Research England
DELIVERY MANAGER - REF 2029
Salary: £36,650 per annum
Hours: Full Time
Grade: UKRI Band D
Contract Type: Fixed Term (Concluding 31 January 2030)
Location: Westward House, Bristol
Closing Date: 16 March 25
Context
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. It is a peer review assessment process involving submissions from higher education institutions across the UK. REF 2029 is delivered by Research England on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies (Scottish Funding Council, Medr, and the Department of the Economy Northern Ireland). Research England is a council within UK Research and Innovation.
REF 2029 is a fast-moving exercise managing a wide range of policy areas, expert panel members that span all research disciplines and types of research outputs. Key to our success will be close team working and supporting each other through peak periods. Joining our team provides a great deal of opportunity to learn and develop.
Purpose
You will work closely with the REF Delivery team and the REF Information Governance, Policy and Systems teams to manage the delivery of administrative process to support, governance, policy development and engagement, panel meetings, assessment and publication of results.
You will have experience of working with senior colleagues and external stakeholders, of running administrative processes underpinned by a project focused approach and be adept at recognising the connectivity between policy development and process requirement. You will be able to demonstrate your ability to operationalise large-scale processes, at pace and delivering excellent outcomes, often under pressure.
Responsibilities
Manage the administrative project requirements for REF 2029:
* Manage the planning of and provide secretariat support to the REF Steering Group
* Support the updating and refinement of the overall REF project plan using the REF project management tool
* Manage the delivery of REF project activities, including monitoring of actions and decisions
* Act as a subject matter expert on the REF project management system, supporting and advising colleagues on system capabilities and working collaboratively with colleagues to ensure optimal usage of the tools available
* Work closely with all members of the REF team to coordinate and implement administrative processes with a focus on continuous improvement
Contribute to the project management support for the REF panels:
* Support the Head of REF delivery and REF systems team with administrative tasks relating to the development of specifications that allow the delivery of systems to support administrative processes for REF panels, including a database of REF panel members, scheduling panel meetings, payment of expenses and provision of assessment materials
* Support the delivery of panel meeting arrangements and expense approval processes during peak periods
Facilitate Information Governance activities for REF 2029:
* Develop and maintain a comprehensive record management system for REF 2029
* Assist with responses to information governance requests to REF 2029, including ones made under UK GDPR, DPA 2018 and FOIA
* Promote information governance good practices in the REF team
* Support the development of information governance key documents (OneTrust)
Provide administrative support for REF policy development:
* Manage administrative support for all REF steering group meetings
* Responsible for agenda planning and minute taking at REF steering group meetings
* Support with note taking at sector events as and when required
Contribute to REF project planning and other work of the team:
* Attend REF project meetings and contribute to planning of REF team off-sites
* Develop and maintain a good general knowledge of the REF programme
* Provide clear, accurate and timely advice and information on project management and process related requirements to colleagues both within the REF team and Research England more broadly
* Provide administrative support to the Head of REF Delivery on all administrative tasks related to governance matters
* Gather information on the administrative aspects of the REF budget to support regular financial reporting as and when required
Planning:
* Support the development of complex administrative processes to deliver successful outcomes
* Able to forward plan effectively; including anticipating forthcoming situations and planning resources accordingly
* Able to prioritise and manage own time effectively, often requiring high levels of multi-tasking, to produce work of a high quality to required deadlines
Communications:
* Able to write clear and accurate correspondence, appropriately tailored to the audience and in accordance with ‘house’ style
* Able to communicate confidently with people from a range of levels in a clear, concise and fluent manner
* Able to contribute effectively to meetings
* Able to proactively listen and apply feedback from people to continually improve administrative processes and operations
Relationships:
* A flexible and assertive approach to developing, maintaining and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders
* Ability to independently collaborate with a range of internal and external stakeholders (including senior colleagues) to achieve successful outcomes
* Able to build effective working relationships with people at a range of levels, recognising the diversity of others
Assessment Criteria
(S) – Assessed at shortlisting
(I) – Assessed at interview
(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview
Essential:
Experience:
* Substantive experience of working in an administrative role, working with others to manage complex administrative processes (S&I)
* Experience of developing and implementing administrative processes and systems (I)
* Budget management experience (S)
* Experience of running financial processes (S)
* Experience of communicating with people at a range of levels both internally and externally (S&I)
* Experience of working collaboratively to arrange a high volume of meetings and events concurrently (S&I)
Knowledge & Learning:
* An independent, creative, flexible and positive approach to problem-solving; including anticipating problems and generating solutions (I)
* An ongoing commitment to learning and developing own and others’ knowledge and skills (S&I)
* Strong IT skills in Microsoft software packages (Word, Outlook, Excel) and a willingness and ability to support the development of bespoke administrative IT systems (S)
* Interest in developing knowledge of the higher education sector and the REF (S)
Other Factors:
* Flexibility to travel to meetings, including occasionally working outside office hours and overnight stays (S)
Desirable:
* Project management training (S)
APPLICATIONS
Online applications only for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter to the attachments section (ignore free textbox for cover letter under ‘Experience’ section) which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘Experience’ section of the application process.
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