Senior Communications Officer (Marketing & Commuications)

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Communications
Location:  Birmingham, England
Salary: 

£34,497 to £37,499
per annum
Permanent
Post Type:  Full Time
Release Date:  04 July 2023
Closing Date: 
23.59 hours BST on Tuesday 18 July 2023
Reference:  072023-314

We are looking for a talented, creative and hard-working Senior Communication Officer, who will work alongside our Marketing and Communications department and Research Office. Within the Research Office each area will be supported, the Research and Innovation Gateway (RIG), Doctoral Research College (DRC) and Research Excellence (RX) to help communicate the Research Strategy and key outputs and success stories.

Objectives

The Senior Communications Officer (Research) will play a key role in developing and implementing the University’s Research Communications Strategy, supporting the University to profile its research and enhance its reputation among a wide variety of stakeholders.

You will work as part of the External Relations team and in tandem with others across the Marketing and Communications Department – particularly the Research Content Officer – to deliver a range of communications activity to bring the University’s research story to life.

Responsibilities 

• Support the Director of Research, Head of Communications and External Relations Manager to develop and deliver the University’s Research Communications Strategy and raise the profile of the University among key external audiences.
• Lead on the production of a quarterly Research Office newsletter to disseminate internally across BCU and liaison with the DRC team on the PGR monthly newsletter.
• Developing communication plans to include timescales and areas to raise awareness around highlights and successes from the post award and research degree areas.  
• Event support for promotion such as BCU’s Research Conference or workshops to promote the company’s research findings and products to potential customers and stakeholders. 
• Review our marketing impact such as quantitative outcomes on outreach, events and social media analytics. 
• Foster and develop internal relationships with the Research Content Officer, PIs, RIG officers, DRC and Research Excellence team to enhance the service provision by maintaining regular communication.
• Ensure PGR is fully encompassed within student induction plans and online presence, working with the DRC on updates annually. 
• Proactively produce high quality content, including case studies, news alerts, web and other copy focused on the University’s research for external audiences, including the media and influential stakeholders.
• Work with researchers to translate complex research findings into content that is understandable to lay audiences while maintaining the integrity of the research.
• Gain a thorough understanding of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), working closely with the Director of Research, Head of Communications and External Relations Manager as it works towards the next round of REF submissions.

Requirements

• Degree or equivalent (Communications, Marketing or related subject is desirable)
• A relevant professional qualification such as CIPR, CIM
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills
• Experience of working in a research environment would be advantageous
• Experience of working in education, public service or a knowledge-based industry is desirable.

Able to demonstrate significant experience in:

• Communications, media communications or public affairs
• Operating at a more senior level within an external relations environment
• Producing high quality content for publications, website and social media
• Understanding complex subjects and making them accessible to wide audiences

Specialist skills and abilities:

• A flair for finding a good angle, producing sharp headlines and for transforming information into a potential news story
• Ability to write in a targeted manner, appropriate to a diverse range of mediums, including press releases, editorial, blogs, internal communications, social media and website
• Proven ability to write tight, coherent well-argued and fluent editorial copy to an excellent standard

Birmingham City University is growing in quality and standing, with an academic STEAM agenda at the heart of our ambitions. We are transforming the lives of students and their communities, and want outstanding staff to join us in taking us on the next stage of our exciting journey. 

Our heritage of making through innovation and its application through knowledge exchange, and of creative research and practice, today finds it expression in our STEAM agenda, in our research and enterprise, and in our commitment to challenge-based learning. Research by our staff and students creates new knowledge, catalyses innovation, and has global impact. Through our research, we make new discoveries and deliver benefit to culture, industry, society, and the environment.

Birmingham City University values the quality and diversity of our staff. Our staff and student community is defined by our core values, which outline who we are as a University and how we work with each other. Our core values are we create opportunity, we think differently, and we build community.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, continuously reviewing and improving our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

At Birmingham City University we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.  All staff are expected to understand and enact the University’s commitment to ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion in our employment practice and in all that we do . This commitment is enshrined in our Core Values and is detailed in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Employment Policy. The University values and celebrates the diversity of our staff and students; we welcome people from the many  different backgrounds and life experiences that reflect the students and the citizens we serve.  We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and actively encourage unique contributions, in particular from under-represented groups in respect of age, disability, sex, gender or gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status

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