Accommodation Officer - Campus Services - 101135S25 - Grade 5

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 36,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent educational institution in Birmingham seeks an Accommodation Officer for a 12-month contract. This role involves managing student accommodation bookings, providing support to students, and ensuring a high level of customer care. Ideal candidates will possess excellent customer service skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving. Flexible working hours may be required, offering a dynamic work environment.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Experience providing customer service to diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work flexibly, including evenings and weekends.
• Organizational skills to prioritize workload.

Responsibilities

• Manage accommodation bookings and bed spaces.
• Provide advice and support to students in private rentals.
• Represent Student Living at events.

Skills

Customer service skills

Microsoft Office proficiency

Advanced Excel skills

Telephone engagement

Presentation delivery

Job description

Position Details

Campus Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £29,647 to £31,460, with potential progression once in post to £35,388

Grade: 5

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to September 2026

Closing date: 25th August 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, andweare 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 todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.With almost 5,000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai, there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer 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 andtothe success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer avarietyof 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 dayspaid holidaya 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 thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Background

Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover of circa £80m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the delivery of the University’s 2030 strategic framework and enhancing the quality of the student, staff, and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, community safety and security, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a commercial Division operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across our campus.

Role Summary

Student Living at the University of Birmingham have an exciting 12-month contract opportunity to join our team of Accommodation Officers. In this pivotal role, you will play a key part in ensuring a comprehensive and efficient accommodation experience for all students.

The team play a major role in ensuring that university owned and managed bed spaces are fully occupied and that excellent customer care is always provided. The Student Living team provides advice, information and support to students living in University owned accommodation and the private sector.

The post holder will deliver numerous functions within the service, including accommodation allocations and the management of bed spaces, liaising with our partner providers of accommodation, dealing with transfer applications and responding to customer inquiries. The person appointed will also provide support for special group bookings and with the recovery of outstanding accommodation fees.

You will also be expected to represent Student Living at Open Days, Webinars and Offer Holder Days

Main Duties

• Management of accommodation bookings and bed spaces of a large and varied portfolio of student and staff residences.
• Managing all accommodation applications and bookings using StarRez, the University’s accommodation software, ensuring accurate and up to date records are maintained.
• Provide tailored advice and support to students living in the private rented sector, ensuring they are well informed in choosing and managing their housing arrangements.
• Assist in the delivery of the University of Birmingham Approved Lettings scheme by liaising with landlords, coordinating communications and supporting the planning and execution of engagement events.
• Managing the applications and bookings of students/groups with specific requirements.
• Managing the accommodation transfer process and students requesting early release from their accommodation.
• Managing relationships with our partner providers of accommodation to ensure that we fulfil our Guarantee Schemes
• Responding to customer inquiries relating to the full range of accommodation issues either in person, via email, telephone and social media.
• To advise students on appropriate housing options, both in University, Partner and private sector housing.
• To report on accommodation applications, bookings, special groups, transfers, early leavers, voids, debts and make suggestions for the improvement of processes for allocating specific groups.
• Contribute to development and enhancements to specific processes and systems.
• To take relevant enforcement action where necessary and assist the wider Student Living team in issuing Notice to Quit documentation and any written warnings on breach of contract, for example relating to debt or behaviour.
• The preparation, issue and management of contracts and ensuring that the terms and conditions of the accommodation contract are adhered to.
• Ensure good communication and effective information sharing with other departments in Student Living and across the University.
• To abide by General Data Protection Regulations, IT, Health and Safety and financial policies, and other legislation at all times, dealing with sensitive and confidential information in a professional manner.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post that may be required from time to time.

Further Details

• All post holders are expected to take their main annual leave period when the business needs permit and in agreement with the relevant line manager.
• During business critical periods the post holder may be required to work anti-social hours including weekends, bank holidays and University closed days.
• Further information on Student Living can be found on our website at https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/accommodation.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Excellent customer service skills, with experience of providing customer service to a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds.
• Computer literate with the ability to use Microsoft Office. Advanced Excel skills is desirable.
• Confident in telephone and in-person engagements, including in the delivery of presentations.
• Able and willing to work flexibly, office hours will be from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, however some evening and weekend work will be required.

Dimensions

An organised individual with the ability to work well both within a busy and diverse team and independently deciding own short-term priorities and timetabling of tasks to meet agreed deadlines.

Able to accurately judge the urgency of tasks and reliably, independently and consistently, prioritise their workload.

Problem Solving and decision making

Enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging and competing demands.

Aproactive and innovative approach to problem solving, with an ability to adapt to changing requirements and escalate issues where needed

Internal and External relationships

Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external customers and staff, demonstrating a high level of discretion in dealing with confidential matter

Informal enquiries to Amit Mehey, email: [e-mail]

View our staff values and behaviourshere

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