Communications Lead (Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre) - External Relations - 101000 - Grade 7

Position Details

External Relations

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2028

Closing date: 8th October 2026

UK Travel may be required for this role

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 to 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 be able to develop 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 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 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

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research.  We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge.  Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence.  Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

External Relations is the division responsible for delivering our University to the world and prides itself in seizing opportunities that will enhance the profile and reputation of the University. We engage with many different audiences to build purposeful relationships internally, locally, nationally and internationally. We enable those who wish to apply to study on our courses to make informed choices. We recognise that we are strongest when we work together and take pride in upholding our core values of being ambitious, innovative, open, collaborative and responsible. 

The National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre: Birmingham (NIHR BRC: Birmingham) translates new scientific discoveries into treatments and diagnostics to improve people’s health. We focus on inflammation and the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of its associated long-term diseases.

NIHR BRC: Birmingham is looking for an exceptional Communications Manager to help us share the work delivering cutting-edge research to benefit patients in the West Midlands, UK and around the globe.

Role Summary

In this role, you will be responsible for leading communications activity about the transformative work that NIHR BRC: Birmingham does – among staff, stakeholders and to the world. 

You will own the full communications mix for NIHR BRC: Birmingham. Planning and delivering internal and external communications about our work –you will take responsibility for social media, website, newsletters, print and events. You will also be responsible for maintaining the BRC communication strategy and ensuring adherence to the NIHR’s brand guidelines.

The Communications Manager plays a pivotal role in amplifying the scale, visibility and impact of our activities globally. Working with colleagues across the University, the postholder plays a lead role in shaping and delivering media engagement strategies, spanning research, innovation and education initiatives, that will enhance the University’s global reputation and help achieve its Global Top ambitions and beyond.

The postholder will have substantial experience in communications craft and practice and will be able to identify and leverage media opportunities to raise the University’s profile with a range of specific audiences. 

The postholder will build and maintain effective relationships and collaborate with external and internal stakeholders, including with the wider Communications centre of excellence, Colleges including senior academic colleagues and Research Communications Portfolio Managers, External Relations, research partners and funders, including philanthropic sources. They will play a proactive role in the University’s communications communities.

Main Duties

1. Plan and deliver a range of creative, multi-channel media engagement activities and campaigns that raise the profile and increase the impact of the University’s activities within specified audiences. This will include reporting on performance against agreed targets. 
2. Work closely with Colleges, including Research Communications Portfolio Managers and academic staff, Communications centre of excellence, the wider ER division, other Professional Services and external partners to build knowledge, relationships and develop a comprehensive and unified approach to increase impact of the University’s activities.
3. Carefully log activity within the centre of excellence planning tool and play a full part in news gathering and assignment discussions. 
4. Work flexibly with a focus that may shift across different academic areas and audiences in response to strategic priorities. 

Audience insight and evaluation

1. Conduct audience insight to shape communications planning by monitoring trends, understanding audience needs, and using analytics.
2. Monitor and regularly evaluate performance against targets to inform communications planning and drive innovation.

Content and copywriting

1. Generate new ideas for content and lead the creation of high-quality content across all channels at a level consistent with the University’s Global Top 50 ambitions (e.g. social media, press releases, publications, opinion pieces, feature articles, infographics, policy briefs, digital media), adapting content to a variety of audiences for a range of different media outlets.
2. Manage the development of communications collaterals, working with internal and external agencies, and suppliers as required.
3. Plan and place stories, features and develop media events working in collaboration with relevant teams to promote research, working with agencies and suppliers as required.

Relationship management

1. Build relationships with third parties including media, policymakers, practitioners, sector experts, research councils, journals, funding bodies, advocacy organisations, charities, political offices and other stakeholders as required to perform the main duties.
2. Build relationships and mutual trust with colleagues at all levels of the organisation, including senior academics, the wider research community, and colleagues in partner organisations. 
3. Use Customer Relationships Management (CRM) systems to deliver targeted, timely communications.
4. Identify and develop potential institutional media spokespeople, providing appropriate support and media training, and proactively secure and negotiate media opportunities to enhance their public and research communication impact.
5. Create media briefing materials for senior leaders.

Leadership and management

1. Represent communications on University committees and meetings as required.
2. Deputise in a leadership capacity as required. 
3. Where relevant, hold line management responsibility for staff ensuring effective workload planning, clear objectives, and professional development to drive high performance.

General duties

1. Act as brand champion, representing and promoting the University’s values and identity in all interactions and advise on communications best practice.
2. Willing to work occasional evenings, weekends, and travel as needed to support activities.
3. Provide additional support to a range of communications activities as specified by the Communications centre of excellence, including answering press office enquiries, dealing swiftly and effectively with reactive media inquiries, supporting colleagues who have been contacted by the press, contributing to crisis communications work and participating in the on-call duty rota and any other duties commensurate with the grade.
4. Promote a supportive and inclusive team culture - working with discretion, demonstrate diplomacy, maintain confidentiality and ensure compliance with GDPR, accessibility and other regulations as required.
5. Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff. 
6. Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures.
7. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent qualifications) in communications or a closely related field - where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Substantial experience in a Communications/Press/PR role working with the media as part of a large, complex organisation.
• Proven news judgement with the ability to weigh up a range of different inputs about the merits of a potential story and to represent them equally.
• Demonstrable experience in devising and delivering multi-channel strategic communications plans for a wide range of projects, with a creative approach for identifying new opportunities and avenues for communications activities.
• Knowledge of, and commitment to, the higher education sector and a strong belief in the importance of universities in society, coupled with an awareness of the issues that they face. 
• Demonstrable track record of experience of working with the media and proactive successes e.g. selling stories.
• Experience with crisis communications. 
• Demonstrable project management skills with experience managing complex projects or issues with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent writing ability, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex information to diverse audiences across multiple channels, representing the University with confidence, integrity, authority and ensuring accessibility for all.
• Creative problem-solver with a proactive and resilient approach.
• Digitally literate with experience of utilising digital and social media channels.
• Proven experience in building and managing relationships with the ability to influence, collaborate, build consensus with colleagues at all levels, across teams and with external stakeholders, including advising at a senior level.
• Cultural awareness and understanding of the need for sensitivity in engagement with different audiences, and how this might be embedded.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and tact when handling and managing sensitive information/issues.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data and market research, applying insights to communications strategies.
• Highly organised with meticulous attention to detail and high standards of accuracy under tight deadlines.
• Ability to work flexibly and effectively both in a team and independently, managing multiple priorities effectively.

Other requirements

• Commitment to demonstrating behaviours aligned with the University and External Relations framework.
• Willingness to travel and work flexibly, including occasional evenings and weekends.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2010 including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

Informal enquiries to Tim Mayo, email: [email protected] 

View our staff values and behaviours here

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.

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.