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Placements Team Leader - Academic Services

Employer: University of Birmingham
Location: United Kingdom
Salary: £31,406 to £40,927
Closing date: Jun 13, 2022

Sector: Science, Agriculture, Aquaculture and Food Science, Fisheries
Hours: Full Time
Organization Type: University and College
Jobseeker Type: Academic (e.g. 'Lecturer')

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Main Duties

Responsible for the day-to-day running of the College's Professional Development Module, first-line placement approval and risk management, developing placements for the module, student administration and marketing the module
Work with line manager, College Careers Network team and College staff to identify potential placement providers, ensuring that opportunities are in line with the University's Placement Guidelines and will enhance students' employability
Provide support to students opting to take the module pre, during and post-placement. This support will include work with students individually and in groups as well as developing online and paper-based materials to enable this activity
Lead on the management, planning and delivery of the module's workshop programme, which includes sessions on self-reflection
Lead on supporting students to reflect on their placement experiences, through providing one-to-one appointments and group sessions, lectures and workshops on self-reflective writing and journal assessment
Work closely with the academic lead for the Professional Development module, and create partnerships with academic colleagues within the College and, other key institutional partners in promoting placement participation across the College
Responsible for developing and maintaining student placement records for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation and ensuring that priority groups of students are engaging with and succeeding on the module
Lead the marketing and promotion of placements externally and internally
Accountable for the evaluation of placement provision for the module, compliant with relevant legislation, University objectives, professional standards, best practice, and national codes of practice
Lead on reporting to measure impact of the module and in improving student employability as a result
Contribute to wider strategic developments around work experience and placement activity in the College
Involvement in ad hoc projects for Careers Network and the College, depending on their organisational needs.

Supervision & Staff Development

Supervise and support the team's Placement Officer and Placements Administrator in relation to the delivery of placement related services for the module, monitoring progress against agreed targets
Develop placement related training provision for the team and other colleagues in Careers Network, College, and related service departments

Employer relationships

Work with colleagues engaged in employer activities across the College, the wider University and Careers Network to ensure a coordinated approach and to maximise the benefits of the University's external relationships
Lead the team in developing relationships with external employers for the purpose of generating opportunities for the College with a particular focus on the West Midlands and small and medium sized enterprises. Employer focus will also cover large national employers, alumni, overseas opportunity providers, charities and public bodies and will involve visiting UK employers as well as telephone and electronic communication.
Quality assurance of opportunities advertised and communications with employers to ensure adherence to the university's Code of Practice on Placement Learning, other relevant codes of practice, relevant policies and guidelines, and the university's terms of advertising
Research labour market information and opportunities within industry sectors as directed by the Colleges and the College teams, making referrals to Internship Officers and Careers Network Employer team as appropriate
Obtain employer feedback on collaborative activities and experiences of working with the University and to make recommendations to senior management for improving University employer relationships.

Communications and dissemination

Ensure the University's placements activities are competitive with, and match best practice demonstrated by, other comparable institutions through development of a network of institutional contacts, undertaking occasional institutional visits and regular online research
Promote the University's good practice by highlighting the work amongst colleagues from other institutions, through networking with employers and influencing external stakeholders such as the AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters)
Promote the Code of Practice on Placement Learning, other relevant codes of practice, relevant policies and guidelines, and the university's terms of advertising, regularly researching equality and diversity and national minimum wage legislation developments in work experience through liaison with relevant professional bodies such as AGCAS, AGR, ASET and NASES

Person Specification

A relevant honours degree or equivalent experience in placements, work experience, recruitment
Strong understanding of higher education and the issues impacting on student employability in the College of Social Sciences
Experience of working closely with students, e.g., delivering workshops and one-to-one appointments
Proven ability to lead a small team and co-ordinate activities to ensure effective delivery (Previous staff management experience is desirable)
Experience of developing learning materials for students and colleagues, and knowledge of delivering academic modules and self-reflective writing is desirable
Experience of supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds is desirable
Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to adapt to a diverse range of client groups with evidence of presentation skills
Proven ability to prioritise and experience of successfully managing multiple projects to deadlines
Proven experience of software packages including Microsoft Word, Power Point, Access, Excel
Experience of influencing and working with senior staff
Experience of developing open and effective internal and external collaborative relationships
Ability to analyse data and undertake effective evaluation of the placements module
Ability to remain calm under pressure and resolve problems
Ability to work independently and to manage own work programme
Ability to be adaptable and flexible and a willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends

Informal enquires to Alex Carroll via, A.J.Carroll@bham.ac.uk

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