Communication and Engagement Officer

University of Surrey; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Surrey is seeking an individual for a marketing and communication role within the Surrey Innovation District team. This position involves engaging with various stakeholders to foster an innovation ecosystem, supporting regional growth through effective communication strategies and administrative support. Ideal for a candidate looking to enhance their project management skills while experiencing a vibrant academic environment.

Benefits

Generous pension

Relocation assistance

Flexible working options

Access to world-class leisure facilities

Family friendly benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in marketing and public relations activities including social media and event organization.
• Proficiency in IT skills, especially in digital communication assets.
• Strong foundation in administrative support related to stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Support engagement and communication activities for the Surrey Innovation District.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange between tenants and stakeholders.
• Maintain digital assets including a website and HubSpot CRM.

Skills

Communication

Project Management

Digital Communication

Job description

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research.

We are ambitious and have a bold vision of what we want to achieve - shaping ourselves into one of the best universities in the world, which we are achieving through the talents and endeavour of every employee.

Our culture empowers people to achieve this aim and to collectively, and individually, make a real difference.

The role

This is a unique opportunity to join our Surrey Innovation District team based at the Surrey Research Park and support the engagement and communication activities that bring our business tenants, university services and regional stakeholders together to create a thriving innovation district in Surrey.

The Surrey Research Park is a community of over 200 businesses operating in the science and technology sectors and is owned and operated by the University of Surrey as part of the university campus in Guildford. The Park has premises to accommodate varying needs, ranging from a single desk in our SETsquared Surrey incubator, units suitable for three – several hundred employees, to whole buildings designed to suit the tenants’ needs. Buildings are used as a mix of laboratories, offices and light manufacturing, all set in Green Flag awarded lush landscaping. The Research Park has a strong brand locally and internationally having been established for nearly 40 years.

This role provides essential support to the engagement and communication activities of the Surrey Innovation District community, ensuring through its remit it is adding value to all stakeholders and contributing to regional growth and development.

The successful candidate will need to have experience running marketing and public relations activities, like website maintenance, social media, event organisation and have excellent communication skills. They will need to be confident communicating with a range of public and private stakeholders, setting up meetings, events and recording activities. It is desirable to have an interest in and understanding of innovative ecosystems and the role universities play in supporting regional growth. The role involves use of all the digital communication assets, including a website with linked hubspot CRM, as well as data capture and reporting, thus proficiency in IT skills is essential. The role is ideally suited to a candidate who is looking to develop their project management skills and has a strong foundation of administrative support in a stakeholder engagement related field.

The role sits within the Innovation District portfolio and works for the Head of Engagement who is responsible for the relationship management with tenants and regional stakeholders, supporting them to engage with the university and each other, facilitating knowledge exchange and regional growth. The team also includes roles specialised in communications, business incubation, investment and civic engagement. The role has a close working relationship with the Research Park operations team who manage the facilities and tenancy contracts.

The Surrey Research Park engagement activities are part of a wider suite of programmes that the University of Surrey delivers to support commercialisation, industry partnerships and knowledge exchange. It makes up an essential local part of the innovation ecosystem and provides an important facilitation and communication role, supporting businesses to access university research collaborations and student / graduate skills.

The role is for 6 months fixed term with a view to extension. We acknowledge, accept, embrace and celebrate diversity and we welcome applications from recent graduates from the University of Surrey.

How to apply

Apply online, proposed interview date 30th June 2025.

For more informationand to apply online, please download the further details and click on the 'apply online' button above.

In return we offer a generous pension, relocation assistance where appropriate , flexible working options including job share and blended home/campus working locations (dependent on work duties), access to world-class leisure facilities on campus, a range of travel schemes and supportive family friendly benefits including an excellent on-site nursery.

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

The University of Surrey is committed to providing an inclusive environment that offers equal opportunities for all. We place great value on diversity and are seeking to increase the diversity within our community. Therefore we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities.