Customer Service Advisor - Campus Services - 97362J1 - Grade 3 at University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

09 Jun, 26

Salary

27126.0

Posted On

11 Mar, 26

Experience

0 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Customer Service, Administrative Support, Accommodation Allocation, Private Sector Contract Verification, In-person Communication, Email Communication, Telephone Communication, Social Media Response, Complaint Handling, Database Management, GDPR Compliance, Microsoft Office, Presentation Delivery, Interpersonal Skills, Time Management, Problem Solving

Industry

Higher Education

Description

Position Details Campus Services Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £25,618 to £27,126 Grade: 3 Part Time (18 hours per week) Fixed Term contract up to January 2027 Closing date: 18th March 2026 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 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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/excellence/professional/index.aspx#:~:text=The Birmingham Professional programme,pioneering spirit, purposefulness and pragmatism.] 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. Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover of circa £80m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the delivery of the University’s 2030 strategic framework and enhancing the quality of the student, staff, and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, community safety and security, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a commercial Division operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across our camp Role Summary Student Living at the University of Birmingham have an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Customer Service Advisor. In this pivotal role, you will play a key part in ensuring a comprehensive and efficient accommodation experience for all students. The team play a major role in ensuring that university owned and managed bed spaces are fully occupied and that excellent customer care is always provided. The Student Living team provides advice, information and support to students living in University owned accommodation and the private sector. This Customer Service Advisor role, situated within the Business Development Team at the Student Living Hub in University Centre, requires the post holder to provide direct customer and administrative support. Key responsibilities include assisting with accommodation allocations, transfers, private sector contract verification, and general guidance. The role encompasses responding to customer inquiries across multiple channels (in-person, email, telephone) and performing general office administration. The post holder will represent Student Living at various outreach events, including Open Days, Webinars, and Offer Holder Days. Main Duties * Deliver a high-quality service to all visitors at the Student Living Hub. * Respond promptly and effectively to customer enquiries across all channels (in-person, email, telephone, and social media) concerning a full range of accommodation issues. * Advise students on appropriate housing options, including University, Partner, and private sector accommodation. * Provide updates to the wider team on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and trends related to customer enquiries. * Manage the accommodation transfer process and requests for early release from accommodation. * Handle complaints confidently and efficiently, escalating issues to the relevant manager when necessary. * Update the student record database, StarRez, ensuring records are current and all correspondence is logged accurately and professionally. * Monitor knowledge bases and University websites to ensure their relevance, accuracy, and support a quality user journey. * Ensure clear communication and effective information sharing with other Student Living departments and across the University. * Maintain up-to-date knowledge of private accommodation options across Birmingham (training will be provided). * Generate references for students moving into the private sector. * Adhere to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), IT, Health and Safety, and financial policies, and other relevant legislation at all times, handling sensitive and confidential information professionally. * Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as required. Further Details * All post holders are expected to take their main annual leave period when the business needs permit and in agreement with the relevant line manager. * During business-critical periods the post holder may be required to work full time hours and/or anti-social hours including weekends, bank holidays and University closed days. * Hours of work will be flexible and as required to meet the demands of a business that can have a changeable pattern across the year, including evening and weekend work as required. This includes taking annual leave outside of the summer allocations period that runs from August to mid-September. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience * Excellent customer service skills, with experience of providing customer service to a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds. * Computer literate with the ability to use Microsoft Office. Advanced Excel skills is desirable. * Confident in telephone and in-person engagements, including in the delivery of presentations. * Able and willing to work flexibly, working hours are set, however some evening and weekend work will be required. Dimensions An organised individual with the ability to work well both within a busy and diverse team and independently deciding own short-term priorities and timetabling of tasks to meet agreed deadlines. Able to accurately judge the urgency of tasks and reliably, independently and consistently, prioritise their workload. Problem solving and decision making Enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging and competing demands. A proactive and innovative approach to problem solving, with an ability to adapt to changing requirements and escalate issues where needed. Internal and external relationships Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external customers and staff, demonstrating a high level of discretion in dealing with confidential matter. Informal enquiries to Amit Mehey, email: a.mehey@bham.ac.uk [a.mehey@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 advisor will ensure a comprehensive and efficient accommodation experience for students by providing direct customer and administrative support, including assisting with allocations, transfers, and general guidance. Key duties involve responding to inquiries across multiple channels and representing Student Living at outreach events like Open Days and Webinars.