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, Fixed Term contract up to June 2027
Closing date: 23rd June 2026
UK 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
The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.
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 Student Recruitment Manager plays a pivotal role in driving student recruitment and enhancing the University’s reputation. Working with colleagues across the University, the postholder is responsible for the design, delivery and evaluation of student recruitment activities to attract and convert prospective students across undergraduate, postgraduate and professional education markets - supporting the University to build a high quality and diverse student population and achieve its growth ambitions for 2030 and beyond.
The postholder will build and maintain effective relationships and work collaboratively with key internal stakeholders, including across Recruitment, Marketing, Admissions, Colleges, and Professional Services, providing specialist recruitment expertise.
Main Duties
- Plan and deliver a range of student recruitment activities and campaigns in line with strategies, including large-scale on-campus and online events to meet recruitment targets across all markets, including managing budgets, monitoring performance, and ongoing optimisation throughout the recruitment cycle.
- Work closely with colleagues across student recruitment, marketing, admissions, Colleges, the wider External Relations division, and across the institution to ensure a coordinated and unified approach to meeting student recruitment targets.
- The role requires flexibility, with a focus that may shift across key areas as well as across different products and audience groups, in response to strategic priorities.
Market insight, recruitment strategy development and evaluation
- Conduct market analysis, provide market insight and strategic recommendations.
- Monitor and regularly evaluate performance against targets to inform student recruitment planning and drive innovation in student recruitment activities.
- Recruitment planning, activities, events and delivery
- Lead the planning, delivery, and evaluation of student recruitment activities and events on and off campus and online.
- Represent and promote the University to engage and convert prospective students. This will include developing and delivering presentations to schools/colleges, representing the University at Higher Education events and ensuring a high quality experience at Open Days and other events.
- Oversee the recruitment, training, and management of student ambassadors and event assistants to support these initiatives.
- Support conversion activity across all markets, ensuring timely, targeted and evidence-informed follow-up communications and events.
Relationship and stakeholder management
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with key internal and external stakeholders—including schools, colleges, employers, professional bodies, partner organisations, and recruitment service providers.
- Identify and develop opportunities to engage with schools through talks, taster sessions and inbound visits.
- Provide expert advice on qualifications and student recruitment activities.
- Ensure effective capture and maintenance of lead and engagement data to support CRM-driven follow-up and conversion activity.
Leadership and management
- Hold line management responsibility for staff, ensuring effective workload planning, clear objectives, and professional development to drive high performance.
- Oversee student ambassador teams/events assistants supporting recruitment events.
- Represent student recruitment on University committees/meetings.
- Deputise in a leadership capacity as required.
General duties
- Act as a brand champion, representing and promoting the University’s values and identity in all interactions.
- Provide additional support to a range of recruitment and marketing activities, events, campaigns as specified by recruitment team and any other duties commensurate with the grade.
- Willing to work occasional evenings, weekends, and travel as needed to support recruitment activities, including school engagement activity on and off campus.
- Promote a supportive and inclusive team culture - working with discretion, demonstrate diplomacy, maintain confidentiality and ensure compliance with GDPR, CMA, Safeguarding, OfS, 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.
Person Specification
- Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience; within a large, complex organisation is desirable - where no equivalent qualification is held significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required.
- Exceptional presentation and communication skills, with the ability to confidently engage large audiences through compelling presentations, and write clear, concise reports.
- Demonstrable project management skills with experience organising and delivering in-person and online large-scale events.
- Experience in using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and digital engagement tools to develop clear strategies and communications, working knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is desirable.
- Proven experience in managing relationships with the ability to lead, influence, and collaborate across teams, and with agencies and external partners.
- Proven experience in line management, including responsibility for the performance, development, and wellbeing of direct reports.
- Creative problem solver with a proactive and resilient approach.
- Ability to analyse and interpret data and market research, applying insights to recruitment strategies.
- Highly organised with strong administrative skills and attention to detail under tight deadlines.
- Experience managing budgets and negotiating with stakeholders.
- Good working knowledge of standard Microsoft Office software.
- Ability to work flexibly and effectively both in a team and independently, managing multiple priorities.
Other requirements
- Commitment to demonstrating behaviours aligned with the University and External Relations framework.
- Willing and able to travel extensively across the UK, including during evenings, weekends, and overnight stays as required.
- Valid UK driving licence and/or ability to travel independently often during unsociable hours.
- DBS clearance required.
- 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.
DBS required
The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
Informal enquiries to Stephen Allmark, 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 .
