Account Executive - Campus Services - 97863Z26 - Grade 5 at University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

09 Jun, 26

Salary

31460.0

Posted On

11 Mar, 26

Experience

2 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Sales, Account Management, Customer Relationship Management, Negotiations, Proposal Development, Sales Lead Follow-up, Sales Initiative Development, Client Relationship Building, Complaint Resolution, Sales Reporting Analysis, Industry Trend Awareness, Sales Plan Development, Site Visits, Trade Show Representation, Health and Safety Compliance, IT Proficiency

Industry

Higher Education

Description

Position Details Campus Services Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £29,647 to £31,460, with potential progression once in post to £35,388 Grade: 5 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2027 Closing date: 25th March 2026 This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager. 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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/staff-benefits] Background Campus Service is responsible for a very large range of services within the University including student accommodation, catering, Sport and Fitness, cleaning and waste management, conferences and events, delivering the University’s post, day nurseries, security and emergency response, Winterbourne House & Garden. The Account Executive post sits within the Conferences & events (C&e) team that resides within Venues and Events, Campus Services. C&e sells and delivers a vast number of conferences and events to underpin academic work, support the student experience and drive additional income. As with any commercial revenue generating department within a university, C&e seeks to strike a balance between enhancing the student and staff experience and ensuring a financial return to the University. Role Summary The post holder is the key point of contact between C&e and its clients: answering queries, offering advice, and introducing new products and services. The post holder will foster long-term relationships with clients, strive to understand their goals and provide an exceptional customer experience. Nurturing strategic relationships with key accounts to identify the best opportunities for growth and service is key. The Account Executive will manage, grow, and renew customer accounts, but will also be expected to identify new opportunities and to upsell services. Attention to detail is important as we expect you to ensure all our customers receive a high-quality experience. Documenting all client details accurately on the booking system is essential, as this will ensure we are able to build and maintain up to date client records. The post holder will liaise closely with the Event Management team to ensure that the client’s requirements are understood and that events are delivered successfully. The Account Executive is the first point of call for incoming enquiries and will be expected to stay on top of enquiries. The individual is responsible for his or her own workload and will schedule follow up phone calls with clients accordingly. Customer service skills are a necessity as we take great pride in our high level of delivering customer excellence. Main Duties * You will be responsible for the full range of duties relating to sales including: * full ownership of designated accounts including negotiations; * developing an in-depth understanding of customers’ needs in order to produce outline proposals; * dealing with incoming sales enquiries and ensure they are captured appropriately on bespoke software; * following up on sales leads promptly by cold calling or otherwise reaching out to prospects; * identifying when sales leads should be referred to alternative venues; * developing and implementing sales initiatives designed to drive sales forward; * evaluating sales initiatives to identify future improvements; * proactively contacting customers who have not purchased with us for some time to explore opportunities; * liaising with third party agents and build relationships with suppliers; * presenting and demonstrating the value of products and services to prospective customers; * building long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with external contacts and internal departments to create a better customer experience * dealing with complex complaints from initial contact to resolution; * nurturing strategic relationships with top accounts to identify the best opportunities for growth and service to the client * You will gather and analyse sales reports and data to identify trends and make recommendations for improvements to processes * You will be expected to keep up to date on industry trends * Support the Account Manager with developing sales plans and the setting of targets * Conduct site visits of our venues on and off campus * Represent the university at trade shows and networking events when required. General * You will contribute to more general management in the department by: * supporting managers in promoting sustainability, including supporting ISO20121 (sustainable events) * monitoring service standards and working with internal customers to ensure these are adhered to; * providing support for events and other designated activities; * taking responsibility for allocated elements of health and safety implementation * Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others * Any other duties as may reasonably be expected by the relevant manager. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience * Educated to A level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role. * Minimum of grade C in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualifications. * Previous relevant experience of working in a finance or sales team. * Experience of managing budgets. * In-depth knowledge of Health and Safety legislation; a Health and Safety qualification such as IOSH would be an advantage. * Highly proficient IT skills including Microsoft packages. The post holder should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required as in-house systems are used for procurement. * Excellent communication skills. * Excellent attention to detail with high standards of accuracy. * Excellent interpersonal skills. You will need to inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times. * A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach. * Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University [http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/colleges/index.aspx] and higher education institutions work. * Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these. * Understands 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. * Understanding of data privacy standards. * Confidentiality discretion at all times is essential. * Go about duties in a resource efficient way, minimising impacts to the environment wherever possible. Informal enquiries to Georgia Johnson, email: g.johnson.1@bham.ac.uk View our staff values and behaviours here [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/our-strategy/our-values] Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. 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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/about/equality/index.aspx].

Responsibilities

The Account Executive serves as the primary contact for clients within Conferences & Events, managing, growing, and renewing accounts while identifying new opportunities and upselling services to ensure exceptional customer experiences. Key duties involve full ownership of sales activities, including developing proposals, handling inquiries, following up on leads, and liaising with the Event Management team for successful event delivery.