Job Description
Position Details
Campus Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149
Grade: 7
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 14th August 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 Food, Beverage, and Retail team run over 25 retail outlets on campus, at The Exchange, Winterbourne and Vale Village, alongside all hospitality and delivered catering for the university. From hairdressers to banks, bookshops, opticians, and supermarkets, we manage a diverse range of shops and services that cater to the daily needs of students, staff, and visitors.
Food Fellows is responsible for delivering outstanding food and drink across campus. From sourcing to preparation and service, we work together to ensure the highest standards in everything we do.
Role Summary
This is a key delivery role within the Food, Beverage and Retail (FBR) department, responsible for turning strategic ideas into operational reality. Working closely with the Operations Team, the Business Development and Project Manager will lead the planning and execution of a wide range of projects — from launching new supermarkets and franchise operations, to implementing income and cost-saving initiatives already in the pipeline. The role is hands-on and delivery-focused, managing the full project lifecycle and ensuring outcomes are achieved on time, on budget, and to a high standard. The post holder will also lead the EPOS team, contributing to the department’s wider digital transformation. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on making things happen, bringing structure to ideas, and driving tangible progress in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
Main Duties
- Lead the implementation of strategic initiatives and projects across FBR from concept through to delivery, working closely with the Head of Retail and Brands.
- Manage the operational roll-out of new ventures, including the launch of two new supermarkets and new franchise operations.
- Support the delivery of income-generating and cost-saving projects currently in planning stages.
- Serve as the operational lead on project delivery, taking ideas through business case development, stakeholder engagement, project planning, implementation and evaluation.
- Line-manage the EPOS team, supporting the department’s wider digital transformation agenda.
- Work cross-functionally with finance, marketing, procurement, HR and operations teams to ensure seamless project execution.
- Attend Project Oversight Group (POG) meetings, providing updates on project status, milestones, risks, and key performance metrics.
- 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
- Develop and manage detailed project plans, ensuring timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met.
- Identify and mitigate project risks and dependencies, escalating where necessary.
- Develop and deliver communication strategy for the project(s), which may include developing, for example, newsletters, briefings for stakeholders and/or websites or other social media.
- Ensure that priorities are balanced, taking action to deliver agreed deliverables against timelines.
- Ensure projects remain aligned with strategic goals, departmental priorities, and university values.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Ideally Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus significant relevant practical experience – where no equivalent qualification is held substantial practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required.
- 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 experience in business development and/or project management within a food, beverage, retail or hospitality environment.
- Strong operational delivery skills with a track record of taking projects from concept to implementation.
- Excellent organisational and planning abilities, with the capacity to manage multiple concurrent projects.
- Experience managing or working closely with digital systems, including EPOS and other retail technology platforms, improving digital systems to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Highly effective communicator, with the ability to influence and build relationships with a range of stakeholders.
- Strong financial and commercial awareness, and the operational drivers of retail success, with experience contributing to income growth and cost efficiency initiatives.
- Line management experience and the ability to lead, develop and motivate a small team, supporting and fostering a collaborative high performing culture.
- Understanding of Higher Education or Public Secor Operations.
- High level of IT literacy, particularly with MS Office and project management tools.
- Excellent budgetary management skills and experience.
- Project management qualification (e.g., Prince2, APM, Agile).
- Ability to manage complex projects end to end with strong planning, tracking and delivery capabilities.
- Self-motivated, proactive, and solutions focused with a strong sense of accountability.
- Skilled In working across functions and levels to achieve buy in and effective collaboration, internally and externally.
Informal enquiries to Peter Kelland, email:
[email protected]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 . 
