Job Description
Position Details
School of Chemical Engineering
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: 23rd July 2025
UK travel may be required for this role
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
Role Summary
The Operations Manager is the senior administrative officer in the Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI) which sits in the School of Chemical Engineering within the College of Engineering & Physical Sciences (EPS). The post holder is responsible for the Centre’s Professional Services team and ensuring that administrative support and leadership is delivered in an effective, efficient, responsive and professional manner supporting excellence in academic delivery across the spectrum of the Centre’s activities. The post holder will support the Director of the HTI, the HTI Executive team and other academic staff on a day-to-day basis to facilitate the strategic direction of the Centre.
The Healthcare Technologies Institute brings together leading experts from a variety of disciplines across the University of Birmingham, including chemical engineering, biomedical science, computer science, applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. Researchers across campus are working collaboratively to speed up the translation of new discoveries into health applications. The Institute is a Strategic Research Centre and supports a large community of academics across campus as well as hosting 650 square foot of laboratory space.
You will set and uphold excellent standards of work and bring the team together to provide the best possible service for the smooth running of the Centre. You will also support and lead on the development & implementation of HTI strategies, processes and initiatives ensuring that the Centre’s ambitions are supported by appropriate University systems, processes and resources.
The post holder is expected to have knowledge of the significant challenges and opportunities in the Higher Education sector, an understanding of good practice in delivering professional administration and financial support and the ability to balance academic considerations and wider drivers and priorities.
The post holder will report into the School Head of Operations with accountability also to the Executive Team of the Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI).
Main Duties
Strategic
- Support the Director of HTI in preparing and developing the Centre’s strategic plan, ensuring alignment and integration with the strategic plan for the School of Chemical Engineering and the College of EPS, while monitoring progress towards aims and objectives (e.g. Compact process, production of business plans, expenditure projections and options appraisals).
- Work with the academic leadership and School Head of Operations in aligning HTI’s strategic priorities and with those of the School, College and University.
- Work with the School Heads of Operations and wider Operations Hub in implementing best practice and consistency of approach across all administrative areas, identifying areas requiring development and improvement.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with Heads of Services & key College Business Partners (Infrastructure and Facilities, Education Services and Support, Human Resources, Finance, IT, Marketing and Communications, and Planning).
Leadership
- Provide effective leadership and management of the Centre’s professional services team that supports academic delivery, reviewing workloads, resources and training needs.
- Undertaking Performance and Development Reviews (PDRs), identifying sickness patterns and leading on performance management issues.
- Take responsibility for the motivation, management and flexibility of staff working within the team, instilling confidence in the requirements and importance of relevant functions to ensure that teams work together to effectively deliver on plans and projects.
- To establish effective network contacts with similar roles across other Centres and activities and external to University of Birmingham to coordinate action, minimise duplication and share good practice.
- Work with professional services and academic colleagues to support the delivery of change projects across the College, planning and ensuring delivery within set timescales.
Personnel and Staff Management
- Work with the College HR Business Partner and team, and the University HR team, to ensure effective HR management across the Centre including:
- Implementing Quality Assurance processes for Recruitment and Selection;
- Supporting the development of business cases for submission to College Post Approval Group (CPAG);
- Effectively administering the processes associated with the management, renewal and termination of fixed term and honorary contracts;
- Taking responsibility for Professional Services Performance Management issues, attendance management including sickness monitoring/absence, occupational health referrals and grievance procedures;
- Coach and encourage staff in a supportive environment, demonstrating willingness to listen, engage and support.
- Contribute to and deliver training and other forms of support to Operations staff as required.
- Promote and encourage professional development opportunities for the staff you manage, through the Professional Development Review process and the Birmingham Professional initiative, developing and enhancing necessary skillsets.
- Implement effective procedures and processes with regard to the Annual Review/PDRs and Senior Promotions.
- Support the Director of HTI, Head of School and Head of Operations in implementing change management strategies as required.
Financial Management
- Support the Director of HTI in the co-ordination of the annual budgeting and forecasting review process.
- Monitor expenditure across the Centre’s research awards/core budgets and taking corrective action where necessary and delivering strategies to achieve efficiencies.
- Assist the Finance Business Partner with financial year end.
- Ensure there is education of and adherence to appropriate financial legislation across the Centre.
Communications & Events
- Manage internal communications and support the delivery of external marketing and communications for the Centre that are led by the College and central teams, aligning with strategic priorities.
- Support the updating of Centre webpages to ensure accurate information is displayed and key messages are highlighted.
- Ensure appropriate support for all HTI led events.
Operational
- Support the delivery of service standards and local policies and procedures for the efficient operation of the Centre. With the colleagues from across the College, identify collaborative opportunities to ensure consistency and continuity of policies.
- Ensure timely and accurate reporting of management information as requested by the School and College.
- Assist the Director of HTI in managing relationships with key partners and sponsors.
- Undertake additional duties or projects on behalf of the School Head of Operations.
- Any other duties appropriate to the grade of the role as required by the Head of Operations, Head of School and Director of HTI.
- Work closely with key partners across the University and NHS Trust, managing infrastructure projects, responding to academic requirements, and overseeing compliant lab operations that support the Institute’s research and teaching priorities.
- Any other duties appropriate to the grade of the role as required by the Director of HTI, Head of School and Head of Operations.
Qualifications
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- First degree or equivalent along with a relevant higher degree or professional training such as ILM or demonstrable experience normally associated with this level of qualification.
Experience
- Significant administrative experience.
- Demonstrable people and financial management experience including setting and monitoring spend against budgets.
- Experience of data mining and sourcing information, particularly through electronic sources, to inform and support reporting for strategic planning and/or business cases.
- Working in a multi-disciplinary environment.
- Knowledge and understanding of UK HE funding mechanisms, strategies and priorities.
Abilities & Skills
- Excellent report writing skills - ability to write clear and concise formal reports and documents, maintaining high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong negotiating and persuasion skills.
- Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to communicate complex policy matters.
- Excellent IT skills (Excel/Word/PowerPoint /Databases etc.) with the ability and willingness to learn new systems.
- Excellent communication skills - ability to communicate with a wide range of people at all levels, maintaining high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Excellent organisational and time-management skills with a demonstrated ability to plan and organise a large workload to meet both internal and external deadlines - working on a variety of complex issues simultaneously.
- Excellent inter-personal skills; ability to develop effective working relationships with all levels of staff and external contacts.
- Developed leadership skills, with the ability to instil confidence in others.
- Assertive and able to think and act decisively.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to work under pressure and maintain a high degree of accuracy.
- Ability to absorb and deploy new information quickly and accurately.
- Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
- Ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy, and the ability to deal discreetly with confidential and sensitive matters
Informal enquiries to Sarah Fleming, 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 . 
