Job Description
Position Details
Academic Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £32,296 to £34,866 with potential progression once in post to £39,105
Grade: 6
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to May 2026
Closing date: 9th March 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
Registry is a division within Academic Services at the University of Birmingham, with responsibility for key education administration and education support services at a leading global university. The work of the department underpins a student’s academic journey from registration through to graduation and ensures delivery and support of high quality and excellence in education and research. Registry acts as the definitive record keeper of the student record, student information and programme and module details on behalf of the University. Key departmental functions include (but are not limited to) academic and student related regulations and codes of practice; examinations; curriculum management; student conduct, complaints and appeals; quality assurance; timetabling; student record systems; student record administration; collaborative partnerships and apprenticeships.
Role Summary
The Student Administration division of Registry is undergoing an exciting period of transformation. This role will play a key part in driving overall business process improvement, ensuring the sub-division operates efficiently and effectively.
You will assist in the management of designated projects across the Student Administration sub-division of Registry, or manage and deliver smaller projects or elements of projects, devising and delivering project plans.
In order to flexibly use staff resource, you may be asked to work elsewhere in the department during periods of peak operational activity.
Main Duties
The Project Officer will manage smaller projects in their entirety or manage elements of larger projects or assist in the management of one or more larger projects through the provision of well-developed and timely project management 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 issues and propose solutions.
- To support project delivery, project boards, workstreams and working groups within an overall project or manage elements of larger projects or smaller projects on your own.
- 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;
- assisting with stakeholder management, developing and maintaining regular contact with internal and external stakeholders to understand requirements;
- assessing and escalating issues and risks as appropriate.
- 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.
- Maintain a comprehensive understanding of relevant policies and business processes, and of business critical software, including automation tools such as Leapwork and Power Automate.
- 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.
- Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
- 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.
- Significant practical experience in a similar role, 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 and procedures, but also to recommend improvements and implement changes.
- Excellent analytical skills used to produce reports, identify issues and resolve them decisively.
- Excellent interpersonal skills. The post holder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times.
- 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 work.
- 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.
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 Rosie Birch, email: a.r.birch@bham.ac.uk
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 everyoneon our website.
