Description Position Details College of Medicine and Health Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £46,735 to £55,755 with potential progression once in post to £62,728 Grade: 8 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to May 2028 Closing date: 5th May 2025 Our offer to you People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens. Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham Background The Research Delivery team, part of the College of Medicine & Health’s Research Office, is a vibrant hub for Professional Service staff (100 individuals) supporting high-value, strategically important projects and programmes. We work closely with both Professional Services colleagues and Academics across the University and partner organisations, particularly NHS colleagues, to maximise the impact of funded research, much of which has direct patient relevance. The portfolio of research supported is wide ranging (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/medical-dental), including a large portfolio of large-scale research programmes and infrastructure awards funded by charities, government and other major health research funders. This role will be embedded within the Research Delivery team and benefit from established relationships with programme partners and key stakeholders including NHS Trusts, collaborating research institutions both locally, nationally and globally, patient and public contributors, charities and funders. Role Summary To manage large programme or multiple projects across a School, College or professional service area, or make a significant contribution to larger University-wide programmes as part of a project team. This role is to support the programme management of the Translational Brain Science Research Group, led by Professor Alex Sinclair. The Translational Brain Science group is a pioneering research team that bridges the gap between pre-clinical research and clinical application. With a focus on brain injuries and neurological diseases, the group collaborates internationally to advance scientific understanding, identify causes, and develop innovative treatments. Through studies like the mTBI Predict Study, they aim to transform patient care, improve diagnostics, and create new rehabilitation strategies for those affected by traumatic brain injury and other neurological conditions. The key focus on this role will be to support the mTBI Predict study. The mTBI Predict Study is a groundbreaking multifaceted research project aimed at identifying biomarkers to predict the long-term outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This large longitudinal study involves includes multiple assessments over 2 years to track symptom progression. Key objectives include developing accurate biomarkers for diagnosis and improving rehabilitation strategies for mTBI patients. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence, the study seeks to advance patient care and inform clinical decisions. Main Duties Responsible for managing large or multiple projects that may have contributors from multiple areas. This will include some or all of the following: leading on the management of the project, including influencing and developing complex project plans; creating and maintaining an overall project management plan for the whole project or projects using project management principles and using appropriate software; identifying objectives and indicators of success; planning, organising and maintaining a regular schedule of project meetings and ensuring sufficient engagement by all relevant parties to the project; establish effective networking relationships with all stakeholders; managing the budget for the project as required; delivering project outputs agreed with senior management, on time, to budget and to the agreed quality standard. Monitoring, evaluation and communication Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation strategy for the project. Establish and implement reporting procedures which meet requirements, and ensure all necessary data is gathered in a timely and efficient manner. Analyse data to determine if it is fit for purpose, and take appropriate action to ensure data quality where necessary. Develop reporting mechanisms for the project then report on project progress to the project board or equivalent and highlight any risks. Maintain a risk register as appropriate, and communicate risks in a timely manner, proactively proposing solutions. Engage and communicate with a variety of stakeholders to ensure progress but also to disseminate outputs of the project as appropriate. People management Manage diverse groups of staff ensuring relevant targets and goals are achieved within resource constraints. Create a motivating environment where staff are challenged, developed, encouraged and supported to achieve outstanding results. Responsible for ensuring all annual review processes, including Performance and Development Reviews are conducted in the service area. Identify appropriate opportunities for development and change and encourage other team members to do the same. Guide staff through periods of change, communicating a clear and positive vision. General Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. Any other duties commensurate with the grade. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience Significant project management experience (ideally in large and/or complex projects), as well as wider relevant experience (which may include a degree or relevant equivalent professional qualification – although these are not essential). Relevant formal Project Management qualifications such as APMP, Prince2 or MSP are also useful, but not essential. Authoritative knowledge of the work practices, processes and procedures relevant to the role, including broader sector/commercial awareness. Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly for a variety of audiences, and to produce and analyse source material, information and data. Proven ability to meet targets, with minimal supervision to deadlines. Substantial experience of engaging, and collaborating, with internal and external stakeholders. Proven analytical and problem-solving skills that will help to identify and implement improvements and efficiencies across the project or projects you work on. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively with a range of stakeholders. Experience of managing large financial budgets along with experience of budget planning and forecasting. Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office suite. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required. Excellent people management skills, with some experience of leading, motivating and managing teams. High level of self-motivation and personal accountability with ability to plan and deliver goals to deadlines under pressure. Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied. Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action. Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area. Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied. Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action. Role context Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice across a range of activities and/or will lead and manage diverse team(s) and resources embed within the Translational Brain Science Group. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought is therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University. Core competencies/transferable skills Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully use the following core competencies/transferable skills in each of the areas shown below. You will be expected to take ownership for getting things done, including calling on or joining others to assist. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University. Planning and organising provide professional expertise, and manage resources and/or a diverse team; integrate and co-ordinate work across different parts of the department/university; lead and manage staff who are likely to be carrying out diverse duties, and ensure collaborative working to deliver a successful service; project manage activities to facilitate major changes; develop policy within functional guidelines, and contribute to strategic development within own area; be accountable for the quality and professionalism of service delivery, with an appreciation of longer term issues. Problem solving and decision making anticipate, interpret and assess customer needs, identifying trends, generating original ideas and testing innovative solutions; deal with significant people management issues such as change programmes; resolve issues which may not have arisen before through use of experience and judgement. Organisational understanding has an excellent understanding of their own working area and a broad understanding of the contribution other areas make to the success of the University; has an excellent understanding of how the University operates, together with an understanding of how academia operates in the UK; demonstrates empathy with the academic endeavour and seeks to encourage others to do so. Relationships and communication use coaching skills to motivate and develop staff; proactively and sensitively manage the performance of their team and create a motivating environment; influence others (including across the University) to follow a particular course of action; represent the department at internal and external meetings/events/network with colleagues in other institutions to share best practice. Further particulars can be found here Informal enquiries to Eliot Marston, email: e.d.marstonbham.ac.uk 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 .