Student Casual – Graduation Ushers – Academic Services – Grade 2 – 906960

Please note that this vacancy may be taken down early depending on the number of applications received. We advise you to submit your application promptly.

Our offer to you

At the University of Birmingham, Worklink is the dedicated student employment service which helps students to find flexible, well paid part-time roles that fit around your studies. Each year, the University invests more than £2.5 million to employ 3,000 of our own students in a wide range of roles, supporting our student community into part-time work. Roles available via Worklink include a range of positions, including administrative roles, support staff such as cleaners or baristas, research roles and many more.

Jobs through Worklink help you to gain work experience, develop skills relevant for your future career, and improve your soft and hard skills in a professional setting. Enhance your CV and get valuable experience ready for graduate roles and feel connected to your university and local community.

Our jobs are flexible and can be scheduled around your academic commitments, so you can focus on your studies first. Our team are passionate about supporting students into work. Worklink are based in a central location on campus which is easily accessible for students and can also be contacted online.

Find out more about working through Worklink here or via the student intranet.

Job context 

Funding, Graduation and Awards are looking to recruit a team of enthusiastic and proactive students to undertake a variety of roles during the week of December Degree Congregations between Friday 4th December and Friday 11th December.

All roles will also be required to attend a paid training and set-up day on Friday 4th December (10:00-13:00). Smart clothing is not required (nor recommended) for the set-up day. All roles will be expected to work part-time (up to 20 hours) each week.

Job summary 

Graduation is the highlight of the academic year and relies on a dedicated team of ushers to help deliver these prestigious events. Our ushers need to be proactive, energetic, approachable and enthusiastic. The role is public facing, welcoming graduating students and their guests to the celebrations and helping to ensure that everything runs smoothly for them on the day. It requires a high degree of dedication but has proven to be an extremely rewarding experience for our previous ushers. Tasks may include:

• Staffing the ticket desk, and managing certificate collection which requires attention to detail and a professional demeanour;
• Providing directional advice to many visitors and answering questions about the events and various buildings where graduation activity takes place. 
• Understanding the logistics and running schedule of the day, as you may be asked questions about the schedule of proceedings. 
• Managing the flow of graduates in the Great Hall, helping us to ensure that they go up on stage in the correct order;
• Managing the flow of guests into and out of the Great Hall, in line with safety requirements;
• Keeping the venues clean and tidy;
• Helping to get the venue ready between ceremonies; 
• Helping guests and graduates with accessibility requirements and special requests. 

These are formal events, so the dress code is business wear (smart, comfortable shoes, shirt with collar and smart trousers or skirt), though please note that smart clothing is not required (nor recommended) for the set-up and training day on Friday 4th of December.

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience 

Our ushers need to be:

• Proactive - Graduations welcome many guests to The University of Birmingham, who might have never visited campus before. Being proactive to step in if you spot guests (or graduates) who look like they may need some extra assistance in finding their way to help the day run smoothly. 
• Energetic - Working in a customer facing role will require lots of interaction, and multiple ceremonies each day, so it is important to maintain a consistent positive energy and motivation throughout the course of the week, upholding an excellent experience for graduation attendees. 
• Approachable – For all students and guests, this is an important and exciting day, having student ushers who can provide a friendly and reassuring face means that if any unexpected situations do arise attendees have someone to speak to. 
• Enthusiastic- providing a positive and welcoming experience for all guests and students as this is an important celebration of academic achievement. 
• Comfortable in a public facing role - speaking to new people, and welcoming graduating students and their guests to the celebrations and helping to ensure that everything runs smoothly for them on the day
• Have a high degree of dedication - for example catering to guests with additional needs and ensuring the safety and comfort of guests in possibly challenging weather conditions as it may be very cold/wet during this time. 
• Attention to detail- for example staffing the ticket desk: our Great Hall has limited guest capacity as such being aware of our ticketing constraints and adhering to them, so it is highly important that those working on the day show great attention to detail. 
• Professional demeanour- some roles will require you to be on your feet for longer periods of time than other, such as ushering, being able to maintain professionalism throughout the shift is essential.
• Positive service attitude- for example if a student brings more than the permitted 2 guests, it will be important to show care and courtesy in politely dealing with these individuals to let them know that they may have to queue up for additional tickets and it is possible that not everyone will be able to sit in the Great Hall. 
• Ability to order own duties within a schedule set by your supervisor- checking in and asking questions if there is something you are not sure about, one role includes distributing certificates and transcripts, important and confidential documents, to students, here it will be essential that you feel comfortable to independently carry out these tasks giving the correct graduate their documents. 
• Ability to be flexible in terms of work practices/requirements- being adaptable to change roles if needed on the day, you may have to staff the ticket desk or work the cloak room or be an usher within the marble reception of the Great Hall.
• Ability to work as part of a team - there will be many ushers so being able to work with a range of different people each shift, and coordinate your responsibilities is essential.

Further details 

Positions vary from 5.5 hours up to 20 hours per week.

For any informal queries, please contact [email protected] with the subject ‘Worklink.’

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time for a maximum of 13 consecutive weeks. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g.  PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an international student you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate authorised absence. 

You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.

To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.

Regarding the use of AI in applications, we review hundreds of applications and shortlist candidates based on their unique perspective, motivations and potential. Cover letters generated through, or edited by, AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT or CoPilot) are easy to identify. They produce generic answers and will not score highly enough to progress. You may use AI tools for research, but all written content in your application must be your own work. Authenticity and originality are key to standing out in this process. 

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we’re unable to contact all applicants individually. You can check the progress of your application by logging into the Worklink jobs portal using the same email address you used to apply. If you haven’t heard back within six weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.