Welcome Ambassador Recruitment

To be eligible to be a Welcome Ambassador, you must be a current undergraduate or postgraduate student who will be returning for the full 2026/27 academic year. You must also able to demonstrate that you have the right to work in the United Kingdom while you're an Ambassador.

As it is a paid work opportunity, selection of Student Welcome Ambassadors will be a competitive recruitment process where we expect to receive many more applicants than Ambassador places available. Your application will be judged on the following selection criteria: 

• Strong verbal communication skills with a friendly, approachable manner. 

• Ability to follow set procedures and instructions from supervisors. 

• Ability to be proactive and show initiative. 

• Strong organisation and timekeeping skills, with ability to be punctual, reliable, and responsible. 

• Enthusiasm for developing a positive Welcome experience for new students at Imperial. 

There is no one type of person we’re looking for – any returning student studying any course at any level. It is not necessary to have taken part in the scheme before – we will provide plenty of guidance and information, as well as training, to ensure that you are prepared for your role.  

We particularly encourage applications from ethnic minority students, disabled students, LGBTQ+ students, postgraduates, mature students, and anyone passionate about inclusion.

To be eligible to apply as a Senior Welcome Ambassador, you must meet all the general eligibility and criteria above and also must have previously worked as an Imperial Welcome Ambassador.

In addition to the general Welcome Ambassador criteria above, we are looking for Senior Welcome Ambassadors who demonstrate:

• Ability to take a leadership role within a team, confidently supporting other Welcome Ambassadors and using initiative and judgement to resolve issues they raise.
• Strong knowledge of Imperial’s services, campuses and facilities, with the confidence to answer questions and provide appropriate guidance and signposting.
• Confidence and willingness to take on additional operational responsibility during Welcome, including taking direction from event leads, coordinating others and getting stuck in wherever support is needed.

Please be aware that the Senior Welcome Ambassador role involves a greater commitment than the general Ambassador role. Senior Ambassadors will:

• generally be expected to work longer, all-day shifts during key Welcome activities;
• be required to attend additional training to prepare for their responsibilities; and
• be invited to a short interview during the week commencing 31 August as part of the selection process.

You can indicate in your application whether you would like to be considered for a Senior Welcome Ambassador position. Applying for a Senior position will not affect your consideration for a general Welcome Ambassador role.

Sound like something you want to be part of? To apply:

1. Read carefully through the information on this page, consider the available roles, responsibilities and decide if you want to take part
2. Complete the Welcome Ambassador Application Form, including providing a personal statement. This form will also allow you to apply to be a Senior Welcome Ambassador.
3. Submit before the deadline of 09:00 on Wednesday 26th August

In your application, you will be asked to provide one referee who should be an Imperial staff member (this includes the Union staff members) who can comment on your ability to be an Ambassador. Some examples include your: personal tutor, supervisor, current or previous Hall Warden, project supervisor, full-time Union bar staff - but this list is not exhaustive.

You will hear about the outcome of your application in the week commencing 31st August. If you're selected, you will be asked to complete a right to work check and your position will not be confirmed until this is complete. 

We receive a very high number of applicants every year (e.g. last year there were 7 applicants for every place available). We may close applications early if we receive a sufficient number before the deadline so do not wait until the deadline to apply.

The pay rates for the 2025/26 Ambassadors are set according to the casual worker PTOL salary scales and can be found below:

• General Welcome Ambassadors: total rate of £17.89/hour (spine point 1: basic rate £15.96 + holiday pay £1.93)
• Senior Welcome Ambassadors total rate of £22.16/hour (spine point 13: basic rate £19.77 + holiday pay £2,39)

Ambassadors who are recruited will be able to request shifts once the schedule is released in mid-September. Shifts will be allocated on the principle of prioritising filling as many shifts as possible, while attempting to distribute shifts as evenly as possible across Ambassadors. First-come-first-serve will be used when all other things are equal.

Therefore, the total hours any individual Ambassador works depends on how many shifts they request and how popular those shifts are. Last year, the average number of hours worked by each Ambassador was 15 hours over multiple days.

All Welcome Ambassadors will be expected to attend a live training session (online or in-person) in the week commencing 21st September. This will provide core information about being an Ambassador as well as a chance to develop skills needed for the role.

Senior Welcome Ambassadors will be required to attend some additional casual training sessions to prepare for the additional responsibilities.

All training sessions are paid.

You will also receive comprehensive guidance information via the Welcome Ambassador SharePoint including signposting guidance, advice for talking to students, and information about what's going during Welcome.

Every shift will have a dedicated staff member leading it to make sure that there's support on-shift for queries or to escalate concerns.