Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Business Partner in Birmingham

Department: Marketing & Communications

Location: Joseph Priestley Building

Salary: £39,002 to £44,131 per annum

Post Type: Full Time

Release Date: 06 August 2026

Closing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Sunday 23 August 2026

Reference: M126023

About Birmingham City University:

At Birmingham City University, we are a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 31,400 students from more than 120 countries. We aim to become an exemplar anchor institution, creating and sharing knowledge for a better and more inclusive society. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world-class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment for our staff.

Recognised as one of the UK’s Top 250 employers (Financial Times & Statista), we pride ourselves on being a place where colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to grow their careers while contributing to the success of our students and communities.

Our student demographic reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Birmingham itself, with a significant proportion of students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and the majority of our home students coming from the West Midlands. This diversity is a strength, and it calls for a workforce that is equipped to challenge deficit narratives and thinking — those assumptions that position students from underrepresented groups as lacking rather than recognising their assets, strengths and potential. By embracing this perspective, we aim to create an environment where all students and colleagues can thrive, and where our work contributes positively to the social, cultural and economic life of Birmingham and beyond.

Role Summary:

We are seeking a Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Business Partner to join our Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Department supporting the delivery of high-quality services across the University. In this role, you will act as a crucial conduit between academics, professional services and specialist teams in Marketing, Recruitment and Communications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Meet with colleagues across Professional Services Departments to ascertain their Marketing and Communications needs, and establish ways of working.
• Ensure effective links between Marketing, Recruitment and Communications and professional services, ensuring professional service needs are effectively planned and managed through the marketing and communications teams.
• Develop and maintain excellent relationships across professional services and teams throughout the Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Directorate.
• Develop and maintain a good understanding of professional services priorities in order to implement effective plans and meet targets.
• Provide day-to-day links between the Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Department and professional service colleagues, advising on opportunities and challenges to drive effective communications activity.
• Work with the Head of Marketing Business Partners to monitor progress and achievement against key performance indicators and overall plans, identifying areas of concern in order to take action and ensure that objectives and impact are delivered.
• Support the organisation and delivery of open days and related recruitment events, working to ensure that professional service colleagues are engaged and supported in order to represent the University to prospective students as positively as possible.
• Contribute to the work of the Marketing Business Partner team, including working with academic Schools if required.

Essential Requirements:

• A degree or equivalent.
• Experience in a marketing and communications role.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• A self-managing work style with the ability to prioritise own work and deliver to deadline.
• Good IT skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to work creatively with spreadsheets and databases.

Able To Demonstrate Experience Of:

• Marketing and communications which achieves results.
• Delivering effective and impactful marketing and communications plans and activities.
• Successful delivery against business targets.
• Delivering outstanding customer service.

Desirable Requirements:

• A part professional qualification such as stage one of the Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing accredited by the CIM would be advantageous.
• Evidence of commitment to ongoing professional development.

Further Information:

If you are excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of Marketing, Recruitment and Communications, we would love to hear from you. For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Victoria Wilcher, Head of Marketing Business Partnering at Victoria.wilcher@bcu.ac.uk.

Why not explore our campuses: City Centre Campus - Map and Directions | Birmingham City University.

The appointed candidate will normally be employed through our subsidiary company, BCU Support Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Birmingham City University. Appointees with prior LGPS membership who wish to re-enter the scheme may do so and will be employed directly by the University.

Why work for us:

• Work–life balance – Generous leave and hybrid working (role dependent).
• Career development – Opportunities to grow, develop and progress your career.
• Reward and wellbeing – Competitive pay, pension, a health cash plan, wellbeing support and a wide range of staff benefits.
• Inclusive culture – A supportive, diverse environment where everyone belongs.

Use of AI in applications:

At BCU, we welcome applications that clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role. AI tools may be used to support you in preparing your application, but the information you provide must be accurate, authentic and based on your own experience. Applications that rely too heavily on AI, appear generic or do not provide specific evidence against the role criteria are less likely to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process. For more information, please refer to our candidate guidance.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to an environment that supports lawful free speech and academic freedom. We will continuously review and improve our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

Disability Confident Employer:

Birmingham City University is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.