Fixed Term Contract – Graduate Support Assistant – Careers Network – Grade 2 – 107790 in Birmingham

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

Careers Network is looking to recruit 5 Graduate Support Assistants who are committed to supporting 2026 graduates in accessing appropriate employability services in order to improve their graduate outcome. The Graduate Support Assistants will be working as part of the Graduate Success Project Team.

The team will support the institutional initiative of providing enhanced support to 2025 graduates who will have experienced a more challenging final year and / or have experienced a difficult start to entering the graduate labour market.

This role would suit University of Birmingham final year / Master’s students passionate about helping former students who are facing challenges in employment and getting started on the career ladder. You will be reliable, approachable and have an excellent telephone manner and a strong customer service approach. You will undertake research using social media and the internet, make supportive exploratory phone calls to graduates and record information and data.

Working pattern: 12 hours per week across Monday – Saturday.

Job summary

The Graduate Support Assistants will form the ‘Graduate Success Project Team’, working under the Graduate & Student Employability Manager. The project comprises of an organized communication campaign to cohorts of 2025 graduates, to assess how they are getting on with their employability journey and signposting accordingly.

Main duties

• Being confident in knowledge of the support offering across Careers Network for all students and graduates

• Conduct telephone calls with recent graduates in a professional and personable manner, at various times in the day, including evenings and Saturdays

• Collect and record information in a way that meets specific data quality criteria, operational requirements, and GDPR

• Undertake research online using professional social media platforms (like LinkedIn) to identify the status and main activity of graduates, and to reach out to offer support

• Attend planning and review meetings and contribute to projects undertaken by the Graduate Projects team

• To carry out any other duties that are within the scope of the job description.

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience

• A University of Birmingham current final year undergraduate / postgraduate student

• A positive and enthusiastic attitude with a willingness to work with a wide range of people

• The ability to work confidently and independently whilst also being able to work well as part of a team

• The ability to work under pressure

• A positive, friendly, supportive attitude and an excellent telephone manner

• Excellent spoken and written English

• Experience of using social media platforms e.g. LinkedIn

• Ability to record data quickly and accurately and experience of using spreadsheets

• Research ability and attention to detail

• Ability to work flexibly including weekend and evenings

For any informal queries, please contact Saba Javed (s.javed.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.