Job Description

Position Details

Finance Office


Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK


Full time starting salary is normally in the range 36,130 to 45,413 with potential progression once in post to 48,149


Grade: 7


Full Time (Part time applications will also be considered)


Fixed Term contract up to May 2026


Closing date: 28th May 2025


This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

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.


Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Role Summary

Finance is on a transformational journey; we're working towards the objectives of our Finance 2030 strategy, aligning with and supporting the overall Birmingham 2030 Strategic Framework. Our strategy comprises 5 themes underpinning our activity: Team culture (including equality, diversity and inclusion), communication and engagement, reporting, people development and service.


The post holder for this role will support the vision and delivery of the communication and engagement strategic theme. The successful candidate must be able to work independently to drive strategic change. They will lead on the communications strategy for Finance, both internally within the Finance team and externally across the University and with external stakeholders. The role will provide professional, expert communications advice and support across the Finance function and will deliver innovative ideas to create and enhance Finance communications. The role will lead the development of policies, processes and templates to build and continuously improve the experience of internal and external stakeholder groups, and embed this through effective communication and engagement.
This role reports into the Finance Department and will liaise with staff across Finance and the wider University to drive delivery of the Finance Communication and Engagement strategic objectives.


The role will be supported by the University communication teams to ensure alignment to University policies and procedures, as well as enabling access to wider University communication developments and initiatives.

Main Duties

Provide communication advice and guidance to the whole Finance team, including the Finance Leadership Group (FLG) and the Finance strategic theme groups. This includes support at team meetings, design of standard templates, guidance on format, style and media, and ensuring consistency and alignment with brand guidelines and digital accessibility where appropriate. Development and continuous improvement of the current internal and external communications and engagement strategies. This includes: continued engagement with key stakeholders (both internal and external); active participation on the University's Internal Communication Operations group; clarification and establishment of appropriate communication channels; developing key narrative and messaging; and coordinating across Finance and the wider University. Continued development, delivery and maintenance of an appropriate set of communication and engagement performance indicators, to measure effectiveness and engagement and drive continuous improvement. This includes supporting senior leaders with analysis and presentation of staff survey results, and development of action plans to improve engagement levels. Implement and embed University brand guidelines. Take editorial responsibility for all Finance information on the staff intranet, student intranet and external-facing website(s)and any other relevant channels, developing innovative, high quality and creative content in alignment with digital accessibility requirements. Develop and deliver training to empower colleagues as effective communicators. Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of internal communication methodologies. Lead on the introduction and embedding of digital channels; champion and support digital skills in the department. As required, lead and manage Finance communication and engagement events including All Staff emails and teams messaging and monthly All Staff Meetings. Participate as an active member of the Finance Social Committee with a view to driving engagement through actively encouraging social events. Promote equality, diversity and inclusion, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture. Lead on crisis communications; develop crisis comms plan, alongside key Finance stakeholders. Any other duties agreed with the Deputy Director of Finance or Chief Financial Officer from time to time.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Qualification, knowledge and experience

Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience. Where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required. Relevant communications or Public Relations certification e.g. Foundation degree, CIPR, IOIC, or equivalent. Substantial practical experience of communication and engagement methodologies and techniques and how these operate in a complex organisation. Experience of leading events and away-days with proficient project management and organisation skills. Digital accessibility experience in ensuring documents and content digitally accessible so they can be published on University websites.

Skills, abilities, competencies

Excellent communication skills and copywriting ability, and confident and creative presentation style. Excellent IT skills, confident in using, innovating with, and influencing use of digital communication and engagement, including content management and development tools, such as Adobe Creative Cloud and the Microsoft 365 suite. Well-developed organisational skills, excellent attention to detail and time-management skills. The ability to work effectively both autonomously and collaboratively is essential. Ability to influence people in senior positions. The ability to lead small project teams, providing training and development as needed, to enable them to support with delivery of key objectives. Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture. Supports the University's sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.

Role context

Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.

Core competencies/transferable skills

Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully demonstrate the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. As appropriate for the level, our Birmingham Professionals will take ownership for getting things done. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.

Planning and organising

plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate; develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area; to plan relevant training and development; provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area; oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements.

Problem solving and decision making

review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems; deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities; deal with sensitive people matters/issues; provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision-making of others.

Organisational understanding

understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University; has an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others; developing empathy with the academic endeavour.

Relationships and communication

influence decision makers and win support for proposals; develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders; co-ordinate activities across a number of areas.

Internal and external relationships

The role is a key communication and engagement role for Finance and therefore will have a range of internal and external stakeholders.


Internal members of Finance (including senior Finance Leadership) and University communication teams. University-wide stakeholders at all levels including academic staff, Professional Services staff, and students. Some external stakeholders.

Informal enquiries to Nicholas Banks, email: n.banks@bham.ac.uk


View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy

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You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone

on our website

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