internationally. We enable those who wish to apply to study on our courses to make informed choices. We recognise that we are strongest when we work together and take pride in upholding our core values of being ambitious, innovative, open, collaborative and responsible.
Role Summary
The Communications Assistant plays an important role in amplifying the scale, visibility and impact of the University’s activities globally. Working with colleagues across the University, the post holder will support the delivery of communications activities, spanning research, innovation and education initiatives, and provide administrative support.
In this role, the post holder will support communications activities delivered to a range of audiences across a variety of channels including media, social media, digital, events and advertising.
The post holder will build and maintain effective relationships and work collaboratively with key internal stakeholders, across Colleges and Professional Services including academic staff, and the wider Communications teams. They will play an active role in the University’s communications communities.
The role will primarily support the College of Medicine and Health, focused on communicating a breadth of research programmes from discovery science, through to clinical trials and public health studies.
Main Duties
- Support the delivery of a range of creative, multi-channel communications activities and campaigns to raise the profile and increase the impact of the University’s activities (e.g. across media, social media, digital, events and advertising).
- Work closely with specialist colleagues in the Communications centre of excellence, with Colleges, the wider ER division, and other Professional Services to develop a comprehensive and unified approach to increase impact of communications at the University.
- Carefully log activity within the centre of excellence planning tools and contribute to newsgathering and assignment discussions.
- Work flexibly across key functional specialisms including public affairs and stakeholder engagement, corporate communications, and brand and campaigns – as well as across different academic research areas, in response to strategic priorities.
- Generate new ideas for content.
- Research, create and edit high quality content across a variety of channels at a level consistent with the University’s Global Top 50 ambitions (e.g. social media, press releases, publications, infographics, policy briefs, workshops, toolkits, presentations), adapting content to a variety of audiences.
- Champion the University brand to ensure consistency of messaging, content and visual identity.
- Support the management of social media channels.
- Maintain and update allocated domain communications web content.
- Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to deliver targeted, timely communications.
- Support the development of communications collaterals, working with colleagues, internal and external agencies, and suppliers as required.
- Support the delivery of the internal staff communications strategy.
- Collate, analyse and interpret data in relation to metrics and reviewing activities in line with these and prepare written reports.
- Provide other administrative support for the team.
- Provide support to the wider Communications teams as directed, supporting a variety of activities, events, and campaigns and any other duties commensurate with the grade.
- Willing to work occasional evenings, weekends, and travel as needed to support activities.
General duties
- Promote a supportive and inclusive team culture - working with discretion, demonstrate diplomacy, maintain confidentiality and ensure compliance with GDPR, accessibility and other regulations as required.
- Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
- Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Educated to A Level or equivalent Level 3 qualification (e.g. NVQ, National Diploma) or relevant work experience demonstrating ability to perform the role.
- GCSE (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics at grade C/4 or above.
- Previous experience in a relevant role; within a large, complex organisation desirable.
- Strong IT proficiency, including Microsoft Office, with the ability to learn new systems quickly.
- Excellent organisational skills with proven ability to plan (including sometimes others’ workloads), prioritise, and manage multiple tasks to meet deadlines.
- Excellent writing ability and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information to diverse audiences across multiple channels, ensuring accessibility for all.
- Develop a good understanding of recognised web standards, including accessibility.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively, including with colleagues at all levels, and deliver exceptional customer service.
- High level of professionalism, discretion, and tact when handling and managing sensitive information/issues.
- Ability to work independently using initiative, sound judgment, and flexibility.
- 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 interpret and apply policies and procedures accurately.
- Meticulous attention to detail and high standards of accuracy.
- Confidence in handling statistical and financial data.
Other Requirements:
- Commitment to demonstrating behaviours aligned with the University and External Relations framework.
- Willingness to travel, including occasional evenings and weekends.
- Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
Dimensions
This role will require the exercise of personal initiative within and beyond the department and with external contacts.
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.
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.
Internal and external relationships
You will liaise with internal colleagues and stakeholders University-wide and also with external stakeholders.
Informal enquiries to Laura Forty, 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 .
