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, Permanent
Closing date: 31st May 2026
UK and International 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 Communications Manager (Corporate) plays a pivotal role in amplifying the scale, visibility and impact of our corporate activities and strategic initiatives. Working with colleagues across the University, the postholder plays a lead role in shaping and delivering media engagement strategies, spanning corporate, regional, innovation and education and research initiatives, that will enhance the University’s global reputation, and help achieve its Global Top 50 ambitions and beyond.
The postholder will have substantial experience in communications craft and practice and will be able to identify and leverage media opportunities to raise the University’s profile with a range of specific audiences.
The postholder will build and maintain effective relationships and collaborate with external and internal stakeholders, including with the wider Communications and Reputation team, members of the University Executive Board, Professional Services divisions including DARO, Student Services, Academic Services, Campus Services, Estates, HR, Finance and Business Engagement, Colleges, External Relations, funders, including philanthropic sources, and sector bodies. They will play a proactive role in the University’s communications communities.
Main Duties
- Plan and deliver a range of creative, multi-channel media engagement 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.
- Work closely with Colleges, the Communications and Reputation team, the wider ER 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.
- Advise on and manage complex and often sensitive reputational risks, issues, and crises, including as a member of the university’s Emergency Communications team, helping to position the University appropriately to both internal and external audiences.
- Maintain understanding of specific areas of policy and university developments, and participate in horizon-scanning activities, to identify and mitigate potential reputational risks.
- Advise on the delivery of appropriate media training for academic and senior administrative staff, and to organise delivery where appropriate.
- Carefully log activity within the work and editorial planning tool and play a full part in news gathering and assignment discussions.
- Work flexibly with a focus that may shift on across different academic areas and audiences, in response to strategic priorities.
Audience insight and evaluation
- Conduct audience insight to shape communications planning by monitoring trends, understanding audience needs, and using analytics.
- Monitor and regularly evaluate performance against targets to inform communications planning and drive innovation.
Content and copywriting
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider Communications and Reputation team to identify, shape and maximise the full potential of communications opportunities.
- Generate new ideas for content and copywriting and lead the creation of high-quality content and copy across all channels at a level consistent with the University’s Global Top 50 ambitions (e.g. social media, press releases, publications, opinion pieces, feature articles, infographics, policy briefs, digital media), adapting content to a variety of audiences for a range of different media outlets.
- Manage the development of communications collaterals, working with internal and external agencies, and suppliers as required.
- Plan and place stories, features and develop media events, working in collaboration with relevant teams to promote, working with agencies and suppliers as required.
Relationship management
- Build relationships with third parties including media, policymakers, practitioners, sector experts, research councils, journals, funding bodies, advocacy organisations, charities, political offices, and other stakeholders as required to perform the main duties.
- Build relationships and mutual trust with colleagues at all levels of the organisation, including senior leaders, professional services colleagues, academics, and colleagues in partner organisations.
- Identify and develop potential institutional media spokespeople, providing appropriate support and media training, and proactively secure and negotiate media opportunities to enhance their public and research communication impact.
- Create media briefing materials for senior leaders.
- Use Customer Relationships Management (CRM) systems to deliver targeted, timely communications.
Leadership and management
- Represent communications on university committees and meetings as required.
- Deputise in a leadership capacity as required.
- Where relevant, hold line management responsibility for staff ensuring effective workload planning, clear objectives, and professional development to drive high performance.
General duties
- Act as brand champion, representing and promoting the University’s values and identity in all interactions and advise on communications best practice.
- Willing to work occasional evenings, weekends, and travel as needed to support activities.
- Provide additional support to a range of communications activities, including answering press office enquiries, dealing swiftly and effectively with reactive media inquiries, supporting colleagues who have been contacted by the press, contributing to crisis communications work and participating in the on-call duty rota and any other duties commensurate with the grade.
- Promote a supportive and inclusive team culture, working with discretion, demonstrating diplomacy, maintaining confidentiality, and ensuring compliance with GDPR, accessibility and other regulations as required.
- Promote equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
- Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Educated to degree level (or holding equivalent vocational or professional qualifications) - where no qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
- Substantial experience in a Communications/Press/PR role working with the media.
- 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.
- Demonstrable experience in devising and delivering multi-channel strategic communications plans for a wide range of projects, with a creative approach for identifying new opportunities and avenues for communications activities.
- Excellent writing ability, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex information to diverse audiences across multiple channels, representing the University with confidence, integrity, authority and ensuring accessibility for all.
- Demonstrable track record of experience of working with the media and proactive successes e.g. selling stories.
- Knowledge of, and commitment to, the higher education sector and a strong belief in the importance of universities in society, coupled with an awareness of the issues that they face.
- Experience with crisis communications.
- Demonstrable project management skills with experience managing complex projects or issues with multiple stakeholders.
- Creative problem-solver with a proactive and resilient approach.
- Digitally literate with experience of utilising digital and social media channels.
- Proven experience in building and managing relationships with the ability to influence, collaborate, build consensus with colleagues at all levels, across teams and with external stakeholders, including advising at a senior level.
- 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 complex data and market research, applying insights to communications strategies.
- Highly organised with meticulous attention to detail and high standards of accuracy under tight deadlines.
- 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.
- 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 Danann Swanton, email: d.swanton@bham.ac.uk
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.
