Position Details

School of Engineering

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2027

Closing date: 6th October 2024

UK and international travel may be required for this role

'Open House' Drop In Session: We will be holding an ‘open house’ drop in session at the University’s Exchange building, in Centenary Square, Birmingham, between 10am and 5pm on Monday 30th September 2024. If you’re interested in working at the University of Birmingham and perhaps have a few questions, this is an opportunity to meet colleagues in the Recruitment team. It will be a relaxed and informal event – you can drop in at any time.

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

This role is based within the School of Engineering (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences). The School, which is the largest in the College, is a multi-department School comprising the disciplines of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering. The post holder will be expected to take a lead role in Project Management for the Empower Ukraine Project. The post holder is an integral member of the School’s research Professional Services staff which is led by the Head of Operations and the Research Administration Manager. The post holder will provide research support to the Principle Investigator for the project to ensure successful delivery. The post holder will be part of a wider network of Project Manager and Project Officer staff in the School of Engineering, the College of EPS and wider University. 

Role Summary

To manage the project “Empower Ukraine” of the School of Engineering and make a contribution to larger University-wide projects as part of the School of Engineering Professional Services staff. In order to flexibly use resource you may be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or wider University. 

Responsibilities include pursuing accessibility with Ukrainian Professional Engineering Bodies, maintaining liaison with the Ministry of Restoration to understand needs and alignment, bringing new collaborations, organising workshops, actively seeking support, managing social media and outreach activities, and identifying ways to update the MOOC of the “Empower Ukraine” project. The manager will also engage with lecturers/researchers for the delivery of CPDs, organise a two-day online international conference, build a community of practice based on interactions and develop participatory schemes for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Main Duties

• Responsible for the delivery of one or more projects or for contributing to larger University projects, through the provision of significant and high level project management support. This may include some or all of the following as specific to the Empower Ukraine project:
• Support the development of the Massive Open Online Course, CPD seminars (presentation, lecture notes, assessment such as tests, quizzes, surveys etc)
• Managing projects and delivery of contracts linked to the Empower Ukraine project
• Developing project plans, identifying (as appropriate) key performance indicators and milestones 
• Reviewing and auditing progress on projects to identify and act on improvements to effectiveness, efficiency and delivery 
• Reporting on progress including the development of reporting mechanisms, writing reports (eg on project budgetary management), and presenting to appropriate meetings such as Project Board or to other key stakeholders
• Providing executive support to Project Boards, work streams and working groups as required; setting agendas, collating and distributing papers and minutes and ensuring follow up action is taken 
• Assessing and escalating as you deem appropriate issues and risks, including monitoring risk registers
• Stakeholder management, ensuring effective liaison with project partners, funders, Project Boards as appropriate
• Managing project resources efficiently and effectively, including budgets, and ensure project documentation is maintained
• Coordinate the organisation of conferences/ meetings/ workshops/ dissemination events as part of the Empower Ukraine project
• Develop and deliver communication strategy for the project(s), manage the project website, which may include developing, for example, newsletters, briefings for stakeholders and/or websites or other social media to disseminate to general audiences
• Ensure that priorities are balanced, taking action to deliver agreed deliverables against timelines
• Maintain an up to date knowledge of project management methodologies
• Source, analyse and develop insights from the data to inform evaluation and review of projects
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade
• Contributes and supports the School of Engineering research network, engaging with the Research Administration Manager and promoting best practice for Project Manager and Project Officer staff in the School of Engineering and College of EPS

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Speak fluent Ukrainian and English (Desirable for the delivery of the project)
• Experience of supporting research in HEI (Desirable)
• Qualified to Degree level or equivalent plus practical managerial experience or significant relevant experience demonstrated through increasingly more demanding roles evidencing the experience necessary for this role
• Proven track record of successful project management, preferably using one or more project management tools such as Prince2
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data
• Excellent people-management skills 
• Excellent budgetary management skills and experience 
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office and website editing software. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, relationship building and influencing skills with the ability to deal confidently with a range of internal and external stakeholders/contacts
• Excellent organisational and multi-tasking skills with a methodical approach to work and the ability to prioritise workloads in order to meet deadlines
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly

Informal enquiries to Hannah Chambers, email: [email protected]