Birmingham Projects Officer Birmingham, England
Job description
Birmingham Projects Officer
£22,500
Application Pack
28/04/202
Our vision is a society in which every student engages with social and environmental challenges during their time at university, empowering them to
become active citizens for life.
Join us in our mission to mainstream student social action.
About us
Student Hubs has worked with over 25,000 students over the past 15 years. We currently support over 1300 students each year at our network of Hubs in 4 universities, as well as supporting additional students through our short term partnerships through our university projects. The students who engage with us take part in a wide range of social action projects across our four pillars of delivery;
practical volunteering which is structured long term opportunities for students to work in the community; skilled placements which are intensive programmes to boost employability and support local organisations; service learning which is in-curriculum social action; and incubation which supports students to get ideas off of the ground.
We are social, ambitious, motivational, bold and long-term. By basing everything we deliver on our values and our Theory of Change, we ensure that the work we do always has a high quality double benefit on both students and the community. Our
Theory of Change is:
Student Hubs is a registered charity in England andWales, number 1122328. 2
www.studenthubs.org
People are at the centre of everything we do at Student Hubs. Our ambitious team is transforming the Higher Education sector in the UK through student social action.
Every day is unique, filled with exciting challenges and innovative thinking.
We believe that work is a part of your life, and you deserve to enjoy it. Therefore we are committed to making Student Hubs a great workplace, and to the wellbeing and personal development of our staff team. This is backed up by the policies and processes we follow as an organisation. We offer:
● Flexible and remote working - you’re in control of when and how you work
● A minimum holiday allowance - you can find a balance that suits you
● The opportunity for rapid growth and development - we trust you with responsibility and ownership
● Personal development opportunities - tailored training days, peer support networks, internal mentoring and projects outside of your role
● Team time - we are a social team who love spending time together
As an organisation we work with a wide variety of individuals, and we are committed to promoting the safety and wellbeing of all who engage with us. For more information on this please see our safeguarding policies. For this role you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check. The outcome of this check will be reviewed on a case by case basis in line with Student Hubs’ Policy on the
Recruitment of Ex-offenders.
If you wish to, you can self-disclose criminal convictions before the check by completing the form and bringing it in a sealed envelope marked ‘Confidential’ to the interview. We will only open the self-disclosure form of the successful candidate and other forms will be securely disposed of.
Student Hubs is an equal opportunity employer and we believe that a diverse team creates dynamic and innovative organisations. We want to hear from all candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, socioeconomic background, sex or sexual orientation. We want to hold ourselves accountable to this, to support us with this please also fill in our Equal Opportunities Monitoring form.
About the role
Location: Birmingham, with some travel as required (all expenses reimbursed)
Line Manager: Fiona Walsh, Partnerships and Development Director
The Team: Birmingham Intern (for 6 weeks on 2 days a week)
Salary: £22,500 (pro rata fixed term for 14 weeks)
Start date: As soon as possible (applicants must be able to start by 5th June)
Duration: 14 weeks, with the role ending by 1st September (depending on start date)
Contract type: Full-time, fixed term for 14 weeks
The Birmingham Projects Officer is responsible for key areas of the work of Student
Hubs with University College Birmingham, supporting Birmingham students to increase their impact in the world around them.
You will work closely with:
● Students, leading them to coordinate projects whilst also supporting their wellbeing and personal development.
● University College Birmingham staff and the Birmingham community, networking, making connections and collaborating on projects.
● The Student Hubs network, including staff from our 4 other local Hubs, and our national team.
In this role you will deliver an adapted version of the One Community Forum format previously used by Student Hubs to deliver an event for students, university staff, and local community stakeholders and partners. The 2-3 hour event held before the end of June will be the basis for further activities, recommendations and research projects conducted over the remainder of the role. The aim of the Forum and subsequent activities is to support students and communities to engage with
University College Birmingham’s knowledge exchange objectives.
The role is an exciting opportunity to support University College Birmingham’s community engagement activities and strategy, design and deliver an event which brings together students, university staff and community members to design student activities, and launch and provide recommendations for student activities with socially impactful organisations in the region.
This role is the result of a partnership between University College Birmingham and
Student Hubs, and is an opportunity for Student Hubs to scale one of its successful events and resulting student activities, the One Community Forum originally funded by the UPP Foundation, to another region and university partner. Due to the funding associated with the role, this position is fixed term, with all associated delivery of the
One Community Forum and associated student projects needing to be completed by the end of July. The role will finish following completion of all monitoring, evaluation, reporting and recommendations delivered to University College Birmingham to support the continuation of their knowledge exchange activities with students and the local community.
This is your opportunity to create significant social impact. You will be supporting the development of new and exciting areas of work, developing key skills and working with outstanding people who are passionate about social impact and student experience - both at Student Hubs and University College Birmingham. We believe in challenging and trusting you from early on - giving you the support and training you need to take ownership of your project. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with one or two years of professional experience to develop and grow.
You will be responsible for the following areas:
Programmes
● Deliver the One Community Forum style event across 2-3 hours with relevant stakeholders including University College Birmingham students, staff and community partners and stakeholders from socially impactful organisations in the Birmingham area.
● Evaluate and review the content, activities and outputs of the One Community
Forum event, including a debrief with key stakeholders at University College
Birmingham
● Monitor and evaluate the resulting activities from the One Community Forum, with delivery completing by the end of July. Creation of a recommendations report for University College Birmingham reflecting on the One Community
Forum event, the resulting activities, and future recommendations for knowledge exchange activities by the university.
● Support the collection of evaluation forms, case studies and photographs.
Partners
● Work with University College Birmingham university staff, their local stakeholders, and community organisations.
● Deliver and map knowledge exchange activities with the community by working closely with a variety of partners.
● Identify new partnership opportunities for University College Birmingham.
People
● Recruit and support student leaders to participate in the One Community
Forum and any other additional initiatives relevant to the outcomes of the
Forum.
● Support the Birmingham Intern’s 6 weeks’ delivery on the project in collaboration with the Partnerships and Development Director.
Strategy and Development
● Support the development of knowledge exchange activities and initiatives with
University College Birmingham, including programme improvement and creating implementation plans
● Work with the Partnerships and Development Director and University College
Birmingham to develop a strategic plan for University College Birmingham as part of the recommendations report
● Provide students with leadership opportunities through the One Community
Forum’s resulting activities
● Work with the Student Hubs network and University College Birmingham to scope new opportunities for development and embedding University College
Birmingham’s knowledge exchange delivery within the local community and university
About you
You don’t need to tick every box. We want to hear from candidates who have potential to grow in this role, appreciate our culture and are passionate about student social action and making change. But to give you an idea of who we think would thrive in this role we are ideally looking for someone who:
● is excited and passionate about knowledge exchange, community and social action in Birmingham;
● has experience in training delivery and/or student projects;
● excellent planning and organisational skills.
To give you a clearer idea of what we are looking for, we have created the following guide to what will help you to hit the ground running and succeed in this role.
Essential criteria
Commitment to Student Hubs values, mission, vision, and to social action
Motivation and drive
Teamwork
Planning and organising
Attention to detail
Engaging delivery style
Communication
A confident, can-do, proactive attitude
Resilience and adaptability
Based in Birmingham (or able to commute for key meetings and events)
Desirable criteria
Experience of stakeholder management
Problem solving and creating innovative solutions
How to apply
Deadline: 24 May 2023
Interview Dates: Rolling interviews (candidates will be contacted with dates once their application has been screened and shortlisted for interview)
We are looking forward to hearing from you. To apply, please email us your CV and a one page cover letter to [email protected] no later than 24 May.
Your cover letter can be submitted as written text up to one page or a video or audio file up to 3 minutes long and should include:
● Your motivation for applying to the role and Student Hubs
● Any additional information you would like to share
All of the information you share will be processed confidentially in line with our
Privacy Notice.
To make the process as easy as possible, we wanted to share our top tips for applying:
1) Read the job pack in full before writing your cover letter. We want to work with people like you, who share our values and want to help us make our vision a reality
2) Make sure you share all of your relevant skills and experience and show us that you are a good fit for this role and our organisation
3) Why not reach out to Fiona Walsh at [email protected] to ask any questions you have or simply to introduce yourself - we would be more than happy to arrange a call to chat
4) We want to support you to show us your best. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments such as giving you a printed or audio copy of this job pack, ensuring we have a wheel-chair accessible venue, etc. If you have particular accessibility needs, including special educational needs, or something else which will help you to shine, please get in touch with the
Network Director Sophie Payne at [email protected].
5) We recognise that everyone’s best looks different and may look different with circumstance. If something might affect your interview, such as bereavement, mental health conditions, chronic illness or sudden illness please get in touch with the Network Director Sophie Payne at [email protected].
You will not be penalised for this, but it will allow us to be considerate through the selection process and where necessary rearrange key dates
6) As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria of the role. Please reach out to Fiona Walsh at [email protected] to arrange your interview
7) If you are unable to make the interview dates, then please just let us know in your application email
8) Unfortunately we are unable to sponsor work visas in the UK due to the nature of our roles and our size as a small organisation. Please make sure you have right to work in the UK before applying for a role at Student Hubs
What happens next
The deadline for applications is 24 May. After this date, two members of staff will assess the applications blind - this means without access to your name, gender, age, sexual orientation, address, and marital status.
You can expect to hear from us by 26 May to let you know whether you have been invited to interview. The interview dates are rolling, which means we will reach out to you with a specific date and time once we have decided to take your application forward to interview.
At the interview we will be covering your motivation, a scenario related to the role, standard competency questions and a chance to chat with the team. More information will be provided with the invite.
If you want to know more about our recruitment processes please read our
Recruitment, Selection, and Induction Policy for Staff and Volunteers.
We can’t wait to hear from you
If you have any questions, or just want to reach out to introduce yourself and have a chat, please contact the hiring manager Fiona Walsh at [email protected].
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract, Graduate
Contract length: 3 months
Salary: £22,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Flexitime
- Unlimited paid holidays
- Work from home
Schedule:
- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday
- No weekends
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Birmingham, B3 1JB
Application deadline: 24/05/2023
Reference ID: Birmingham Projects Officer
Expected start date: 05/06/2023
