Careers Adviser - Birmingham Business School - 105639 - Grade 7

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Part time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham seeks a BBS Careers Adviser to deliver career support to business school students. Focusing on employability skills, the role involves collaboration with academic staff and employers to enhance student career prospects. A commitment to diversity and an inclusive environment is paramount.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday a year

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Subsidised day nursery

Qualifications

• Experience providing careers advice and guidance.
• Familiarity with data analysis and labour market intelligence.
• Experience in designing tailored employability activities.

Responsibilities

• Delivering career advice and guidance to students.
• Developing employability-related lectures and workshops.
• Organising events and engaging employers.

Skills

Communication

Project Management

Problem Solving

Education

Degree level education or substantial work experience

Qualification in careers guidance

Tools

Microsoft applications

Job description

Position Details

Birmingham Business School

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

Part Time (30 hours per week)

Permanent

Closing date: 6th July 2025

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

Role Summary

TheBBS Careers Adviserwill have responsibility for delivering careers advice and guidance, and career development learning, to students within the business school.This role will have an initial focus on supporting Postgraduate students. However all members of BBS Careers team support all of our students, so you will be expected at different times of the year to support undergraduate students and any others that fall outside of your initial remit. This focus may change between academic years as and when we know more about the make-up of our student cohort.Drawing upon your expertise in student employability, and the graduate and/or experienced hire labour market, you will advise and support academic colleagues, professional services staff, and BBS Careers team members to develop and engage students with in curricular and co-curricular external engagement, employability skills, and a variety of career development activity.

Collaborating with a small team of career professionals supporting BSc, MSc, or MBA students, the postholder will deliver a programme of activities that enhance the employability of our students, promote equality, diversity, and inclusion, and ensures students have access to the right development opportunities for them. Using data analysis, labour market intelligence, digital technologies, and working with students as co-creators, you will provide tailored career development support for the school’s diverse cohort of students.

This role is located within the BBS Careers team, which exists to help students and graduates realise the potential of their University of Birmingham experience and degree, helping them to positively shape the world around them, powering possibilities for themselves, and others, throughout their careers.The team comprises circa 15 staff, across undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts supporting employability within and beyond the curriculum, engaging with employers, alumni, and external partners to support this endeavour. The team reports directly to Birmingham Business School, however; it aligns closely with the University of Birmingham career service: Careers Network.Achieving the global ambitions of Birmingham Business School and the University of Birmingham depends on our people - and we are proud of our highly talented and engaged colleagues.Our culture is ambitious because we aim high in fulfilling our goals: helping staff and students feel supported to realise their potential, working collaboratively, and being passionate about ensuring students are at the heart of what we do.

This role is 0.8FTE. All parties invited to interview will be asked what this arrangement means to them, how we can support you and your working arrangements and how we can work together to offer an excellent service to our students.

Main Duties

Service Provision

• Providing careers advice and guidance to students and graduates.
• Developing and delivering employability related lectures and workshops.
• Organising events, engaging employers, speakers and external contacts in partnership with BBS Careers, Student Experience, Alumni Relations, and Academic leads.
• Creating resources and information tailored to support the careers provision in Schools.
• Developing and delivering BBS action plans in partnership with BBS Careers Consultants and Head of Careers and undertaking activity that meets the requirements of these plans and that can demonstrate impact.
• Analysing data from sources such as Graduate Outcomes and Career Registration, and working with the BBS Careers Consultant to develop the employability strategy for that particular cohort within BBS (BSc, MSc, MBA).
• Supporting the business school, college, and university, towards a positive performance against Graduate Outcomes; ensuring best practice is being adopted in relation to comparator universities and employment trends.
• Working in partnership with academic and professional services colleagues and students, to develop and deliver a variety of employability services and initiatives; ensuring that services achieve institutional and national quality and professional standards, such as the AGCAS code of practice, and is compliant with relevant legislation and University guidelines.
• Identifying areas for improvement in practices, policies and technology and working with colleagues to implement that improvement.

Dissemination & Communication

• Creating and delivering effective communications to students.
• Participating in the research, authoring and dissemination of reports and briefings relating to BBS and CoSS employability performance and strategic opportunities.
• Identifying trends affecting students/graduate employability and supporting the initiation of action and creation of innovative solutions.
• Supporting the identification and development of web based and online resources and careers information for various purposes.
• Maintaining and developing positive stakeholder relations (academics, students, staff, employers and other potential partners).In particular, establishing effective partnerships with employers, alumni and local networks to enhance the careers provision in BBS, CoSS, and Careers Network.
• Responding proactively to enquiries from all stakeholders and identifying potential internal and external collaborations that could enhance the employability of students.

Staff Development/ Resource management

• Supervising and supporting information, administrative and student staff where appropriate.
• Supporting the development and delivery of employability related training provision for colleagues within BBS Careers as well as staff in the school and college.
• Contributing towards resources planning, with the BBS Careers Consultants and Head of Careers and appropriate working groups; promoting cost effectiveness and value for money for BBS and the university.
• Being responsible for the management of a budget in relation to a project or an event.

Other duties

• Contributing to development and delivery of team and centralised activities and services and undertaking occasional weekend and evening work.
• Leading on projects and service areas, as directed by the BBS Careers Consultants or Head of Careers.
• Contributing to quality audits, accreditation exercises and providing information for rankings surveys; collecting service data and evaluations in order to inform the future direction of the service.
• Belonging to AGCAS and contributing as appropriate to its discussions lists, specialist committees and working groups, training, writing and research activities.
• Supporting student recruitment activity e.g. leading webinars about the service or presenting on common student questions, as well as representing BBS Careers at both in-person and virtual careers fairs.
• Undertaking other duties as may, from time-to-time, be determined by the Head of Careers.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• A formal education up to degree level or substantial work experience.
• Possession of a recognised qualification in careers guidance and substantial experience providing careers advice and guidance to clients; or substantial experience working in talent management, delivering graduate management programmes, or in a HR people development role.
• Proven experience of working with students or graduates, and the ability to provide them with an excellent customer experience.
• Detailed knowledge of recruitment and employment practices, the graduate labour market, and graduate outcomes trends for Business and Economics related students and graduates.
• Knowledge of the different experiences and needs of learners from diverse backgrounds, and experience of designing and delivering tailored employability development activities within/alongside the curriculum.
• Project management skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to adapt the content and your communication style to meet the needs of both home and international students.
• Evidence of ability to work under pressure, to manage conflicting demands, and meet challenging targets.
• Evidence of being able to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• A willingness and ability to network and to generate new leads and projects.
• Evidence of strong problem-solving abilities.
• Experience of being able to relate to and work with a range of stakeholders; to inform, persuade and influence with diplomacy and sensitivity.
• Evidence of excellent self and time management skills.
• Evidence of drive and enthusiasm.
• Proficient IT skills including a familiarity with Microsoft applications and experience of working with data.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation relating to employability.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.

Key Capabilities required for the role:

Leading Change

• The ability to manage change effectively and ensure good practice is maintained.

Organisational Understanding

• Understand the diversity of the University, and how various roles and relationships can support objectives.

Strategic Thinking and Perspective

• Demonstrate understanding of the key factors within HE impacting on their area/ specialism.

Performance Management

• Ensure the highest possible service results through effective organisation and management of available resources.

Communication

• Communicate in a variety of styles for a wide range of audiences; and uses effective communication to motivate customers.

Working collaboratively

• Foster collaboration and partnerships in order to meet College and School objectives.

Informal enquiries to Tom Ellis, 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 .