Founded in 1898 as the West Ham Technical Institute, UEL has always championed industry-focused education and social mobility, earning the name “The People’s University” for its commitment to widening access to technical and professional learning. While our scale and ambition have grown, our purpose has remained constant: empowering communities, advancing social justice, and equipping students with future-proof skills to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Today, UEL continues this legacy through pioneering research, employer-engaged education, and meaningful community impact. We are tackling health and economic inequalities, promoting sustainability, and helping to build a more inclusive and resilient future.

Guided by our ambitious Vision 2028  strategy, UEL is reshaping education for the benefit of all, empowering students from every background with the skills and opportunities to succeed. Our commitment to excellence is recognised nationally; we are proud to be named University of the Year for Teaching Quality in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025. At UEL, we don’t just teach - we inspire, innovate,

About Us

The Careers and Student Enterprise Service which is the career, employability, and enterprise nucleus of the University of East London. The goal of the service is to support every student to achieve career success, gain the skills for the 21st century workforce, and build direct pathways to employment. The service’s mindset has innovation and creativity at its core. To improve progression, retention and graduate outcomes, the service utilises innovative careers tools and resources, which has shown impact on our students’ satisfaction, behaviour, and outcomes. This is a one-of-a-kind department with highly motivated staff providing a quality service to students and alumni. 

About the Job

Are you passionate about helping international students develop their employability, secure meaningful work opportunities, and grow their career confidence? If so, this could be the role for you.

As a Placement Career Coach, you will support international postgraduate students as they prepare for, secure, and succeed in their placement year. From delivering engaging employability workshops to providing tailored one-to-one careers and job coaching, you will play a central role in helping students navigate the job market and build the skills employers value most.

You will also guide students through the practical aspects of their placement journey – from applications and interviews to ensuring placements meet compliance standards – and provide ongoing support while they are in the role. As students complete their placements, you will help them reflect on their experiences, connect them to wider careers resources, and prepare them for graduate opportunities.

This is a varied role where no two days are the same. You will collaborate with colleagues across the university, build relationships with employers, and represent the Careers Service at careers fairs, employer events, and student welcome activities.

For internal applicants, this post will be offered as a secondment for the duration of the fixed-term contract.

About You

You will have a genuine passion for empowering students to secure and succeed in their placements as a vital step in their career journey. With experience of working with international and home students and a background in careers, employability, or job coaching, you will know how to guide students through the challenges of finding, applying for, and thriving in placement opportunities. Confident in delivering both group employability workshops and personalised one-to-one coaching, you will inspire ambition, build confidence, and help students achieve successful outcomes.

Ambitious and results-driven, you will combine creativity and initiative with strong organisational skills, ensuring the smooth sourcing, administration, and monitoring of placements. You will also bring the ability to build positive relationships with employers, colleagues, and partners, enabling you to create opportunities that meet compliance standards while supporting students’ career aspirations.

Most importantly, you will be motivated by making a lasting difference to students’ employability and placement success. In return, you will enjoy a role that offers variety, innovation, and the opportunity to shape the journeys of ambitious international students and help them take confident steps toward rewarding global careers.

Benefits Package

At UEL, we believe that a great role is about more than just a salary. It’s about the complete package, including our outstanding work environment and inclusive culture.

We offer a genuinely competitive salary, dependent on experience (DOE), and a range of excellent benefits.

You can explore our full benefits package here: https://uel.ac.uk/benefits-professional-services-positions

Building an Inclusive Future

As an inclusive, equal-opportunities employer, our Stonewall membership and Athena Swan awards reflect our ongoing dedication to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and we’re committed to closing the diversity pay gap. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and honest that there’s more to do. We’re determined to keep moving forward so everyone at UEL can thrive.

We're a disability confident employer and value all applications. Please let us know if you require any reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process.

If you're ready to join a University that values your outstanding skills and perspectives and is dedicated to making a difference, we invite you to explore a career with us. We are excited to welcome versatile individuals who are committed to advancing their careers while making a positive impact on the world.

Please note that this advert may close earlier than the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. 

We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Applicants must therefore already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application.

Closing Date: 20 Apr 2026

Team: Support - UELPS Ltd

Salary: £39,824 to £45,281 per annum inclusive of London Weighting

Founded in 1898, we at the University of East London (UEL) are proud to change lives through education. Our goal is to advance industry 5.0 careers-first education and provide a clear path to the jobs and opportunities of the future. We’re committed to driving diversity in the 5.0 talent pipeline, working in partnership to promote talent wherever it is found and creating a balanced, inclusive, and green future.

But we can't achieve this goal alone. We need forward-thinking, innovative, and curious individuals like you to join our community and help us craft our future. As part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to work with a diverse range of people who share your passion for creating positive change. We’re an inclusive and welcoming community that is constantly moving forward, never satisfied with the status quo.

STRABAG UK

Operating in the UK since 2011, STRABAG UK is a division of STRABAG SE, a leading European-based construction technology group with a global footprint, offering world-leading services in the water, energy, transport, and building sectors. We integrate digital innovation, sustainable practices, and engineering excellence, underpinned by STRABAG's legacy of smart construction solutions.

About Us

The Construction and Engineering Department at the University of East London is home to a wide range of innovative and industry-focused courses, from Civil, Structural, and Robotic Construction Engineering to Mechatronics, Aeronautical, Biomedical, and Electrical Vehicles Engineering. With strong links to industry and array of professional accreditations, the department equips learners and researchers with the skills needed to thrive in rapidly evolving sectors. Our research includes areas such as biomimetic materials, self-healing concrete, extreme wave and flood modelling, IoT and intelligent control systems, renewable energies, robotics, automation, and supply chain management with academics and students working together on projects that address global challenges and support sustainable futures. Ranked highly in student satisfaction and teaching quality, the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering provides a dynamic environment where hands-on learning, cutting-edge laboratories, and real-world projects combine to prepare graduates for impactful careers across engineering, technology, and the built environment.

Our department also holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award, recognising our clear commitment to gender equality, our sustained progress in advancing equality across our community, and the demonstrable impact of our actions in supporting an inclusive working environment.

About the Job

The University of East London (UEL) in partnership with STRABAG UK is embarking on a collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project with the overall aim of development and commercialising a pioneering, sustainable grout made from repurposed organic and earth-based materials. The project leverages advanced materials engineering expertise to deliver an innovative, eco-friendly, low-carbon tunnelling solution that is first-of-its-kind. This will contribute to addressing the urgent need to address the climate emergency and help achieve carbon emissions reduction targets. We are seeking a Civil Engineering and Materials (KTP Associate) to join the team. As a KTP Associate you will deliver an innovative project as an employee of the University of East London, but will spend most of your working time at the company’s premises and sites.

Technical

• Tracing the complex binding, self-forming, self-regulating and self-healing mechanisms (e.g., hydration, silicatisation, sequestration) reactions in Realtime, their interdependencies, and complex response to the environmental factors and controllers.
• Adaptation of the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) current technology to suit the new grout.
• Learning, deploying, and transferring a novel risk-based, probabilistic design approach
• Mastering and deploying a holistic design approach, with diverse performance indicators including environmental, engineering, ecological and financial, alongside logistical targets including workability, time, material procurement and flow.
• Deploying the novel grout at large for a highly sensitive infrastructure.
• Overseeing material adaptability, supplier diversification and compliance integration.
• Transferring the methods, tools, and techniques to STRABAG employees and stakeholders, who will be both technical and non-technical.

People and Change Management

• Working well within the multi-disciplinary teams in STRABAG.
• Understanding impact on existing staff.
• Understanding impact, the new material will have on existing equipment and site storage areas.
• Working out how to embed the new technology associated with the new grout within the organisation and wider company group.

Project Management

• Effectively communicating the knowledge with internal staff and clients.
• Delivering the project according to requirements/standards, within budget.
• Understanding the challenges in designing/implementing new methods.

About You

You should have

• A good honours degree (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering or Engineering Geology.
• A Master of Science (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering,        Geotechnical Engineering, Tunnelling Engineering, Material Science and/or Engineering (e.g., Concrete Technology), Engineering Geology or a relevant area.
• Good knowledge of geotechnical engineering and/or engineering materials.
• Excellent written and oral English language skills.
• Independence and ability to work with little supervision. 
• An ability to use initiative and apply creativity, to solve problems.
• An ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams.
• An Ability to communicate clearly using different means and produce professional reports. 
• An ability to effectively manage time and meet project deliverables deadlines.

You ideally (desirable but not essential) have 

• Ph.D. in relevant subject areas.
• Good knowledge of grout technology.
• Awareness/knowledge of geochemistry.
• Coding, programming, and machine learning.
• Experience in the field of Tunnelling Boring Machine.
• Publication portfolio.

Benefits Package

Here at UEL we understand it’s about more than just a salary. It’s about the entire package on offer along with our outstanding work environment and inclusive culture. We know the market rates for this vacancy and will offer a genuinely competitive salary DOE.

• An opportunity to develop technical capabilities and commercial awareness. 
• An opportunity to lead a project, develop project management skills and improve long-term career prospects. 
• A dedicated development and training budget. 
• Full access to university resources to complete the project. 
• An opportunity to work across an industry-academic partnership. 
• Mentoring by an experienced team of supervisors from industry and academia.

You can explore our full benefits package here: https://uel.ac.uk/benefits-professional-services-positions

Equal Opportunities

As an inclusive, equal-opportunities employer, our multiple Charter awards (Stonewall, Race Equality and Athena Swan) reflect our ongoing dedication to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and we’re committed to closing the " ethnicity pay gap". We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and honest that there’s more to do. We’re determined to keep moving forward so everyone at UEL can thrive. 

So, if you’d like to take your career to the next level with us here at the University of East London and are inspired by our environment and commit to success, we want you to apply today! 

Please note that this advert may close earlier than the deadline if we receive many applications. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Applicants must therefore already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application.

Closing Date: 26 Apr 2026

Team: Support - UELPS Ltd

Salary: £39,824 to £45,281 per annum inclusive of London Weighting