Job Description
Position Details
School or Department: College of Life and Environmental Sciences
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Grade/Band: Grade 2
Hourly rate: £12 per hour plus holiday entitlement
Casual contract from: 27/03/2025 - TBC
Positions available: 2
Advert closing date: Thursday 13th March, 2025 at 23:59PM
If we receive a high volume of applications, then we may close this advert early. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible.
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 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.
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.
Role Summary
We are seeking Student Ambassadors, with proficient spoken and written Mandarin, to engage with prospective students and help support in welcoming our Chinese student community at the University of Birmingham. Working alongside university colleagues, you will facilitate WeChat group Q&A sessions, providing valuable insights and answering questions from future students. Your passion for the university and ability to connect with others will play a key role in guiding prospective students through their journey to Birmingham, whilst showcasing the vibrant student life and opportunities available to our Chinese community! Particularly, we are looking for students who can contribute in the following ways:
* Acting as a passionate Student Ambassador in our WeChat offer holder groups
* Starting conversations and answering any relevant questions
* Working alongside academics and the Student Recruitment Team to answer course and institutional queries
* Holding regular Q&A sessions within an appropriate China time-zone, to actively engage with prospective students
* Engaging and commenting on the university's Chinese social media posts (Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Weibo, etc)
As a representative of the University, you will show enthusiasm and professionalism while engaging with prospective students. You will also have experience using WeChat groups and their mechanisms. Experience in customer service and strong communication skills are key in creating clear and meaningful communications.
The post is available to both home and international students who are fluent in spoken and written Mandarin. The role will be on a part-time basis, with no more than 16 hours per week being required. You will need to consider the hours of work will need to sit within social hours in the Chinese time-zone.
Main duties
* Engage with prospective students through WeChat groups, facilitating discussions and providing a platform for questions and answers.
* Share your experiences and insights about university life, study, and extracurricular opportunities to help prospective students feel connected to Birmingham.
* Actively monitor and respond to enquiries, ensuring that all prospective students feel supported and valued and escalate any concerns about posts/comments from members of the group that may be deemed as inappropriate.
* Collaborate with the International Student Recruitment Team and other colleagues to develop content and posts that address common questions and concerns from prospective students.
* Organize and participate in virtual events and information sessions, showcasing the university's offerings and answering questions in real time.
* Provide feedback to the International Student Recruitment team on common inquiries and concerns raised by prospective students, contributing to the improvement of recruitment strategies.
* Promote university initiatives, events, and resources relevant to Chinese students through various other Chinese communication channels.
* Maintain a positive and professional online presence, representing the university's values to prospective students.
* Assist with other reasonable tasks as needed within the International Student Recruitment Team (e.g., support content creation for Chinese social media channels).
* Act as an advocate for the University of Birmingham across a range of Chinese channels, engaging with posts and comments.
* Attend and complete all mandatory training and inductions.
Person Specification
* Able to offer a minimum 1-year commitment to being a Student Digital Ambassador.
* Be proficient in both spoken and written Mandarin and English (Cantonese also desirable).
* Be enrolled in a University of Birmingham course for the duration of the role.
* A clear and demonstrable understanding about the nature of the diverse student community at the University of Birmingham; showing an awareness of our student demographics and understanding of the requirements of the student community at the University of Birmingham.
* Excellent interpersonal, organisational, spoken, and written communication skills to deal effectively, confidently, and appropriately with students and staff at all levels.
* Experience using WeChat groups and its mechanisms.
* Strong customer service skills.
* Ability to prioritise workload and anticipate problems, to progress work thoroughly and reliably sometimes under pressure and to tight deadlines.
* High levels of attention to detail.
* An effective team player who can demonstrate that they have not only worked successfully as part of a team, but that they are able to self-direct workload and priorities.
* N.B. The broad variety of roles available means that candidates do not require all the above experience/qualities, rather fitting to one or more areas of the roles.
Benefits
* Develop a range of skills and experiences for your CV including evidence of effective teamwork, leadership and communication.
* Work alongside a friendly and supportive team.
* Gain professional skills working as a representative of the University of Birmingham.
* Salary at a generous hourly rate.
View our staff values and behaviours here.
Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.
The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g. PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an International student you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate Authorised Absence.
You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.
To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.
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