Higher Education Ambassador

Salary: £25,742 to £26,444 with progression to £27,979 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 22 April 2024

The Role 

The North East Raising Aspiration Partnership is looking for a Higher Education Ambassador to join the Central Project Team based at Newcastle University. We are looking for someone who can demonstrate excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills, who is enthusiastic about the benefits of Higher Education and motivated to inspire the next generation of students.  

NERAP is a collaboration of the five universities in the North East of England, working together to support young people to think about their futures and how Higher Education can help them reach their goals. 

Find out more about the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership here.  

The North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (funded by the five universities in the North East Region) is seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated graduate for the role of Higher Education Ambassador. 

Working as part of a Central Project Team, the Project Coordinator will support the development and delivery of activity in schools across the region to ensure that young people are fully supported to make informed decisions about Higher Education. 

You must have an awareness and understanding of widening participation and experience of working with and enthusing young people about Higher Education as well as experience of delivering presentations or public speaking to a range of audiences. 

This role involves considerable travel throughout the region, you need a full UK driving license. You will be required to take an enhanced DBS check as the role involves working with children and young people. When not delivering activity in the region you will work from the office based at Newcastle University, the university offers blended working arrangements. 

We are committed to the professional career development of all our colleagues. You will benefit from a range of excellent development opportunities including internal and external training, active institutional membership of specialist networking groups and opportunities to gain experience of other areas of advancement and University professional services. 

If you are considering relocating to join us, should you be successful in your application you can find out about our relocation package options here. 

The post is available on a full-time basis, 37 hours per week. 

Informal role enquiries can be made by contacting, Louise Harrison, NERAP Project Manager, at louise.harrison@newcastle.ac.uk.  

If you would like to apply for the role, please provide evidence of how you meet the essential criteria required for the role outlined in ‘The Person’ section of the Job Description by uploading a letter of application along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV). 

The post is fixed term until the 31st July 2025. 

Key Accountabilities 

• Plan, arrange and carry out visits to schools on behalf of the Partnership as directed by the NERAP Project Manager/Project Coordinator. Deliver interactive workshops, activities and presentations, from a student perspective to potential applicants, teachers/advisers and parents/carers on a range of topics including: student finance; the Higher Education experience; subject-specific study; student life; UCAS and applying to university; choosing a university and course; employability and Higher Education opportunities; and other appropriate outreach and awareness-raising activities

• Work as a member of the NERAP Team to contribute to the development of student-focused interactive activities and materials that raise awareness of Higher Education opportunities, topics and courses available to study at both college and university. These activities and materials should be appropriate to the target audiences and tailored to the individual needs of schools

• Work with the NERAP Project Manager/Coordinator to contribute to the planning, development and delivery of a range of centrally coordinated activity to support vulnerable groups such as looked after young people and young carers. This includes supporting the development of activities and materials aimed at raising aspirations and awareness of Higher Education and building confidence

• Support the Partnership’s targeting policy to develop, maintain and build upon the relationships with schools. This will involve contacting schools, arranging visits and carrying out follow-up activities as appropriate

• Keep accurate records of visits which have taken place in order to monitor and evaluate  the  impact  of  student  aspiration-raising  activities  and  ensure information is accurately recorded on the programme database

• Under the guidance of the NERAP Project Manager/Coordinator, support the development and delivery of high-quality events and activities in the area/region

• Contribute to the development and production of Partnership related publicity/marketing information (print, digital and social media)

• Contribute to such other relevant duties and activities as may be identified by the NERAP Project Manager

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate clearly, orally and in writing

• Experience of delivering presentations or public speaking to a range of audiences

• Experience of working with and enthusing young people

• Understanding of widening participation to Higher Education and issues facing students from under-represented groups

• Full UK driving licence (vehicle will be provided as necessary)

• Willingness to travel throughout the region, possibly during twilight hours as required

• Understanding of data protection and child safeguarding

• Good IT skills, particularly in the use of Microsoft Office and social media channels

• Experience of/willingness to learn digital content creation/production, e.g., video editing, production and animation

Attributes and Behaviour 

• Attention to detail and ability to work to a high standard

• Excellent organisation and time management skills

• Ability to project a positive attitude and enthusiasm

• Willingness to work at Partner organisations across the region as required

    Qualifications 

• Recent Graduate with a undergraduate degree (completed within 3 years of application) 

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in Higher Education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26918