University Partnerships Officer

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Job description

The Opportunity

We are excited to be recruiting a University Partnerships Officer to join the University Partnerships team. This is a new role that will support us to continually deliver exceptional university events for the pupils while we increase the scale of The Scholars Programme as set out in Join the Club.

The successful candidate will be highly experienced in organising and delivering widening participation events and enjoy event management. They will ensure that the design and delivery of university events are of a high standard and provide a rich, sector leading experience to pupils from a range of age groups. They will have excellent stakeholder management skills to develop positive working relationships with universities, ensuring that the partnerships remain stable and continue contribute the widening participation priorities of each of our university partners. They will be highly organised, detail-oriented and able to plan effectively for busy time periods.

This is a great opportunity to join The Brilliant Club team, as we become the UK's largest university access movement. We are looking forward to meeting great candidates who are excited to join us as we help more young people progress to university and thrive when they get there.

The Brilliant Club exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly selective universities. We think it is important that our charity reflects the lived experience of our beneficiaries, and we want to be an organisation where employees from any background can thrive. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans including non-binary (LGBTQ+) candidates, and candidates from low-income families. These groups are currently underrepresented at The Brilliant Club and we are committed to increasing representation and diversity at the charity.

Person Specification

Time and Resource Management

Excellent organisational skills, with an ability to prioritise and manage time effectively
Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing priorities
Ability to identify opportunities to save time/resource
Manages projects with appropriate levels of time and resource input

External Stakeholder Knowledge and Management

Confidence handling enquiries from external stakeholders and adapting approach to meet different needs, appreciates the sensitivities in stakeholder relationships
Excellent knowledge of the widening access agenda and the priorities of colleagues who work in these university teams
Actively shares useful information about stakeholders with internal colleagues at all levels
Significant experience designing and delivering widening participation activities for school pupils with higher education providers
Experience managing multiple stakeholder relationships using data and/or software

Communication

Excellent written and verbal communication
Promotes collaborative communication with partners to build strong partnerships
Confidence presenting and delivering teaching to a range of audiences including school-aged children and adults

Initiative and Problem Solving

Proactivity in seeking to enhance processes and identifying emerging risks
Ability to spot inefficiencies in systems and suggest or implement improvements
Responds quickly to solve problems, seeking input from relevant internal stakeholders

Developing Self and Others

Self-reflective and committed to own professional development

Role Specific Knowledge and Skills

Essential - Knowledge of the Higher Education sector in the UK, in particular the access and participation and student success agendas
Essential - Capable of adapting quickly to IT systems and interfaces; desirable to have previous experience of using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
Essential - Session delivery skills, including session design and delivery to pupils and adults
Desirable - Confident using digital systems for event delivery

Role specific Experience and Qualifications

Essential - Experience working with or within higher education institutions or schools
Essential - Experience scoping and developing projects with higher education institutions
Essential - Experience of managing events, digitally or in person