Student Casual – Being Human Festival Events Assistant – History and Cultures – Grade 2 – 907623

The Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology (CAHA) department is looking for students to support Academic staff at a one-day event as part of the Being Human Festival, which offers hundreds of free events to the public nationwide to celebrate and demonstrate the ways in which the humanities inspire and enrich our everyday lives.

We will be running a family event, aimed at children aged 8-12, that explores ancient diplomacy and modes of nonverbal communication, which will take place off campus at the Library of Birmingham on 7 November 2026.

The event will comprise crafting activities based around ancient tokens of guest-friendship, using air-drying clay and other colouring activities, as well as a choreography activity based on stories of ancient diplomatic encounters using gestures and body language as a form of communication. The role will involve working with children and will be subject to a DBS check.

This role would be ideal for students interested in public engagement (particularly for children) and event facilitating. Some interest in the ancient classical world and material culture and/or choreography would be beneficial.

You would be required to work from 9am-5pm, including breaks for lunch and refreshments.

Main duties:

• Setting up and clearing the event
• Meeting and greeting event guests, checking them in and guiding them to and between our two event rooms in the Library of Birmingham
• Assisting with crafting activities
• Assisting organisers with checking media permissions for participants and collecting feedback

Duties and responsibilities for this role will vary from time to time and post holders will be expected to perform other such duties that are reasonably comparable.

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience:

• Experience of providing excellent customer service to the public
• Confidence with basic IT systems
• Teamwork skills
• Interest in the ancient classical world and material culture and/or choreography is desirable

Successful candidates will be required to request a Basic DBS check – this will cost £21.50 and will be reimbursed retrospectively.

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, you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week.

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.

To work, you will need to carry out a right to work check prior to commencing work.

Regarding the use of AI in applications, we review hundreds of applications and shortlist candidates based on their unique perspective, motivations and potential. 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.