Project Officer (Research Support Service Network) - College of Medicine and Health - 108116 - Grade 6

Position Details College of Medicine and Health Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906 Grade: 6 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2029 Closing date: 29 th October 2026 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 of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge.

Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence.

Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work. Department Summary: The Research Support Service (RSS) Network The role will support delivery of the RSS mission – that being to support access to funding for healthcare research, from pre-application through to post-application phases for healthcare researchers (NIHR and non NIHR funded) in England.

With a central portfolio team based at the University of Birmingham, the RSS Network provides strategic leadership and coordination to 8 RSS expert Hubs and the 4 RSS Specialist Centres (2 for Public Health and 2 for Social Care) across England. Drawing on the breadth of expertise and experience across the partnership, we foster collaboration to maximise impact of the RSS Network to deliver a national service that is equitable, innovative, and responsive to the needs of researchers across health, public health, social care, and the industry sector.

A new national RSS Network strategy provides aligned strategic direction, to collaboratively deliver a ‘One-RSS’ mission. The national strategy will define and drive the brand identity, coordinate development of a consistent national network of research support, and surface-and-share innovations to continuously enhance the quality of the service.

The RSS Network will contribute to the Government’s health and growth missions by delivering on the ‘three big shifts’ and NIHR’s mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. The role will be hosted within the University of Birmingham’s Research Delivery team, part of the College of Medical & Health Research Office.

The Research Delivery team is a vibrant hub for Professional Service staff (~120 individuals) supporting high-value, strategically important projects and programmes. We work closely with both Professional Services colleagues and Academics across the University and partner organisations, to maximise the impact of funded research, and lead on the development of renewals for large infrastructure awards.

The portfolio of research supported is wide ranging ( https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/medical-dental/index.aspx ) This role will be embedded within the Research Delivery team’s Applied Health pillar (currently providing programme and project management support to over £100m of research funding) and benefit from established relationships with programme partners and key stakeholders including NHS Trusts, collaborating research institutions both locally, nationally and globally, patient and public contributors, charities and funders.

Role Summary

Working to the Research Support Service (RSS) Network Project Manager within a central Portfolio Management Office (PMO), you will assist in the management of and deliver governance functions and elements of project / programme delivery throughout the portfolio life cycle, across the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) Research Support Service (RSS).

In order to flexibly use resource, you may be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or wider University. Main Duties Project Officers will manage smaller projects in their entirety or manage elements of larger projects or assist in management of one or more larger projects and portfolio level governance / quality processes through the provision of well-developed and timely support.

You will be expected to work proactively and use your initiative and planning skills to set your own priorities to ensure progress is maintained as expected, identify any issue and propose solutions. Main Duties include: To support the delivery of RSS Network objectives including Project delivery, governance forums, workstream delivery and working groups within the RSS portfolio.

This includes management of elements of larger projects or smaller projects and governance / quality / performance processes on your own as required. Support may include some or all of the following: carrying out project planning activities; identifying milestones which will need to be adhered to; data collection and analysis; milestone tracking/key performance indicator tracking; developing and proposing solutions for any issues; recommending improvements to project management; preparing progress reports for project boards or other meetings; Meeting coordination and support, including but not limited to meeting organisation, minute-taking and after-action reporting.

assisting in budgetary monitoring and management, including reporting; assisting with stakeholder management, developing and maintaining regular contact with internal and external stakeholders to understand requirements; assessing and escalating issues and risks as part of managing the portfolio risk strategy, as directed.

Contribute to developing communications plans, presentations, and promoting the projects and outcomes of projects / workstreams. Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of project management methodologies. Determine short term priorities for own work, ensuring you maximise quality, efficiency and continuity. Assist in the evaluation and review of projects.

You may be asked to manage other colleagues working on the project/s and this will include allocating work. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff. Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures.

Any other duties commensurate with the grade. Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document. 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.

Significant practical experience in a similar role – in particular, experience of using project management tools. Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to analyse information and data. Highly proficient IT skills, including the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and powerpoint.

Ability to understand policy, processes / procedures; also to recommend improvements and implement change. Excellent analytical skills used to produce reports, identify issues and resolve them decisively. Excellent interpersonal skills. The postholder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times.

Excellent and demonstrable attention to detail – in particular in proof-reading and ensuring evidence to support performance reporting, governance processes, information sharing and external communications. A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.

A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach. Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions within the RSS Network function. Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2012, including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document . Further particulars can be found here Informal enquiries to Matthew Aiello, email: m.aiello@bham.ac.uk View our staff values and behaviours here Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style.

Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. 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 .