Communications Officer - External Relations - 103670 - Grade 6

Position Details

External Relations

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Permanent 

Closing date: 28th 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

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 Communications Officer plays a pivotal role in amplifying the scale, visibility and impact of our activities globally. Working with colleagues across the University, the postholder is responsible for the delivery and evaluation of creative multi-channel communications activity, spanning research, innovation and education initiatives, that will enhance the University’s global reputation, and help achieve its Global Top 50 ambitions for 2030 and beyond.

The postholder will have an excellent grounding in the foundations of communications craft and practice, and will be able to identify and leverage opportunities to raise the University’s profile with a range of specific audiences. 

The postholder will build and maintain effective relationships and work collaboratively with external and internal stakeholders, across Colleges and Professional Services including academic staff, and the wider Communications team. They will play a proactive role in the University’s communications communities.

Main Duties

1. Deliver a range of creative, multi-channel communications activities and campaigns that raise the profile and increase the impact of the University’s activities within specified audiences. Report on performance against agreed targets. 
2. Work closely with specialist colleagues in the Communications centre of excellence, with Colleges, including academic staff, the wider External Relations division, other Professional Services and external partners to build knowledge, relationships and develop a comprehensive and unified approach to increase impact of the University’s activities.
3. Carefully log activity within the centre of excellence planning tools, and play a full part in news gathering and assignment discussions. 
4. 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.

Audience insight and evaluation

1. Contribute to audience insight to shape communications planning by monitoring trends, understanding audience needs, and using analytics.
2. Monitor and regularly evaluate performance against targets to inform communications planning and drive innovation.

Content and copywriting

1. Generate new ideas for content from across the domains assigned to the postholder.
2. Create and edit high-quality content across all 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.
3. Manage and support the development of communications collaterals, working with internal and external agencies, and suppliers as required.
4. Plan and buy media to promote research, working with agencies and suppliers as required.

Relationship management

1. Build relationships with media, policymakers, practitioners, sector experts and other stakeholders as required to perform the main duties.
2. Use Customer Relationships Management (CRM) systems to deliver targeted, timely communications.
3. Provide specialist research communications advice and support to academics, including traditional media, thought leadership, digital and social media.

Digital platforms

1. Develop and maintain allocated domain communications web content; continually improve digital content across the website and other channels, working collaboratively with the web team.
2. Support the development and delivery of the University’s social media strategy and presence.

Events

1. Support research-focused internal and on campus events.
2. Work with the Events team(s) to ensure maximum benefit from activities, such as large-scale international conferences and public engagement activity.

Internal Communications

1. Manage the delivery of the internal staff communications strategy in allocated area(s).

Leadership and management

1. Report on communications and reputation activity to University/College committees and meetings as required.
2. Deputise in a leadership capacity as required. 
3. Where relevant, hold line management responsibility for staff ensuring effective workload planning, clear objectives, and professional development to drive high performance.

General duties

1. Act as brand champion, representing and promoting the University’s values and identity in all interactions and advise on research communications best practice.
2. Willing to work occasional evenings, weekends, and travel as needed to support activities.
3. Provide additional support to a range of communications activities as specified by the Communications centre of excellence, and any other duties commensurate with the grade.
4. 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.
5. Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
6. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent qualifications) in communications or a closely related field and a desire to develop your career in this area - where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.

• Previous experience in a Communications/Press/PR role; working with the media and within a large, complex organisation desirable.

• Proven news judgement with the ability to weigh up a range of different inputs about the merits of a potential story and to represent them equally.

• Proven ability to deliver multi-channel communications plans and events, with a creative approach for identifying new opportunities and avenues for Communications activities.

• Excellent writing ability and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information to diverse audiences across multiple channels, ensuring accessibility for all.

• Creative problem-solver with a proactive and resilient approach.

• Digitally literate with confidence and competence in  using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Content Management Systems (CMS), social media platforms and reporting systems.

• Proven experience in managing relationships with the ability to influence, and collaborate with colleagues at all levels, across teams and with external stakeholders.

• Cultural awareness and understanding of the need for sensitivity in engagement with different audiences, and how this might be embedded.

• High level of professionalism, discretion, and tact when handling and managing sensitive information/issues.

• Ability to analyse and interpret information and data, making recommendations.

• Highly organised with meticulous attention to detail and high standards of accuracy under tight deadlines.

• Experience monitoring budgets.

• Ability to work flexibly and effectively both in a team and independently, managing multiple priorities effectively.

• Other requirements

• Commitment to demonstrating behaviours aligned with the University and External Relations framework

• Willingness to travel and work flexibly, 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.

Informal enquiries to Tomas Badger, 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.