That's Me Project Champion of Change Role (Part-time role: 6 hours per week)

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Department of Professional Development, Research and Enterprise
Location:  City South Campus
Salary:  £28,512 to £30,992 per annum
Fixed Term / Part Time
Posted On:  Wednesday 18 January 2023
Closing Date:  Wednesday 01 February 2023
Interview Date:  Tuesday 14 February 2023
Reference:  012023-21

Following a bid approved by Research England and the Office for Students (OfS), Birmingham City University (BCU) and the University of Wolverhampton are working in collaboration with stakeholders across the region to tackle persistent inequalities that create barriers for postgraduate research students from historically excluded groups. 

The project ‘That’s me!: Eliminating barriers to postgraduate research study in the West Midlands’ is focusing on key professional and practice-based subjects – Health, Education and Business and Law - in alignment with the universities’ strong Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles.

This is a fantastic development opportunity for an experienced and self-motivated individual with a strong commitment to equity and inclusivity in Higher Education and research. 

The post-holder will work closely with academic leads across the University and our collaborative partners at the University of Wolverhampton.

We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a track record of successfully delivering against challenging objectives. That's Me! is a collaborative project with the University of Wolverhampton and an enthusiasm for partnership working will be critical for this post. You will have a sound knowledge of the Higher Education environment and be someone who aligns with our values on inclusivity but who also supports and enables the pursuit of excellence in all that we do. The role will involve working closely with the Project Manager, the Community of Practice Coordinator, a team of academics, administrators, and our community of post graduate students across the subject areas of Education, Health, Business and Law and with a broad range of employers in the West Midlands region. Excellent communication skills, a commitment and passion for widening participation for global majority PGR students and graduates and the ability to establish and build strong professional relationships will be key to making a difference in driving forward this important agenda.

The Champion of Change role will be responsible for supporting the development of Communities of Practice including home from home initiatives and peer-to-peer networks.  The role holder will work alongside university staff, organisational development, EDI staff to promote our strong EDI principles and to support internal culture change across BCU.

The Champion of Change is being recruited to help building a long-term, sustainable social movement by actively advocating and involving global majority voices in future post graduate research study conversations. The post holder will act as a representative for BCU’s postgraduate global majority postgraduate community in all project workstreams.  

The Champion of Change will be working closely with the project team and the Community of Practice Coordinator to change perceptions and support institutional change for global majority PGR students. This role will support us to deliver genuine co-creation, and throughout to ensure the project makes a difference and positively impacts minority ethnic PGR students.

The post holder will be expected to be able to demonstrate a commitment and passion for widening participation for global majority PGR students and graduates. They will also be motivated by and committed to endeavouring to meet the needs of the students and collaborators involved in the project.

ATTRIBUTE

ESSENTIAL

DESIRABLE

Standard of general education

General standard of education

High general standard of education

Academic qualifications

 Working towards a PhD

Masters

General skills/experience

Experience of administrative co-ordination

Knowledge of administrative coordination

Proven communication skills (oral and written).

Proficient use of IT packages such as MS Office (Word, Excel, power Point).

Specific knowledge and skills

Knowledge of working with external stakeholders 

Presentation skills

Confident public speaker

Personal attributes required for effective performance in role

Commitment to equality and diversity

Self-motivated and enthusiastic

Good attention to detail

Be competent in prioritising workload

Ability to work effectively both independently and as a member of a team

Tact, diplomacy and the ability to maintain confidentiality when dealing with sensitive information 

Proficient organisational ability.

Excellent verbal and written communication.

To be an enthusiastic, proactive team worker who is friendly and helpful.

To have a commitment to equal opportunities.

To have a can do attitude

We strive to create an inclusive work environment where everybody feels they belong. We offer family-friendly, flexible working arrangements with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. As part of our Athena SWAN and Race Equality Action charters, we are committed to recruiting a more diverse staff body that better reflects our student population. We particularly encourage applications from people from Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority backgrounds. For an informal discussion about the role please contact [email protected] or [email protected] .

BCU Values underpin how we work in achieving the ambitions set out in our Strategy and Priorities, and are the principles that unite the way we work together and for our students.

The University is committed to internationalism and diversity and welcomes applications from all countries, faiths and backgrounds.

It is each individual successful applicants responsibility to ensure that they have permission to work in the UK. Some applicants may require sponsorship from the University and a visa from UKVI to take up the role if successful. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

Some roles are not capable of sponsorship because they do not meet the UKVI criteria relating to skill and salary level. If you are unsure as to whether you would require sponsorship if successful, or whether the role is capable of sponsorship, please contact us: [email protected]

Please note on occasions where we receive a large number of applications, we may close the advert ahead of the publicised closing date. If this does happen, we will contact all candidates via email who have started but not yet completed their application, giving 48 hours’ notice.  We would therefore advise that you submit your completed application as soon as possible.

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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