Student Communications Manager - Academic Services - 100253Z25 - Grade 7
Student Communications Manager - Academic Services - 100253Z25 - Grade 7
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£ 36130 - 45413
1 Vacancy
Job Description
Position Details
Academic Services
Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range 36130 to 45413 with potential progression once in post to 48149
Grade: 7
Full Time Fixed Term contract up to July 2026
Closing date: 23rd April 2025
This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.
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 andweare 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 todevelopthrough our sectorleading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.With almost 5000professionalservices jobs in a widerange of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer 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 areand how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and depending on the role we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working addition you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya 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 stateoftheart sports centre with pool shopsplaces to eat and drinkour own art gallery museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham
Role Summary
This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional communications professional to be at the heart of developing and delivering the Student Communications Framework for the University of Birmingham. The role of the Student Communications Manager will also have line management responsibility for a Student Communications Intern and a cohort of student content shapers reporting into the Head of Student Communications in Student Services to deliver innovative and effective communications to our student audience within a coordinated communications community of practice.
You will need to have considerable experience in a communicationsbased role in a large and complex organisation. Ideally within an educational setting but most importantly you will have a demonstrable background in successfully building relationships to create great results with people at all levels.
You will have led innovative communications campaigns you are proud of and must be able to demonstrate experience of effectively developing and delivering a range of information across multiple channels including facetoface and virtual events digital print and social media. You will be expected to be across the latest developments in social media and have experience in content creation. You will be expected to be proficient in a range of associated skills such as copywriting and proofreading along with possessing the ability to translate complicated information to communicate it in a clear and concise way. You will have new and exciting ideas about how to develop the right content for our students.
You will be required to lead on the implementation of new initiatives as well as considering and delivering quality improvements to existing practices. You must have excellent communication skills able to confidently deal with a wide range of internal stakeholders some of whom will be high profile individuals or teams. An ability to segment audiences and target communications appropriately and use a CRM system and CMS platform is essential. You must have the practical and technical skills to support your creative approach.
This role is based in the Student Services Division part of Academic Services which is at the heart of education and research endeavour at the University. The remit of this role is across the whole organisation you will play a key role in the Universitys student communications community and will collaborate closely with colleagues in External Relations IT Services and other key teams.
Main Duties
- Leading the development and delivery of multichannel communication activities to key stakeholders (e.g. current students and targeted staff).
- Supporting the ongoing development and delivery of a communications framework for students and other key stakeholder communications.
- Championing relevant and targeted Student Services activities to students and key stakeholders across the organisation ensuring its role services and achievements are well understood.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of current communication techniques.
- Working collaboratively across professional services and Colleges to bring together ideas and best practice around student communications and engagement.
- Providing leadership and accountability for relevant Academic Services webpages both internally and external including working with appropriate CMS.
- Playing a lead role in the MyUoB app project team and associated communications.
- Proactively identifying creative communications opportunities that are relevant to the brief and to lead on the implementation of these initiatives working with the wider marketing and communications colleagues as needed.
- Line managing the Student Communications Intern and other staff as required including temporary student staff.
- Prioritising your workload; balancing the competing demands of a range of business as usual activities against strategic projects.
- Translating creative initiatives into tangible plans.
- Leading on campaigns full of innovative content creation.
- Negotiating with internal and external stakeholders and where appropriate engaging with third party suppliers.
- Working with internal and external contacts on critical communications that impact upon the Universitys reputation.
- Interpreting project briefs and providing recommendations on the most appropriate methods of delivery of communication support required for the project.
- Leading on the development of social media content for campaign messaging to target key audiences.
- Work on the development and delivery of an annual communications plan and content calendar for student communications; including key milestones dates and interdependencies.
- Working with IT Services and Student Services colleagues on the development of webbased content and functionality.
- Identifying opportunities to segment audiences to improve communications and engagement including the use of CRM technology.
- Presenting at communicationsbased workshops and training sessions for colleagues within the University.
- Building a network of relationships / contacts across the organisation that can assist in delivery of projects and initiatives.
- Ensure appropriate legal and contractual arrangements are in place when engaging any external suppliers.
- Comply with all relevant University of Birmingham procedures and guidelines.
Person Specification
- A degree or equivalent experience ideally with a qualification in communications.
- A communications professional with proven experience in a comparable role in a large complex organisation operating in a multichannel mixed media environment (ideally with experience of Higher Education or student communications).
- Experience of planning implementing and managing a multichannel communications strategy.
- Line management experience.
- Advanced communications skills with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels to include effective presentation skills.
- Ability to translate complex messages into engaging forms of communication.
- Knowledge of emerging social media trends and a wide range of experience of using these channels within a communications or marketing role.
- Extensive experience of working with Customer Relationships Management (CRM) systems and Content Management System (CMS) platforms.
- Experience of copywriting proofreading and content editing.
- Experience of commissioning design video and other content creation assets.
- Experience in applying appropriate technology and approach to service delivery.
- Ability to think strategically and translate strategy into operational plans.
- Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to achieve common goals.
- An innovative and creative approach to stakeholder engagement capable of developing exciting new initiatives.
- Ability to write persuasively and produce concise copy within short timescales.
- Excellent IT skills (including experience of webbased packages) ideally with experience with graphical design packages (e.g. Photoshop Canva).
- Ability to prioritise and schedule workloads in the face of conflicting demands while maintaining a high degree of accuracy.
- Ability to work on own initiative taking a flexible proactive and creative approach to work.
- Good knowledge and understanding of Higher Education and its environment or a commitment to learn quickly about the sector.
- An understanding of the Universitys aims and objectives.
- Flexibility to work out of hours on occasion as required.
- Commitment to continuing professional development and training.
Informal enquiries to Rebecca Vowles Head of Student Communications email:
View our staff values and behaviourshere
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.
Required Experience:
Manager
Employment Type
Full-Time
