Student Casual – EEF Postgraduate Project Research Assistant – Academic Services – Grade 6 – 907263

Post title

EEF Postgraduate Project Research Assistant - Embedding Sustainability Education

College/Division

Academic Services

School/Department

Library Services & College of Medicine and Health

Full time/Part time

Part time

Duration of the Post

01/06/2026 – 26/06/2026

Grade

6

Hourly rate

£16.92 per hour plus holiday entitlement

Number of positions available

2

Closing Date

23/04/2026 at 23:55

Please note that this vacancy may be taken down early depending on the number of applications received. We advise you to submit your application promptly.

Our offer to you

At the University of Birmingham, Worklink is the dedicated student employment service which helps students to find flexible, well paid part-time roles that fit around your studies. Each year, the University invests more than £2.5 million to employ 3,000 of our own students in a wide range of roles, supporting our student community into part-time work. Roles available via Worklink include a range of positions, including administrative roles, support staff such as cleaners or baristas, research roles and many more.

Jobs through Worklink help you to gain work experience, develop skills relevant for your future career, and improve your soft and hard skills in a professional setting. Enhance your CV and get valuable experience ready for graduate roles and feel connected to your university and local community.

Our jobs are flexible and can be scheduled around your academic commitments, so you can focus on your studies first. Our team are passionate about supporting students into work. Worklink are based in a central location on campus which is easily accessible for students and can also be contacted online.

Find out more about working through Worklink here or via the student intranet.

Job context 

The University of Birmingham is committed to ensuring that all students receive a comprehensive education in sustainability. Our ambition is to integrate sustainability principles, both within and alongside the curriculum, to ensure our students are well-equipped to tackle global challenges for the future. 

This priority area is supported by the role of Academic Director of Sustainability Education (Professor Julia Myatt) who is working closely with the Educational Development Team to support the professional development of staff focused on teaching, learning and assessment.

The core aims of this project are:

• To provide a consistent and cohesive approach to embedding sustainability education at the University of Birmingham, aligned with the Sustainability Education principles and globally recognised approaches.
• To ensure staff across all disciplines feel confident in their ability to embed sustainability and are supported with resources to do so.
• To capture the good practice that is evident in this area, celebrate staff achievement and foster collaboration across different disciplinary areas.

Job summary 

Working with the Project Leads, the role holder will mainly be focused on aim two (to ensure staff across all disciplines feel confident in their ability to embed sustainability and are supported with resources to do so). Some of the work may be carried out remotely, but the role will require in-person meetings for the duration of the project.

This role is a fixed term casual position from Monday 1st June to Friday 26th June for a total of 40 hours:

Week 1: w/c 1 June – 10 hours

Week 2: w/c 8 June – 10 hours

Week 3: w/c 15 June – 10 hours

Week 4: w/c 22 June – 10 hours

You will work collaboratively with another research assistant, but with your own specific focus area. You will be able to work flexibly, but there will be an expectation that you will attend a weekly in-person meeting.

Focus one: Cross-disciplinary, biomedical/healthcare sustainability case studies that integrate:

• Research design
• Evidence evaluation
• Ethical considerations
• Systems thinking

Focus two: Cross-disciplinary, general sustainability resources across a range of disciplines that:

• Can be embedded in lectures
• Are engaging and thought provoking
• Consider the three pillars of sustainability
• Explore real world scenarios

Please state which focus you are interested in and tell us what relevant knowledge and experience you will bring to the project.

Main duties 

• Identify relevant and engaging topic areas
• Develop ideas creatively
• Explore different media to effectively communicate content
• Consider interactivity and flexibility of resources
• Design engaging resources that meet brand guidelines

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience 

Essential

• University of Birmingham registered student/researcher from any College (PGT, PGR).
• A demonstrable interest and knowledge of the themes of sustainability (i.e. across the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Must have the ability to work on own initiative but also be able to demonstrate a good team working ethos.
• Must have good organisational and time management skills.
• Understanding of the relevance of sustainability to all subjects.
• Undergraduate degree in a biomedical or healthcare related subject if applying for Focus One, where case studies will be specifically developed for use in CMH courses.

Desirable

• Experience of video and/or animation creation.
• Experience using Canva to design digital assets.

Further details 

This role is suitable for Postgraduate students only.

Please upload an up-to-date CV as part of your application and ensure you respond to the following three questions when they appear in the application.

1. What difference do you think this project can make to students, staff, and wider society?

2. What would you bring to the role, considering in particular your knowledge/passion for sustainability?

3. Provide us with at least one specific example of how/where you have communicated a complex idea to a mixed audience using mediums such as infographics, diagrams, posters, videos, Thinglinks, webpages (you can include an example/link if relevant/available).

Please also make sure to include details of your availability during the required period (1-26 June).

For any informal queries, please contact Hayley Lambert (h.l.lambert.1@bham.ac.uk).

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time for a maximum of 13 consecutive weeks. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g.  PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an international student you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate authorised absence. 

You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.

To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.

Regarding the use of AI in applications, we review hundreds of applications and shortlist candidates based on their unique perspective, motivations and potential. Cover letters generated through, or edited by, AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT or CoPilot) are easy to identify. They produce generic answers and will not score highly enough to progress. You may use AI tools for research, but all written content in your application must be your own work. Authenticity and originality are key to standing out in this process. 

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we’re unable to contact all applicants individually. You can check the progress of your application by logging into the Worklink jobs portal using the same email address you used to apply. If you haven’t heard back within six weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. 

Our Shared Values 

Ambitious  

We are confident in the University of Birmingham and project this globally.  We are focused on our goals, are clear about our strengths, and pursue our own direction.  We are bold and take intelligent risks. 

 Innovative 

We enjoy being the first to do things.  Inspired by our Birmingham heritage, we are resourceful, creative, grounded, and practical, and seek to make a real and positive difference to the world around us. 

Open 

We welcome colleagues, collaborators, and students from across the world to work and study with us.   We are committed to academic freedom, freedom of speech, and equality of opportunity for all.  We expect everyone to act with sensitivity, respect, and fairness.

Collaborative  

The major challenges facing our city, nation, and the world cannot be solved if we act alone.   We enhance our research and education by pursuing creative partnerships within and beyond the University.

Responsible 

We operate with transparency, trust, and respect.  We value our role as an anchor institution for Birmingham.  We strive to be an excellent employer, to reduce inequalities in access to education, and to place sustainability at the heart of our work.