Communications Officer (Digital) - Development and Alumni Relations Office - 55921Z - Grade 6

Position Details

Development and Alumni Relations Office

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full-time starting salary is normally in the range of £27,511 to £30,046. With potential progression once in post to £33,797

Grade 6

Full time

Fixed-term contract until 11th November 2022

Closing Date: 30th June 2021

Job Summary

Could your communications skills help graduates feel close to their University? Do you believe in helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get to university, and want to get people interested in life-changing research into cancer, environmental protection, COVID-19, mental health, and more?

An excellent communication professional with experience developing social media campaigns and writing for print, web, and social media, the Communications Officer (Digital) will work as part of the Development and Alumni Relations (DARO) Communications Team to deliver our overall strategy, and to champion our digital activity. You will be expected to follow a brief and produce high-quality impact-driven copy, video, email newsletters, and digital content, appropriate for target audiences, for print and online publication, email newsletters, and individual communication and will creatively and effectively use social media platforms and the DARO web presence. In addition to the core alumni audience, you will be responsible for the student and young alumni audiences. Experience in producing content for young people and in fundraising communications would be highly desirable.

We are an ambitious and successful research-intensive University (one of the top 100 research-led universities globally) and have produced 11 Nobel Prize winners, including three who received their awards in 2016. Academics here are tackling some of the world's most pressing global challenges such as antibody testing and Covid-19, the impact of climate change on our woodlands and forests, issues caused by migration and displacement, the rise in youth mental health issues, and the prevention of needless maternal deaths in the developing world. Our students come from nearly 150 countries and our flagship outreach programmes mean that almost 25% of our student population come from disadvantaged backgrounds, one of the highest proportions in the UK. Philanthropy has always played an important role in shaping the University, most recently in 2015 when we closed the Circles of Influence Campaign, which raised £193 million, making it the largest HE fundraising campaign outside Oxbridge and London. Through 'Birmingham In Action', philanthropy will continue to play a vital role in delivering projects to change lives locally, nationally, and internationally.

Main Duties

• Working as part of the DARO Communications Team to deliver our overall Communications programme for our global alumni community and friends of the University, including annual printed and digital magazines and social media campaigns.
• Championing our digital activity by planning, creating, promoting, and evaluating content for social media channels and the website. Acting as an expert within DARO in this area, providing advice and creative input, and ensuring we use the opportunities presented by new technologies and communication channels.
• Managing our communications around key dates throughout the year, including religious festivals and awareness days (e.g. International Women's Day, Black History Month, and Christmas).
• Working with colleagues to support the delivery of graduation activities that help students transition from study to becoming alumni.
• Within the overall DARO Communications programme, taking responsibility for the planning and delivery of communications to student and young alumni audiences.
• Supporting key DARO objectives including increasing participation rates, building greater warmth and affinity to the University, generating leads and charitable income by continually reinforcing giving messages, especially in relation to our fundraising and volunteering campaign Birmingham In Action.
• Identifying opportunities to appropriately share newsworthy stories with alumni, students, staff, international and other key audiences, and the ability to translate academic information into an understandable format for a lay audience.
• Actively contributing to the annual communications review suggesting areas for improvement and development. This will include, but not be limited to:
  • Monitoring other University and commercially successful magazines and websites for ideas which could be applied to the University.
  • Reviewing click-through and open rates of electronic communications and hit rates of the DARO website. Identifying patterns, suggesting, and making improvements to the effectiveness of electronic communications where appropriate.
  • Reviewing uptake and usage of digital communications and channels.

Leading people

• Building relationships with colleagues in DARO, the University's Marketing, and Communications team, and professional services colleagues across the University.
• Through these relationships identifying opportunities for DARO messages to be communicated to appropriate audiences.
• Understanding key areas of University research strength and innovation and identifying opportunities to highlight these areas through DARO communications by
• Reading internal staff communications including Buzz, press releases, and staff newsletters.
• Attending key University events.
• Monitoring University stories in the local, national and international press.
• Keeping abreast of issues and developments in the higher education sector.
• Attending University-wide marketing and communications network meetings.

Communication

• Communicating clearly and openly with others.
• Efficiently responding to alumni enquiries and comments as part of monitoring our social media channels and Communications Inbox.
• Being able to create an accurate and concise brief, and follow a brief, to/from colleagues on collaborative projects.
  • Expressing ideas coherently through printed and electronic media.
  • Identifying and using the appropriate communication channel based on a sophisticated understanding of the audience and objectives.
  • Ability to translate complex messages to be understandable and engaging to a diverse and multicultural audience, considering issues such as widely varying levels of expertise, political sensitivities, and language barriers.
    • Giving and seeking both structured and informal feedback in a clear, open, and constructive manner.
    • Inviting, under the guidance of senior colleagues, internal and external feedback on individual projects or communication channels to increase the impact of DARO communications.

Performance and resource management

• Prioritisation and management of own workload to ensure output is completed to a high standard and meets necessary deadlines.
• Producing a weekly schedule of social media content and a report on how the previous week's content performed.
• Contributing to the ongoing schedule for all DARO communications to ensure timeliness of messages and the most effective use of all channels available

Person Specification

General - Essential

• Experience in a communications role, managing social media accounts, writing copy for print and online publication.
• Substantial experience in digital communications, including filming and editing videos, web development, and experience of using content management systems.
• Understanding of social media, ideally through the experience of managing a university or charitable social media presence.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide variety of people.
• Ability to think creatively.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Good all-around IT skills including competence with all aspects of MS Office, email, website management tools, and video editing software.
• The ability to work effectively both in a team and independently and to produce calm, positive responses to negative feedback on social media when appropriate.
• Flexibility to occasionally work out of hours to meet deadlines.
• 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.

General - Desirable

• Experience in writing for student and supporter audiences.
• Understanding of GDPR legislation and as it relates to the programme.
• Understanding of the Fundraising Regulator Guidelines.
• Understanding of accessibility requirements for social media, video, and websites.
• Experience in working with a large, complex database.
• Experience in writing and building email newsletters.
• Good understanding of the UK HE sector.

Performance and resource management

• Thorough understanding of available communication channels and their benefits and drawbacks.
• Ability to prioritise own workload and remain motivated.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines.

Communication

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience in writing copy for magazines, newsletters, websites, etc.
• Able to interact effectively with colleagues across DARO and the University.
• Able to communicate effectively with alumni contributors.

Informal enquiries can be made to Becky Thornton - k.r.thornton@bham.ac.uk

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community '