Estimator - Client Support - External Relations - 105842 - Grade 5

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

Job summary

A prominent educational institution in Birmingham seeks a dedicated individual to manage print and distribution services. In this dynamic role, you will be the first line of contact for client inquiries, produce accurate job estimates, and coordinate with suppliers. The ideal candidate has A Level qualifications, practical experience in print services, and excellent interpersonal skills. The position requires attention to detail and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, contributing to the success of the institution's operations.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday

Professional development opportunities

Flexible working arrangements

Occupational sick pay

Qualifications

• Educated to A Level standard or equivalent.
• Minimum grade C/4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE.
• Proven practical experience in print/distribution industry.

Responsibilities

• Manage client enquiries related to print services.
• Produce accurate job estimates and maintain guidelines.
• Liaise with suppliers and ensure timely job completion.

Skills

Customer service skills

Interpersonal communication

Attention to detail

Problem-solving

Team player

Education

A Level standard or equivalent

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Microsoft Office

Print MIS

Job description

Position Details

External Relations

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, Permanent

Closing date: 4th February 2026

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 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 advance 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 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.

Background

External Relations delivers the University of Birmingham to the world. Whether it’s outstanding awareness‑raising campaigns, recruiting and admitting students or developing strategic links with international partners, External Relations are at the heart of the activity.

External Relations is comprised of nine teams which help drive delivery of the University’s strategic framework. External Relations communicates with Birmingham’s many different audiences in order to build purposeful relationships internally, locally, nationally, and globally. We enable those who wish to apply to study on undergraduate and postgraduate courses to make informed choices whilst ensuring our partnerships, profile and reputation reflects the success of the University and delivers impact. External Relations sits within the University’s Professional Services structure which provides outstanding support to our researchers, enables an exceptional educational experience for our students, and helps the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally.

External Relations drives forward crucial strategic developments to maximise competitive advantage for the University and support flagship institutional projects. These include delivery of our new Dubai ‘phase 2 campus’ and ‘The Exchange’, our city‑centre facility which opened in 2021.

External Relations plays an important role in the University’s research ambition, working closely with academic colleagues to support research grant bids, help ensure political and public engagement, and assist in REF and impact development. To support international reputation and research impact, we also develop strategic partnerships in key priority regions, utilising our offices in China and India to further broaden international engagement.

Role Summary

The post holder will contribute to and take a role in all aspects of print and distribution services supporting the delivery of our print and distribution services for students, staff, and the wider community. The role will involve:

• First line contact for client enquiries.
• Handling client queries and resolving issues relating to specifications.
• Responsible for managing the Print inbox daily.
• Producing accurate, bespoke estimates efficiently.
• Responsible for maintaining margins in line with Print guidelines.
• Liaising with suppliers where outsourcing is required.
• Obtaining competitive outsource pricing.
• Booking in of orders and converting estimates to detailed, accurate job bags.
• Providing Print Techs with detailed job bags (and relevant artwork files) to manufacture orders to client requirements.
• Liaising with logistics to ensure client delivery requirements are met.
• Assist where necessary within the department to ensure projects are completed on time and delivery requirements are met.
• Develop skills relating to small format/wide format digital printing and finishing.
• This role will provide both technical and practical estimating, account management, supplier liaison, print and distribution support within the team.
• The post holder will work within a flexible professional team to maintain, develop and innovate the service with a strong adherence to service level agreements, quality standards and commercial awareness.
• Day to day activities will involve overseeing aspects of jobs through from the initial enquiry to the delivered finished product with the support from both the Print Technicians and the Senior Print Technician.
• The role will require technical expertise using various industry software applications and a practical involvement in the printing, finishing, installation and delivery of all materials.

Main Duties

Estimating and relationships:

• Use the incumbent MIS to prepare accurate and detailed estimations for all jobs in a timely manner ensuring accurate commentary is recorded regarding non‑compliance, production issues or cost variance.
• Maintain complex pricing on systems where required to ensure accurate estimates are provided.
• Cross check all print specifications for accuracy against the customer brief and make sure that the most cost and time effective print production and distribution method is utilised ensuring quality is maintained throughout the process.
• Liaise with external suppliers ensuring accuracy, quality standards; delivery schedules and value for money are achieved in all dealings with third‑party suppliers.
• May review quality of work produced by others ahead of delivery to clients.
• Work closely with the Account Management Team to ensure a responsive and pro‑active service is maintained where all the service level agreements are met.
• Assist with the collation of statistics and management information as required.

Pre‑production and production:

• Undertake basic print preparation of artwork and pre‑flight checks including the sending out of proofs and liaising with customers on any artwork issues.
• Assist with the production and planning of workflow taking responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of all print, finishing and distribution machines including basic maintenance and quality adherence.
• Schedule priorities of work and timetabling for where required for own and other members of the team.
• Ensure stock levels are maintained at an appropriate level to ensure the smooth operation of the service.

Distribution:

• Undertake general distribution and dispatch duties including driving the van and delivering to campus when required.

General:

• Be flexible and proactively support the work of the team to plan, organise, maintain and deliver activities including the generation and implementation of new initiatives enabling the successful growth and delivery of the service.
• Be prepared to cover the roles of other team members in their absence where possible.
• May manage the small team during periods of absence of the Head of department.
• Act as a role model to other members of the team in championing External Relations values and behaviours.
• The role is a task and project driven role that may require work outside of core hours and is driven by schedules and by delivery deadlines. The post holder may therefore be required to work both flexible and extended hours to deliver.
• May train less experienced staff in the estimating role, to allow cover for any absence.
• When problems arise use experience and clear judgements to resolve as effectively and efficiently as possible. Discuss with heads of area where required.
• Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of grade C/4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualification.
• Proven practical experience in a similar role within the print/distribution industry.
• Good working knowledge of Print MIS.
• Good IT skills with working knowledge of standard Microsoft Office software.
• Basic working knowledge, including but not limited to, the use of the Adobe Creative Suite, Fiery RiP and Quite Imposing software.
• Basic understanding of DHL and Royal Mail postal procedures.
• Ability to develop strong working relationships within the team, across the University and with third‑party suppliers.
• Excellent communication and listening skills with the ability to support colleagues maintaining a calm and professional disposition throughout.
• Strong team player.
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels providing exemplary customer service.
• Willingness to contribute to evolving the MIS. Outstanding accuracy and attention to detail in all aspects of this work with a genuine desire to constantly refine and innovate the system.
• Be proactive in offering solutions/answers where there may be problems/questions.
• Good organisational skills and a demonstrated ability to work to targets and deadlines.
• Have excellent problem‑solving skills and be capable of using their initiative to resolve issues.
• Has the ability to prioritise their workload without compromising the deadline or quality of any job.
• Willingness to accept responsibility and be open and responsive to receiving and acting on feedback.
• Able to work in a busy office environment and think on their feet and work at pace with a meticulous eye for detail.
• Self‑motivated, enthusiastic and with a good sense of humour.
• Able to respond positively and effectively to changing priorities as they arise.
• Able to work effectively with minimal management guidance/supervision and use own initiative.
• Ability to deal with all situations with a high degree of sensitivity, tact and diplomacy.
• Exercise personal integrity and discretion when handling confidential and potentially sensitive information.
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

Dimensions

You will not be required to directly line manage anyone in this role however there will be occasions where you will be expected to provide day to day supervision in the team. You will not manage a budget but will need to have the ability to provide accurate cost estimates.

Planning and organising

You will be required to manage and prioritise a varied workload to deliver within required time frames. There is also a need to maintain an awareness of activity across the department and wider University as appropriate. This role will require you to work independently on daily, weekly and monthly tasks but also on projects with medium‑longer‑term horizons without daily supervision. You may manage other staff’s workloads.

Problem solving and decision making

You will be working under the direction of a senior manager, but you will have a significant degree of autonomy. You will be working within the framework of existing policies, processes and procedures for the department. You will deal with the more complex queries and be expected to resolve any problems in your area of responsibility. You may also manage the workload of others or coach others to achieve results. You will take day to day decisions on what advice to give and for responding to and resolving queries.

Internal and external relationships

This role will be liaising with internal colleagues and stakeholders, and external stakeholders as well with an expectation on maintaining good working relationships with all.

Informal enquiries to Andy Sewell, email: [e-mail]

Use of AI in applications

We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

Equalities and Diversity

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of Universal of Birmingham staff and that diversity is a source of 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 also 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.