Position Details
School of Chemical Engineering
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £32,296 to £34,866 with potential progression once in post to £39,105
Grade: 6
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to January 2028
Closing date: 12th March 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. 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 a pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum, and botanical gardens.
Background
4D Health Tech is an EPSRC funded Network Plus that aims to bring together the medical device community to revolutionise practice. Our vision is to transform medical engineering into 4D, incorporating considerations of time dimensional changes throughout the innovation journey. This spans changes in design practice, materials, manufacturing methods, and methods of testing, ultimately aiming to engineer devices that offer improved patient outcomes and longer life spans.
During this post, the network will be set up and mature into an active community that shall be supported by the wider Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI) at the University of Birmingham. The post holder will work closely with the 4D Health Tech investigator team and Innovation Fellow as well as the wider HTI operations team.
The post holder will support the network in the delivery of effective and efficient day-to-day management and organisation, including administration, secretarial duties, operational management, health & safety compliance, and technical management. Alongside this, they will also support network events, membership databases, administration for small grant applications to the network, and marketing of the network.
Role Summary
The post holder will be a member of the 4D Health Tech team and the HTI Operations Team, providing high-quality general administrative support:
* To provide day-to-day support for the operations of the 4D Health Tech Network
* To forge relationships with network members and relevant internal teams (e.g. HTI, BERI, Contracts, RSSD)
* To prepare and support meetings, boards, and committees, including the coordination and distribution of papers and taking notes or minutes, as required
* To support the planning and organisation of events, including those attended by external stakeholders
* To support the administration of small grant applications to the network, including advertisement, submission management, reviews, panel meetings, project reporting, and project finances
* To foster a stimulating, innovative and inclusive cultural environment
* To support/lead in cross-School, -College, and -university projects and initiatives
Main Duties
General support
* To use extensive knowledge of University policies, procedures, and systems, researching, developing, and managing systems which will ensure that work is carried successfully to deadline and enhancing systems to improve effectiveness and team working where possible
* To develop and maintain the network’s membership database, technical forum committees, network team meetings, and advisory board
* Provide local support to academic activities as required and defined by the network’s investigator team, such as diary management, meeting coordination, assisting visitors, managing room bookings – including organising audio-visual equipment, catering, and confirmation of arrangements to participants and security
* Advise and support across the network with day-to-day financial matters, such as purchase orders, expenses, invoices, and providing budget reports as requested by colleagues
* Support the network team and build strong working relationships with members from institutions and external organisations across the UK
* Assist with the dissemination of information issued by the network both internally at UoB and more widespread through partnering organisations
* Data Protection Regulation, interpreting and explaining these as required, and complying with all regulations and policies in own work
* Create an ethos of collaboration and collegiality, establishing effective communications and relationships, and encouraging staff to work in partnership with colleagues across the network, to eliminate potential barriers, enhance collegiality and develop best practice
* Act as a local champion of new and existing IT systems supporting training and the use of standard processes and procedures and new ways of working, maximising the benefits of the standard operating environment and university systems
* Support the PI in providing data requested by EPSRC and UoB for inclusion in appropriate submissions, surveys, and annual reporting processes
* Service committees as required
* Facilitate an inclusive culture and ethos
Human Resources
* Support the PI to raise awareness of annual processes, including PDR, pay recognition, academic probation, and promotion
* Be the first point of contact for network members and make arrangements for marketing and dissemination
* Keep up to date records of network activities and key metrics, e.g. event attendance
* Contribute to diversity and inclusion activities at UoB and within wider EPSRC network
Other duties
* Contribute to sharing of best practice across other EPSRC funded networks
* Undertake any other reasonable duties and projects as requested by the PI
The post holder is expected to manage their own workload and is expected to be flexible in anticipating and responding to shifting and competing demands on their and the wider team’s time. It is expected that the post will work with minimum regular supervision but will refer to their line manager for advice on issues which fall outside existing frameworks.
Person Specification
Essential
* Educated to at least Degree level (or equivalent qualifications and work experience) and hold GCSEs in Mathematics and English at C or above (or equivalent)
* Excellent IT skills, especially use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
* Ability and demonstrable experience of working accurately and paying close attention to detail
* Aptitude to prioritise own workload and to complete all tasks accurately and to a routinely high standard even when working to challenging and/or conflicting deadlines
* Capability to manage own workload autonomously and work as an effective team member with flexibility
* Significant self-initiative and ability to carry out projects from conception to conclusion
* Ability to take accurate notes and minutes
* Experience of working in a large and complex organisation
* A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach is required for this role, as is the ability to complete tasks based on only broad direction and with minimum supervision
* Enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging demands, deadlines, and within budget
* Excellent interpersonal skills, including tact and diplomacy. The post holder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues across the academic community and Professional Services, and also external contacts
* Demonstrable ability to design and deliver effective events
* A strong understanding of the Research Strategy and Services structure at the University
Desirable
* Experience of working in HE
* Experience of working at an executive level
* Experience of working with financial processes
* Experience in a PA and/or Operations role
* A good understanding of research project administration
* Qualifications or experience working within a STEM field relevant to Healthcare Technologies
* Ability to form a basic understanding of the network’s activities to signpost as required, for example, grants of relevance, conferences of relevance, new staff introductions
* Experience using Worktribe
Informal enquiries to Emma Lardner, email: e.c.lardner@bham.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.
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