Global Opportunities Coordinator in Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university. We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement, a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

We are seeking a talented and forward-thinking individual to join our dynamic Global Opportunities team. The team forms part of the Careers & Employability Service within Student & Academic Services, contributing directly to the University of Sheffield’s strategy and institutional priorities for student employability and graduate outcomes. Global Opportunities offer high-quality, innovative experiences to enable students to stand out as confident global citizens upon graduation. We support over 1,000 inbound and outbound students undertaking international mobility each year through our network of 200+ partner institutions worldwide.

You will manage designated areas of activity, focusing on grant funding and partnership agreements, but may also include inbound and outbound study abroad and short-term experiences. You will have excellent attention to detail and be adept at handling large amounts of data across multiple systems. You will coordinate an annual cycle of activity and closely monitor budgets to ensure accurate record keeping, especially for grant payments and spend reporting.

You will also be a strong communicator, providing advice and guidance for internal and external stakeholders including:

• current, prospective and partner exchange students
• international partners
• university staff at Sheffield and across the UK through membership of staff networks and external organisations within the international mobility sector

You will have high self-motivation and initiative with the ability to work to tight deadlines and prioritise workloads. Work in Global Opportunities requires commitment, accountability and flexibility. You will join a highly motivated team, bringing enthusiasm and the ability to deliver a high level of service at all times.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Oversee a designated area(s) of Global Opportunities work, building specialist knowledge and skills and drawing on these to act as a key institutional point of contact for the designated area of work.
• Be responsible for interpreting complex external regulations (e.g. Erasmus and Turing) to design and coordinate compliant operational processes using a variety of software platforms.
• Take delegated responsibility for monitoring expenditure and maintaining records of designated budgets, ensuring adherence to any external funding body regulations and established procedures.
• Contribute to the management of exchange agreements and partnerships, advising on suitability, providing data and collecting student/staff feedback.
• Carry out planning for short to medium term projects, with an awareness of resource constraints and longer term implications.
• Delegate administrative and student advising tasks to the Global Opportunities Administrators where appropriate.
• Liaise and build effective relationships with networks of internal staff, sharing information to ensure awareness of study abroad and compliance with university and external regulations.
• Build up excellent working relationships with UK external stakeholders including the British Council, Department for Education, Universities UK international, plus other networks as appropriate.
• Act as a key contact for overseas partner institutions, including enquiry management, promoting Sheffield as a destination and furthering the reputation of the University.
• Create advice and guidance to incoming and outgoing students on a range of matters relating to Global Opportunities initiatives.
• Coordinate in promotional efforts to increase student participation in Global Opportunities initiatives.
• Liaise with students, staff and external stakeholders in the event of an emergency or unforeseen circumstances.
• Represent the University at internal and external meetings and conferences as appropriate.
• Work closely with the Global Opportunities team and wider Careers and Employability Service to ensure activities delivered are in line with the University’s strategic objectives.

Person Specification:

• Good first degree (or equivalent experience).
• An understanding of the strategic external contexts of higher education, relating in particular to international higher education and student mobility.
• Demonstrable experience of using a variety of software systems and databases to manage large quantities of data.
• Ability to adapt to changes and unforeseen circumstances, proposing and implementing improvements to systems/procedures.
• Excellent customer service skills and a proven ability to build relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working independently to plan and implement simultaneous and/or complex projects with competing demands and tight deadlines.
• Ability to interpret complex guidance and information and simplify it to create effective advice and guidance for other audiences.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team, delegating or supervising work where appropriate.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion and its importance in higher education.

Further Information:

• Grade 6
• Work arrangement: Full time
• Duration: Fixed term for 2 years (24 months)
• Line manager: Global Opportunities Manager (Grants & Partnerships)

If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact Ann Yeomans at a.yeomans@sheffield.ac.uk.

Closing Date: 13/09/2026