Careers Advice And Guidance Manager Dubai - Dubai Operations - 99969 - Grade 7

Position Details

Professional Services

Discipline: Dubai Operations

University of Birmingham, Dubai campus

Salary: Competitive 

Grade: 7 (Spot)

No. of positions: 1

Full time

Duration: 3-years fixed contract (renewable at the University’s discretion) 

Location: Dubai, UAE

Closing date: 27^th September 2026

University of Birmingham Dubai

Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we have now moved to our new state-of-the-art campus which opened in Sept 2021. These posts represent an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.

Role Summary

Working as a careers guidance professional at the Dubai Campus, the post holder will be a leading subject matter expert on the campus, and have responsibility for delivering careers advice and guidance, and career development learning, to students at all levels of study. The post holder will be expected to design and deliver programmes that improve the graduate outcomes of students, in partnership with Programme Directors and Careers Network colleagues; and develop action plans for Programmes within their caseload.

The post holder will work with the Careers Network and Employer Engagement and Employability Skills Manager on the implementation of the Careers Network Employability Strategy across the Dubai campus. They will draw upon their expertise in graduate recruitment, the graduate labour market and employment sectors, the student experience and career aspirations of students in the UAE, to provide a service that enhances the employability skills of our students, and engages employers, academics, student groups, and alumni.

As a member of staff working with the Careers Network, the University’s multi-award-winning careers service, the post holder will play an important role in helping the University to meet its overall targets in relation to graduate employability and working collaboratively with a range of colleagues in Careers Network to meet shared objectives.

Main Duties

Service Provision

• Working in partnership with the Employer Relations Manager, and under the direction of the Head of Student Experience and Wellbeing to develop and maintain a high quality Careers and Employability service to students, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of a data driven approach to service development, relevant KPIs which demonstrate sustained impact.
• Providing careers advice and guidance to students and graduates.
• Developing and delivering employability related seminars and workshops.
• Developing action plans, which contribute to the realisation of the University of Birmingham Dubai strategy and cement a strong working relationship with the academic community.
• Leading collection and analysis of data through the Graduate Destination Survey.
• Working in partnership with academic and professional services colleagues, to develop and deliver a variety of employability services and initiatives; ensuring that services are of high quality, in line with institutional expectations and professional standards, such as the AGCAS code of practice, and is compliant with relevant legislation and University guidelines.
• Working in partnership with students, using sources such as Staff Student Forums, and the Dubai Student Survey to develop approaches tailored to promoting student success and employability.

General

• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
• Undertake continuous personal and professional development.
• Developing and expertise in relation to the local labour market, and an understanding of the approach of our competitors to inform potential areas for improvement in practices, policies and technology.
• Organising events, engaging employers, speakers and external contacts in partnership with careers tutors.
• Creating resources and information tailored to support the careers provision. 

Dissemination & Communication

• Responding to student enquiries as part of the Dubai Student Hub as well as enquiries directed to Careers Service and Student Experience and Wellbeing Team. Providing reports and responding to requests for data as required, such as in response to Ministry of Education, Education Committee and wider Careers Network Colleagues. 
• Identifying trends affecting students/graduate employability and supporting the initiation of action and creation of innovative solutions.
• Supporting the identification and development of web based and online resources and careers information for various purposes.
• Maintaining and developing positive stakeholder relations (academics, students, staff, employers and other potential partners). In particular, establishing effective partnerships with employers, alumni and local networks to enhance the careers provision in Dubai and the UAE. 
• Responding proactively to enquiries from all stakeholders and identifying potential internal and external collaborations that could enhance the employability of students.

Staff Development/ Resource management

• Leading the development and delivery of employability related training provision for colleagues within the Dubai campus.
• Contributing towards resources planning, with the Employer Relationship and Employability Skills Manager and appropriate working groups; promoting cost effectiveness and value for money for the University.
• Being responsible for the management of a budget in relation to a project or an event.
• Overseeing the Student Casual Working process, including line management, delivering assessment centres, payroll administration and liaising with teams to manage their requests.

Other Duties

• Contributing to development and delivery of centralised Careers Network activities and services and undertaking occasional weekend and evening work.
• Contributing to quality audits, accreditation exercises and providing information for rankings surveys; collecting service data and evaluations in order to inform the future direction of the service.
• Belonging to AGCAS and contributing as appropriate to its discussions lists, specialist committees and working groups, training, writing and research activities.
• Undertaking other duties as may, from time-to-time, be determined by the Head of Student Experience and Wellbeing.

Person Specification

• Educated to degree level.
• A recognised careers guidance qualification e.g. PG Dip. or QCG or equivalent. 
• Experience of delivering careers advice and guidance 
• Proven experience of working with students or graduates, and the ability to provide them with an excellent customer experience.
• Project management skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills. 
• Evidence of ability to work under pressure, to manage conflicting demands, and meet challenging targets.
• Evidence of being able to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• A willingness and ability to network and to generate new leads and projects.
• Evidence of strong problem solving abilities.
• Experience of being able to relate to and work with a range of stakeholders; to inform, persuade and influence with diplomacy and sensitivity.
• Evidence of excellent self and time management skills.
• Evidence of drive and enthusiasm.
• Proficient IT skills including a familiarity with Microsoft applications and experience of working with data.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation relating to employability.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.
• Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal stakeholders
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues
• Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues

OH&DBS required

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Occupational Health and DBS clearance prior to appointment.

For informal enquiries, please contact Phil Scarffe, email: p.s.scarffe@bham.ac.uk

In return, you will receive a competitive package and play a key role in our ambitious University’s expansion as we enhance our international reputation and global footprint.

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.

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.