Communications Partner

Job Purpose

Are you looking to develop your career at a prestigious organisation? Are you able to create and design an engaging and innovative communications programme for 300,000 alumni and supporters around the world? Do you want to play a key role in a new ambitious fundraising and volunteering campaign?

Our University has a long and proud history of philanthropy stretching back to its foundation in 1900. With a clear vision of changing the lives of the citizens of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain raised the funds required to build the University from philanthropists and corporations based locally and around the globe.

The University has global reach - we have several partnerships around the world including with the Universities of Illinois and Melbourne – and local roots – we opened the first University School in the country in 2015. It is an innovative, ambitious, and successful institution. This was the first redbrick university, the first to incorporate a Medical School, the first to create a students’ union and the first to offer a women’s hall of residence. The University is one of the top 100 research-led universities globally and we now have 11 Nobel Prize winners. Academics here are exploring the impact of climate change, helping to prevent global health epidemics and changing our understanding of Shakespeare. We also have one of the largest and most diverse student populations in the UK. Our students come from nearly 150 countries and our flagship outreach programme means that almost 25% of our students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, one of the highest proportions in the UK.

The Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) exists to support this academic and student community by engaging and inspiring alumni, individuals, and charitable funders who can give their money, time, and networks to support the University’s strategic priorities. The Office is particularly focused on fundraising and volunteering from alumni and individuals who are based locally or globally and who are passionate about changing lives, whether by funding cancer research trials, supporting student bursaries, mentoring students, or providing internships.

We are now in the planning stages of our next campaign. Inspired by our founder, Joseph Chamberlain, it will aim to change lives locally and globally. It will be unique and ambitious and will place Birmingham as one of the leading fundraising and volunteering universities in the world.

The Communications Partner will play a key role in driving the planning and delivery of a high-quality and engaging communications programme for alumni, supporters, and friends based locally, nationally and globally, to keep them connected, and to encourage them to give their money and / or time in support of the University. This includes management of the Communications Team, development of bespoke plans for the key audiences, planning and delivering the programme including print and digital Old Joe magazine, email communication, social channels and our web presence, and seeking innovative and creative ways to achieve our objectives.

Person Specification

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Demonstrable strong track record of working in a communications management role (preferably in the higher education sector) or substantial relevant experience in another PR, marketing, or communications role.
• Experience of managing people, projects, and supporting or developing programmes.
• Experience of managing a complex workload, with projects running simultaneously.
• Passion for, and commitment to, the role of alumni and friends as volunteers and donors.
• Knowledge, passion, and interest in communications and media, both digital and print, and a strong news-sense.
• Personal confidence, independence, and determination to succeed as an individual and as part of a team.

Strategic thinking & perspective

• The ability to support strategic plans and deliver against agreed objectives.
• An understanding of the needs of individuals within a complex business environment, for example the challenges faced by academics and academic project champions within the University.
• 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 current issues faced by the sector.
• Good understanding of the impact of high quality communications on participation in fundraising and volunteering activity.
• Knowledge of measuring the impact of communications and setting targets.
• Proven problem solving capability.

Communication

• The ability to be collaborative and work in partnership effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Effective, confident communicator with people at all levels (written and verbal), including face-to-face interaction with alumni, students, and staff.
• The ability to understand and communicate complex expressions of academic vision to non-academic audiences and supporters.
• Understanding of and ability to represent, orally and in writing, plans and information in a concise manner.
• Ability to write and edit strong, compelling copy, and give feedback and advice on effective communication.
• Confidence to interact with leaders and senior managers of the University.
• The ability to represent the University with confidence, diplomacy, and authority.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, persuasiveness and ability to build relationships and promote partnership working.
• Competent user of social media, video filming and editing packages and Photoshop picture editing software.

Other
• Educated to degree level or equivalent, ideally with qualification/s in journalism, PR or marketing.
• Ability to work under pressure and effectively prioritise a varied and diverse workload.
• Good all-round IT skills including an ability to learn new software packages quickly. Should be able to demonstrate competence across all aspects of MS Office (intermediate/advanced user of EXCEL and intermediate user of Word and PowerPoint), email, the internet, and ideally the Raiser’s Edge database.
• Strong organisational skills with a demonstrable ability to work under own initiative.
• Methodical and meticulous with a high level of attention to detail.
• Commitment to the vision and values of DARO and the University.
• The flexibility to work unsociable hours (evenings and weekends) when required and to travel in the UK and potentially overseas.
• Understanding and acting in accordance to fundraising and data regulation and protection, including the Fundraising Regulator Code of Conduct in relations to a wide range of communications.