Job Description
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary £23,718 per annum rising to £29,647 after 12 months service.
Apprentice Grade 5
Full Time / Fixed Term for 27 Months
Apprenticeship Standard: Data technician – Level 3
Training Provider: QA
Closing date: 3 August 2025 - please upload a CV with your application.
Interview date: 28 August 2025
Eligibility: The training delivered in apprenticeships is funded through the apprenticeship levy which is subject to Department for Education funding rules for apprenticeships. When reviewing applications the University and the training provider will be checking candidates meet this eligibility criteria . Further information is available on our webpage .
You have normally been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years. For exemptions please refer to the government funding rules for apprenticeships.
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
Apprenticeship context
The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences is at the frontiers of science and engineering in education, research and translating knowledge. It is made up of seven Schools, the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory (CTL) and a range of institutes, centres and buildings across the Edgbaston Campus, Birmingham, and the Region. EPS also has specific partnerships across the world, including notably in Dubai and China, with JBJI (Jinan–Birmingham Joint Institute).
Apprenticeship Summary
At the University of Birmingham, students are at the heart of all we do.You will join a professional services team which is passionate about providing excellent administration support for students and staff.
Duties may vary between teams, but you will have the opportunity to contribute to all aspects of administration supporting the delivery of our teaching and research programmes for students.
You will work closely with a diverse group of people including managers, academic staff and students to deliver the annual cycle of teaching and learning related activity.
During this apprenticeship you will learn the following:
- Take responsibility for the more complex tasks associated with welcome, induction/re-induction, attendance monitoring and recording, timetabling, examinations, progression, and graduation etc.
- Prepare and deliver management and institutional reports; this will include responding to complex data requests involving the need to pull information from various sources.
- Compile, manipulate, analyse and interpret large and complex data sets, drawing up reports and/or identifying required actions as appropriate.
- Manage all data in accordance with University policy and Data Protection Regulations.
- Act as primary contact for academic staff involved in the Schools’ /Programmes’ learning and teaching, providing expert guidance, understanding and resolving queries, and identifying when to delegate or escalate queries.
- Deal with higher profile contacts on own initiative.
- Work with and support your team to plan, organise, maintain and deliver activities, enabling the successful delivery of programmes; in some teams this will involve you being the designated line manager for staff.
- Make a substantial contribution to the management, development and implementation of operational processes.
- Support the development of systems and procedures to assist in the day to day running of School/Programme administration.
- Responsible for the regular review and update of key documentation.
- Support periodic quality assurance related audits, report on School/Programme compliance, propose solutions and develop and deliver remedial action plans.
- Providing a professional secretarial service to relevant committees and meeting.
- Proactively identify ways of enhancing the curriculum and student experience, making recommendations as appropriate.
- Support equality and values diversity, moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
You will be expected to engage fully with the University of Birmingham apprenticeship scheme, attending mandatory group days and contributing to the successful promotion of the scheme by representing your department in a positive manner.
This apprenticeship would suit:
- Someone looking to develop a career in administration and/or working with students.
- The role will require someone who can organise their own time and complete the tasks required of them.
- We are looking for someone who is keen to learn and enjoys providing excellent customer service.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- GCSEs to a minimum of grade C/4 in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications) and
- A levels or an equivalent level 3 qualification, such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma.
- Experience of working in a business administration role.
- Able to work on your own initiative to complete tasks and projects without close supervision.
- Able to set the standard for other colleagues, acting as a role model and coaching staff as appropriate.
- You will be able to communicate and delegate effectively as required.
- Able to become authoritative quickly on complex systems and be able to advise colleagues on these.
- You will be able to communicate effectively.
- Well organised with the ability to prioritise work proactively, independently and as part of a team.
- The ability to work to tight deadlines in a collaborative team environment.
- A good understanding of delivering excellent customer service and the ability to influence others to deliver it too.
- The ability to interact with individuals at all levels of internal and external organisations.
- Ability to learn complex work systems e.g. student databases/record systems or equivalent.
- Attention to detail and the ability to work confidentially, use judgement and make appropriate decisions within the constraints of the role
- The ability to cope with change in a fast moving, dynamic environment where change is often required immediately.
- An understanding of the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace
- Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
Career Pathway
On completion of this apprenticeship, you may be able to progress into one of the following roles:
Senior Education Support Administrator
Operations Officer
Administration Team Leader
Data Manager
For enquiries please email:
[email protected]View our staff values and behaviours here
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 . 
