Work Experience Adviser

Salary: £32,080 - £33,002 with progression to £34,610  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: 27 May 2026

The role

The Student Success Unit is responsible for developing and supporting the delivery of an outstanding and distinctive student experience so that students have a high-quality University experience. As part of Student Success, the Careers Service supports all students and recent graduates towards a positive graduate outcome. 

You will be part of a team of Work Experience Advisers within the Careers Service, responsible for developing and delivering placement years, work experience, internships and student employment on campus, working closely with students, employers and colleagues to ensure an excellent student experience is always at the forefront and that work experience is available to all Newcastle University students. The role may require occasional out of hours/ evening work.

In order to be successful, you will have demonstrable experience gained in a customer service environment, excellent communications skills wth confidence to approach employers. You will be highly organised and have good understanding of recruitment and selection techniques

The post is full time, fixed term position until 31st December 2027

For informal enquiries please contact: connor.bluemel@newcastle.ac.uk 

To apply please upload CV and cover letter evidencing how your skills and experciences align to the person specification as outlined in job description.

This role can be considered as a secondment opportunity.

Key Accountabilities

• As part of a team, you will lead on the creation, management, delivery and growth of all work experience opportunities. This includes the management and advertisement of vacancies, the development of strategic partnerships with employers and supporting students through the process
• You will be allocated a main area of responsibility for one of the programmes but will be expected to work with and support colleagues across the team where needed
• Have operational oversight of the relevant budgets, allocated to support work experience opportunities and be responsible for tracking and overseeing expenditure and income for your lead area
• Develop, implement and maintain processes and systems to support work-based learning programmes including internships, placements and student employment on campus focusing on your lead area. This may include: Overseeing recruitment & selection processes, include shortlisting, scheduling interviews, providing interview feedback and conducting sign up meetings with both students and employers
• Undertaking placement approval procedures, assessing health and safety compliance and risk effectively, actively requesting third party expertise where necessary
• Overseeing monthly payroll processes
• Develop, maintain and produce a range of data, for evaluation, impact measures and promotion. Act on feedback and produce examples of best practice
• Ensure compliance with all prevailing employment legislation incl. UK Visa and Immigration requirements by conducting Right to Work checks for student workers
• Proactively market and promote work experience opportunities to students, employers and colleagues across the University to increase awareness and engagement, including developing targeted outreach and cross‑University marketing plans, collaborating with Communications and Events colleagues, engaging key sectors and organisations, maintaining accurate web content, and meeting regularly with stakeholders to stay informed of opportunities and future trends
• Provide exceptional customer service to key stakeholders through: Advising and guiding students throughout their work experience journey, supporting them individually and in groups, and signposting them to further opportunities and reflective resources to help them understand and articulate the value of their experience
• Developing and maintaining relationships with internal and external organisations to create work‑experience opportunities and working with colleagues across the University to ensure a consistent approach and promote best practice
• Overseeing evaluation processes, monitoring progress and outcomes, and acting on feedback to inform improvements
• Acting as the main contact for escalated issues from students, colleagues or external organisations, resolving complex concerns where possible and escalating further when required
• Provide line management where needed to Work Experience Coordinators and Assistants to ensure effective performance
• Deliver recruitment and supervision of Work Experience Coordinators and Assistants/students. Acting as a mentor, offering support, feedback and training
• Work with colleagues across Student Success to ensure design and delivery of our provision considers the needs and requirements of designated groups of students (e.g., students with additional needs, international students, Early Career Researchers, or Degree Apprentices)
• Undertake any other duties reasonably requested in the delivery of the Careers Service’s strategic objectives

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Experience of working with students, ideally in Higher Education
• Experience of recruitment and selection techniques
• The ability to build effective working relationships and to approach employers
• Experience working in a customer-focused environment
• Excellent attention to detail with a high level of accuracy
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise a complex workload and working to tight deadlines
• Good communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to negotiate
• Good problem solving with ability to use initiative and to make independent decisions

Attributes and Behaviour

• Manages time and resources by prioritising and organising effectively
• Works collaboratively with others, plays a positive role in teams and establishes and grows relationships across the organisation where different skills, expertise and opinions are valued
• Uses clear, concise and accurate communication, tailoring the approach accordingly and encouraging a two-way communication process
• Projects a positive attitude through personal confidence and enthusiasm to achieve organisation success
• Inspires the trust and confidence of others
• Works continually towards achieving success through understanding and meeting or exceeding the expectations of the area, the University, students, colleagues and other stakeholders

Qualifications

• A degree or equivalent level qualification in any subject or substantial relevant work experience

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 Gold 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: 29233