School and College Engagement Officer

External Engagement and Global Access, Participation and Outreach

The postholder will need to be based in Exeter visiting schools and colleges covering a geographical area from Cambridge and Chelmsford to Norwich. This role is available on a fixed term basis for a period of 15 months from the 1st May 2023 through to 1st September 2024 as a maternity cover role. This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

Summary of the role

We have an exciting opportunity available within the Schools and Colleges Engagement Team. The role is for a School and College Engagement Officer to develop relationships with schools and colleges based in the UK. covering a geographical area from Gloucestershire to Hertfordshire.

Working as part of the Access, Participation and Outreach Office, you will be helping to deliver a range of events and programmes to support student recruitment and widening participation. Responsible for building and maintaining excellent relationships with schools and colleges in the UK, you will work to attract applications from high quality students from a diverse range of backgrounds and to support the University’s widening participation agenda.

Based on the Streatham Campus, Exeter, you will spend a significant proportion of your role working out in schools and colleges, for example meeting with teachers and HE advisors to agree a programme of activities, or delivering workshops, recruitment and educational sessions. You will also be involved in developing lesson plans, online resources and/or marketing materials. You will contribute towards the successful delivery of online outreach through our Discover University programme of activities. You will also support our Easter and summer residential programmes, run occasional events on campus, and help run CPD sessions for teachers and HE advisors.

Educated to degree level and IT literate, you will demonstrate the ability to work across a range of different projects, prioritising and managing your time effectively. As a brand ambassador for the University of Exeter, you will demonstrate a commitment to excellence, professional credibility and the highest standards of customer-service. Comfortable with working autonomously, you will have the ability to work collaboratively as part of a multi-functional team.

With excellent communication skills, you will be confident in working with groups of pupils from various age groups, building relationships with teaching staff, and presenting to prospective students and their families. You will be comfortable with planning and prioritising activity based on evidence and data analysis. With an understanding of evaluation, you will have experience of writing plans and reports. This role would particularly suit someone with a background in teaching, training or outreach. With a good knowledge of the issues surrounding progression to higher education, you will have technical competence in delivering information across different channels to meet a variety of communication objectives and/or learning styles.

Appointment will be subject to a DBS check. We require a good working knowledge of Word and Excel, ideally gained in an office environment. In addition you will need a full UK driving licence.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role by clicking on the attachment.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 150 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 and QS World University Ranking 2022). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2017.

Our research income in recent years means we’re the fastest growing UK Research University with some of the world’s most influential scientists, and we seek to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today through this. 98% of our research is of international quality (2014 Research Excellence Framework). We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer. We are officially recognised as a Disability Confident employer and an Athena Swan accredited institution. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce. 

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• 41 days leave per year
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to six weeks full pay) and a new Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

Please contact Dr Karl Devincenzi, Recruitment and Schools Relationship Manager, [email protected].