Job Description
Position Details
Research Strategy and Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £32,546 to £35,116 with potential progression once in post to £39,355
Grade: 6
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 24th August2025
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 University has an exciting vision to build on the success of REF2021 by continuing to transform its research performance across outputs, income, impact, and policy influence. Central to this ambition is the Research Strategy & Services Division (RSSD), a Professional Services department that works in partnership with academics across research strategy, operations, and partnerships. The RSSD integrates professional staff from the following teams into one cohesive ecosystem: Research Strategy & Development; Research Support (Grants & Contracts); Research Partnerships, Research Impact & Innovation; Research Policy & Environment; Research Systems & Data; Research Governance; Research Communications; Legal & Regulatory Compliance; and Research Finance Accounting.
As part of its support for academic excellence and international collaboration, the RSSD also plays a pivotal role in helping researchers access major funding opportunities, including those from Horizon Europe following the UK’s reassociation. This enhances the University’s ability to secure high-impact research funding and drive forward global partnerships.
Role Summary
The Research Support Officer sits within the College Research Support Team and provides academic facing support to researchers in a defined portfolio across all elements of pre-award research support. This includes proactive support across the life cycle of research proposals from costing and pricing, approvals, support with due diligence, the set-up of successful bids and transferred awards.
Reporting to a Research Support Manager, and working as part of a team, the Research Support Officer will work closely with academic teams, including in the identification of funding opportunities; supporting the submission of research applications and supporting contractual arrangements; and ensuring internal approval processes and procedures are followed throughout.
You’ll be based on our beautiful, historic Edgbaston campus as part of a friendly, supportive, and collaborative team in the Research Strategy and Services Division (RSSD), which brings together expertise across research strategy, partnerships, policy, governance, and operations.
Culture
We are committed to supporting your professional development. As part of our team, you will have access to extensive training opportunities, mentorship, and career progression pathways. Our inclusive and supportive culture is built on the University’s commitment to fostering a thriving research environment, promoting collaboration, integrity, and sustainability. We champion well-being through initiatives such as well-being ambassadors and the Green Impact agenda, and we actively support a diverse and inclusive community where all colleagues can excel.
Main Duties
- Contribute to the identification of funding opportunities and their timely and targeted dissemination to academic colleagues;
- Provide support to a portfolio of research applications which will include the preparation of budget information, administrative information within application forms, checking of funder requirements and managing the submission process;
- Review, provide recommendations, and draft clauses to support the negotiation of contractual and grant funding agreements related to research awards (including funding agreements, collaboration agreements, Data Sharing Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, etc.). Work closely with the Research Support Manager, Head of Research Support, and Business Engagement Partners as appropriate;
- Support the acceptance and set up of new awards from funders, which will include reviewing budgets and making changes to budget lines stipulated by funders; updating Worktribe records and completing the funder portals, as well as awards being transferred into the University by new researchers;
- Manage any additional awards to existing projects (supplements), ensuring costings and documentation is complete, working closely with RSSD Post Award team colleagues as well as College Research & Knowledge Transfer teams to ensure these are set up in a timely fashion;
- Following agreed processes, ensure correct internal approvals as well as due diligence are in place prior to the submission of proposals to funders, identifying and escalating risks as appropriate;
- Ensure entries in the research grant management system (Worktribe) and other reporting is completed accurately and in full;
- Assist in the sourcing, preparation and maintenance of standard texts for applications, e.g. relating to EDI priorities, University research strategy and approach to open research, that can be adapted as necessary in response to specific funder calls and requirements;
- Working with the wider Research Support team, arrange and contribute to application pipeline reporting and to meetings with academic colleagues on pipeline development in order to maintain an up to date picture of applications in the relevant area;
- Where appropriate, contribute to the development of more complex bids in liaison with other RSSD professionals. This may include organisation of meetings and workshops (e.g. funding webinars, sandpits, pitch to peer sessions etc); capturing of key information for the bid such as project partner details or budgets; or the dissemination or collection of key information from partners;
- Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) - where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
- Knowledge of the UK research funding ecosystem, key research funders and an understanding of their processes is desirable but not essential.
- Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to analyse information and data.
- Experience of successfully engaging, and collaborating, with internal and external stakeholders to build teams, deliver key outcomes or resolve challenges across a wide range of activities.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with proven experience of working successfully as part of a team including engaging with peers and staff, within an academic, public sector or commercial research environment.
- Excellent communication skills - oral, presentational and written, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders in order to convey policies or decisions, and to influence decisions.
- Experience in improving processes, service quality and/or efficiency, and delivering high quality customer service.
- Excellent analytical skills with an ability to analyse qualitative and quantitative information and present this to a wide range of audiences.
- Proficient IT skills, including the MS Office suite and corporate systems such as WorkTribe. Confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
- High level of self-motivation and personal accountability with ability to plan and deliver goals to deadlines under pressure and set priorities for a wide range of tasks and duties for the role holder and others.
- Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied.
- Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action.
Role context
Roles at this level will require expertise and a detailed understanding of methods, systems and procedures in an administrative or professional area. You will either use specialist knowledge or have more of a planning/co-ordination/project role or a role which is supervisory in nature where you may manage a team doing similar kinds of work. You will have the opportunity to exercise a high degree of personal responsibility and initiative which you will use to resolve queries; you will use your judgement to deal with unforeseen problems and circumstances, all with limited guidance/supervision.
Core Competencies/transferable Skills
Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully use the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. As appropriate for the level, our Birmingham Professionals will take ownership for getting things done. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.
Planning and organising
- prioritise and schedule work and resources to ensure on time and (where applicable) on budget delivery;
- set priorities and quality standards for a wide range of tasks and duties;
- contribute to written documents, for example guidelines internal to the area, taking account of audience;
- operate with limited supervision as they will have considerable scope for initiative, within established work procedures.
Problem solving and decision making
- anticipate and identify issues in own area based on experience;
- make appropriate suggestions for improvements and implement these when agreed in own area;
- facilitate change, and articulate the implications and benefits of change to others;
- focus on determining short-term priorities of work area, and how to maximise quality, efficiency and continuity.
Organisational understanding
- quickly develop an understanding of their working area and how it contributes to the success of the University;
- display an interest in how the University operates beyond own working area; develop and share this knowledge with others.
Relationships and communication
- develop and maintain excellent working relationships in own area, and more widely as required for collaborative working opportunities;
- communicate clearly and openly with others both within and external to the University, and use a range of communication skills and strategies to gain commitment to a course of action;
- demonstrate collaborative working at all times, including with others outside the immediate work area
Informal enquiries to Sam Hickman, Head of Research Operations, 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 . 
