Events and International Officer

Job summary

Do you want to be part of a dynamic and creative team? We are recruiting an Events & International Officer to work in the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) over the year ahead to deliver creative, sector leading events. The Events and International Officer will have responsibility for delivering both in-person and online events for our global community of alumni, donors and volunteers.  From our mass engagement ‘Bringing Birmingham to You’ event series, to bespoke events hosted by senior members of University staff, and stewardship events to thank our donors and volunteers at all levels, the Events and International Officer will ensure a high-quality, engaging, and tailored experience for alumni, donors, volunteers, and VIPs. 

DARO is an ambitious office and we support our team to succeed. In addition to a busy programme of events that are part of the University’s fundraising and volunteering campaign, Birmingham In Action, this year we have two additional areas of focus which mean you will have the chance to shape and deliver a high profile programme of events supporting the farewell to the current Chancellor and welcoming our new Chancellor, as well as preparation for the University’s upcoming 125th anniversary celebrations. 

You will be provided with a robust induction and an ongoing training program that will include support from the University as well as expert external providers.

Department overview

Our University has a proud history of philanthropy stretching back to its foundation in 1900.  With a clear vision to change the lives of the people of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain raised the funds required to build the University from citizens and corporations based locally and around the globe. Since then philanthropy has continued to play an important role in shaping the University. There have been a number of fundraising campaigns, including a £1m urgent capital appeal after the Second World War and a £1.4m campaign to fund the Vale ‘student village’ in the 1960s.  In 2015 we closed the Circles of Influence Campaign, raising £193 million, making it the largest HE fundraising campaign outside Oxbridge and London.

The University has global reach, including several partnerships with other leading universities around the world, and is grounded in its local community, having opened the first fully comprehensive University secondary school in the country in 2015.  We are an ambitious and successful research-intensive University (one of the top 100 research-led universities globally) and have produced 10 Nobel Prize winners, including three who received their awards in 2016.  Academics here are exploring the impact of climate change, helping to address global health epidemics, and changing our understanding of Shakespeare.  Our students come from nearly 150 countries and our flagship outreach programmes mean that almost 25% of our student population come from underrepresented backgrounds: one of the highest proportions in the UK. 

DARO exists to support this academic and student community by engaging, inspiring, and celebrating alumni, individuals, and charitable funders who give their money, time, and networks to support the University’s strategic priorities.  The Office, which is comprised of five teams, is focused on fundraising and volunteering from alumni, organisations and individuals who are passionate about changing lives, through funding various research projects, supporting student bursaries, mentoring students, and providing internships, as well as providing a versatile programme of engagement opportunities for our global alumni community.

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.