Student Casual - Welcome Assistants (Information) - Academic Services - Grade 2 - 906025

Join to apply for the Student Casual - Welcome Assistants (Information) role at University of Birmingham.

Position Details

• School or Department: Academic Services, Student Services
• Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
• Grade/Band: Grade 2
• Hourly rate: £13.06 per hour plus holiday entitlement
• Casual contract from: 01/09/2025 – 03/10/2025
• Positions available: 60
• Advert closing date: Sunday 6th July 2025, 23.59 p.m.

If we receive a high volume of applications then we may close this advert early. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible.

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 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.

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

You will be involved in providing front line information, advice, and services to new students from all over the world regarding Welcome and Registration activities and will act as an ambassador for the University in welcoming these new students and their guests to campus. There will be a series of events and other activities that will be organised over this period (e.g., Welcome Events, Campus Tours, Welcome information stands, ID card processing etc.), as well as communication activities that some will help support.

Role Summary

Typically, Welcome Assistants (Information) are assigned to one main area which you will work on for the majority of the Welcome period. Some roles may require additional training. The two main areas that you could be assigned to are:

• ID Card processing: this is a process driven role, where you will process and produce ID cards. You will be trained on using several systems.
• General: this incorporates everything else, such as giving directions around campus, supporting University level events, queue management.

Duration and Working Hours

Arrivals Weekend and Welcome Week (essential) - Saturday 20 September to Friday 26 September (10-30 hours). Early Welcome activity (not all required) - Friday 19 September. Extended Welcome and Registration activity (additional shifts available) - Monday 29 to Friday 3 October (up to 20 hours).

All Welcome Assistants are required to be available for the duration of Arrivals Weekend and Welcome Week (Saturday 20-Friday 26 September). Some shifts will be available before and after this time on an opt-in basis. The hours/days of work will vary but are likely to be in the region of 10-30 hours over the course of Welcome Week, and up to 20 hours for the following week. These hours cannot be guaranteed and will vary depending on business requirements and volume of work. Hours are also subject to continuing satisfactory staff performance.

Welcome Assistants will need to be flexible due to the variety of roles required, from producing ID cards to helping with queue management. Hours will be agreed and discussed with successful candidates by the Student Services, Welcome, Event and Registration Managers as part of planning for Registration and Welcome 2025.

Successful candidates will be expected to dress smartly, adhere to safety protocols and measures, and act in a professional manner at all times. In addition, successful applicants will be expected to complete relevant (paid) training in advance of starting the role. Training details will be confirmed closer to the time with successful applicants and may involve both online and in-person aspects. Following completion of the training, or at any point during the period of employment, Student Services reserve the right to end the employment without notice. This is to ensure that all staff have a proven aptitude for customer service focused work and maintain professional standards at all times.

The University is adhering to Government guidance on running workplaces and events safely. Work is dependent on the continuation or change to these guidelines; hours of work may change or become unavailable, due to unforeseen circumstances.

Main duties

Successful applicants will be allocated to service-based teams and will be fully trained to be able to support any one of the key service teams. You will:

• Adhere to safety measures and protocols as laid out by the University and through training.
• Be friendly, approachable, and proactive in whatever role is required.
• Welcome new students to the University of Birmingham and act as an information point for new students and their families.
• Support the smooth running and operations of key Welcome activities.
• Support venue managers to manage physical events safely, ensuring students are accessing the right services in the right way and that health and safety of all is a key priority.
• Act with professionalism when handling confidential information, such as students’ registration information.
• Check Teams and other communications for updates.
• Undertake any other duties as necessary and appropriate to the successful delivery of Welcome.

Role dependent duties

Depending on the role(s) you are assigned to, you may:

• Provide information and answer queries at indoor or outdoor Welcome Information Points.
• Support Welcome events for students, such as fairs, talks and drop-in activities.
• Proactively encourage students to engage with activities such as the Welcome Fair and Wellbeing Marquee.
• Answer registration queries from students, including producing proof of registration letters.
• Carry out identity checks on students prior to students receiving their University ID cards.
• Support students with completing the Online Registration process.
• Produce and distribute ID cards to students.
• Support on Welcome engagement via social media and digital channels, e.g., content creation, blogs, and vlogs.
• Provide queue management at venues, including directing students to the right service, taking visitor counts, and ensuring students have necessary documents/an appointment.
• Proactively collate student and visitor feedback through various mechanisms.

Person Specification

• Must be able to learn new IT systems quickly and maintain data confidentiality and accuracy at all times.
• Must have the confidence and ability to talk to and communicate with a wide range of people and be proactive in doing so (e.g., watch out for people who might look lost or not know what to do).
• Must have the ability to work on own initiative, but also must be able to demonstrate a good team working ethos.
• Must have the ability to manage time effectively and ensure that timings/working hours are adhered to.
• Must be able to work to deadlines/timescales.
• Must have an understanding of what good customer service is and preferable to have experience of working in a customer focused/facing environment previously (e.g., retail, office, reception, other similar role).
• Must be available to work between Saturday 20 and Friday 26 September 2025.

For any informal queries, please contact Evie Wilkes/Rebecca Varney (welcomeassistants@contacts.bham.ac.uk)

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time. 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.