Events Officer - Development and Alumni Relations Office - 107800 - Grade 6

Position Details

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range 33,002 to 35,608 with potential progression once in post to 39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to September 2027

Closing date: 2nd September 2026

UK Travel may be required for this role

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally.

Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Office Overview

Our University has a proud history of philanthropy stretching back to its foundation in 1900. With a clear vision to change the lives of the people of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain raised the funds required to build the University from citizens and corporations based locally and around the globe. Since then philanthropy has continued to play an important role in shaping the University.

DARO exists to support this academic and student community by engaging, inspiring, and celebrating alumni, individuals, and charitable funders who give their money, time, and networks to support the University’s strategic priorities. The Office, which is comprised of five teams, is focused on fundraising and volunteering from alumni, organisations and individuals who are passionate about changing lives, through funding various research projects, supporting student bursaries, mentoring students, and providing internships, as well as providing a versatile programme of engagement opportunities for our global alumni community.

Role Summary

Do you want to be part of a dynamic and creative team? We are recruiting an Events Officer to work in the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) to deliver creative, sector leading events. The Events Officer has responsibility for delivering both in-person and online events for our global community of alumni, donors and volunteers.

Main Duties

• Working as part of the Events team to deliver the overall DARO events programme
• Supporting the Events Programme Manager with delivery of the full DARO events programme, which supports all DARO audiences as part of the Birmingham in Action campaign, including alumni, donors, volunteers, VIPs, staff and students
• Delivering a range of events from conception through to evaluation; scoping venues, approaching speakers, writing invitations, updating the website, overseeing the event budget, managing registrations, arranging briefings and debriefs
• Working collaboratively with the Events Programme Manager, Events Manager, and Events Co-ordinator to plan and deliver departmental events around the close of the Birmingham in Action campaign
• Developing collaborative working relationships with key staff, both within DARO and across the University
• Managing a personal portfolio of our ‘Bringing Birmingham To You’ event series, which are held both in person and online
• Identifying and working with key academics to shine a light on their research excellence
• Ability to produce newsletters, presentations, speeches and information in an interesting and informative manner
• Using the Customer Relationship Manager system efficiently to monitor registration, attendance, and event outcomes and to evaluate success to inform future programming
• Promoting equality and valuing diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture
• Supporting the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications). Where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Significant experience of delivering complex events and events programmes.
• The ability to think and plan strategically, both in the short and long-term.
• The ability to work independently with initiative, to take decisions and think creatively and laterally.
• Experience of effectively managing a complex workload, with multiple projects running simultaneously.
• Able to perform effectively under pressure with excellent personal organisation and time management skills.
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders, internal, and external audiences.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to persuade and influence with diplomacy and sensitivity.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the confidence to write speeches, letters, articles, and reports for a range of audiences and stakeholders.
• The ability to work calmly and effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Adaptable and flexible when dealing with change and uncertainty.
• The ability to work effectively both in a team and independently.
• The ability to represent the University with confidence, diplomacy, and authority.
• The desire to support colleagues in the achievement of their individual and the collective goals, and to celebrate others’ success as positively as your own.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and PowerPoint.
• The flexibility to work unsociable hours (evenings and weekends) when required.
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries to Emily Meadway, email: e.meadway@bham.ac.uk