Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Lead (NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium) - College of Medicine and Health -106343 - Grade 7 presso The University of Birmingham

Position Details

College of Medicine and Health

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to July 2030

Closing date: 13th October 2025

UK travel may be required for this role.

Interviews scheduled to take place in person on the 5th November 2025

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 are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

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.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

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.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Role summary

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly organised and proactive individual to support the delivery of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maternity Disparities Consortium (https://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-challenge-maternity-disparities-consortium), a £50million national programme focused on finding new ways to tackle inequalities before, during and after pregnancy.

The post holder will be responsible for writing and delivering a communications and engagement strategy for the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, to enhance its identity and profile to internal, partner and external stakeholders. The post holder will work collaboratively with colleagues across both the College of Medicine and Health and the Communications and Reputation team in External Relations at University of Birmingham, along with the co-lead at Newcastle University and the wider consortium partners, to deliver a flexible and innovative approach across the broad spectrum of internal and external communications and marketing. They will also support regional activity in this area. 

Experienced in both stakeholder engagement, digital and offline marketing communications, the post holder will manage and implement multiple projects across internal communications and engagement, events, research communications and profile-raising activity and work with the NIHR on external communications. 

A significant aspect of the role is to raise the profile and impact of the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium in shaping public policy to reduce inequalities before, during and after pregnancy. This is primarily through proactively supporting the creation of policy and influencing reports, engaging directly with regional and national government, and through supporting high-profile stakeholder engagement events and activities. 

The post holder will be a highly skilled communicator plus a strategic and analytical thinker who is comfortable with planning and delivery. They will have demonstrable understanding of the health and research sector. They will take ownership of their area, using their expertise to deliver on agreed objectives. They will be able to juggle multiple projects and meet tight deadlines. 

They will be adept at working with different types of people at all levels of seniority in a large, complex organisation. The role includes liaising with external Government, NHS and charity stakeholders and requires the post holder to lead and contribute to various groups, in particular ensuring strong relations with the NIHR communications team.

Main duties

• Develop a communications and engagement strategy and take ownership of its effective implementation through tactical plans that deliver against key objectives to raise the profile of the research activity within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium both internally and externally. This strategy will need to be developed with multiple stakeholders.
• Ensure delivery against objectives and KPTs with effective monitoring and evaluation.
• Allocate time and resources appropriately and effectively manage an agreed budget.
• Work closely with the stakeholders from across the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, particularly the co-Lead institution Newcastle University, to identify strategic priorities, respond to changes in the external and internal environment as required and identify opportunities.
• This person will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium website and social channels, along with all improvements and enhancements, liaising with key stakeholders including staff, public contributors, industry partners and the funders at NIHR.
• Ensuring that all web and digital content meets with all legal requirements and is compliant to recognised web standards, including accessibility. 
• Working with the PPIE and Research Inclusion Managers the post will hold overall editorial and approver responsibility for NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium website, ensuring content is engaging, innovative and impactful. This will involve high-level expertise and skills in copywriting, including editing, research, fact checking, proofreading and ensuring all content adheres to NIHR web guidelines, including branding and house style.
• Create innovative and creative campaigns to raise awareness of maternity disparities and to raise the profile of the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium in developing more equitable ways forwards.
• Ownership of NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium events programme (virtual and in-person), all activity to be aligned with the wider Centre and College objectives in terms of building strong community relations and extending the reach of research impact to defined audiences. 
• Leading on filming and photography activity, ensuring that the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium has an up-to-date, dynamic portfolio of rich media content for campaigns. Supporting and training others to contribute to this activity.
• Coordinating internal communications across 100+ partners in the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, appropriately engaging both core partner members and researchers more on the edge of the work.
• Engage with internal stakeholders and form strong professional relationships across both University of Birmingham and Newcastle University as co-leads. Develop strong links with senior academic and clinical staff to gain an understanding of strategic priorities within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, seeking out opportunities and supporting profile raising. 
• Responsible for leading a NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium communications group, including partners and public contributors and seeking their input into communications approach.
• Represent the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium where appropriate by sitting on national communications working groups.
• Build relationships with other NIHR infrastructure and seek opportunities to promote the extensive portfolio of NIHR work in a collaborative way wherever possible.
• Identify and lead on key priorities and touch-points throughout the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium lifespan, whilst being able to respond to changing external situations and internal priorities. 
• Encourage engagement and growth of media coverage of academic colleagues in the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, working closely with colleagues in the University Communications team where relevant. 
• Develop and deliver training and development activities for academic staff enabling them to engage effectively with key stakeholders, including but not limited to the media, policy influencers, general public, and internal stakeholders. 
• Work with partners to continually ensure the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium’s strengths are reflected on third party websites. 
• Liaise closely with colleagues from across the institutions (UoB and NU) to develop and grow the internal profile of the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, ensuring all opportunities are explored and disseminated accordingly. 
• Ensure that the reputation and brand of the University, College and the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, is supported and adhered to at all times, working with University Communications, Creative Media and other colleagues as appropriate.
• Work with absolute discretion, demonstrate diplomacy, maintain confidentiality and ensure compliance with GDPR and other regulations as required.
• Take a lead communications role, offering best practice guidance, training and support to all staff across the Consortium where needed.

Person Specification

• Degree-level education or equivalent work experience
• Experience of devising, and delivering, multi-channel strategic communications plans
• Demonstrable experience of engaging government, NHS and charitable partners as well as interest in and knowledge of the current political landscape
• Event management experience, involving internal and external stakeholders
• Experience of translating complex information into accessible communications through multiple channels
• Demonstrable understanding of the complexities and competing factors related to the research environment and higher education 
• Proven copywriting ability for a range of audiences and communications channels
• Enthusiastic approach with an ability to bring people together to work on a common cause
• Ability to influence people in senior positions and to support, and where appropriate, line manage more junior members of the team
• A proven, high standard of communication and confidence of managing projects at all levels
• Well-developed administrative and organisational skills with a proven ability to pay meticulous attention to detail
• Tenacious, with a creative and innovative approach to problem solving
• Computer literate, confident and competent in the use of database systems and electronic communication
• Experience of using social media as part of a marketing or communications campaign
• Experience of coordinating and evaluating digital advertising campaigns
• Ability to use analytics and interpret data to inform your work
• Experience of using CMS and CRM software
• Ability to work with initiative and being able to prioritise work in a pressured environment and manage multiple workloads simultaneously
• A team player but someone who can work independently
• Experience of administering budgets and using financial systems 
• Flexibility to work out of hours as required (including occasional evening and weekend work) and a willingness to travel where necessary 
• Prepared to undertake occasional work in the evenings and weekends with some nights spent away from home.

Dimensions

Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You may be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.

Planning and organising

• plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate; 
• develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area;
• manage a team of staff and review, develop and motivate them;
• plan relevant training and development;
• provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area;
• oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements.

Problem solving and decision making

• review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems;
• deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities;
• deal with sensitive people matters/issues;
• provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision–making of others.

Internal and external relationships

• understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University;
• has an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others;
• developing empathy with the academic endeavour;
• influence decision makers and win support for proposals;
• develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders;
• co-ordinate activities across a number of areas.

Informal enquiries to Laura Forty, email: [email protected] 

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.