Head Of Sustainable Logistics - Campus Services - 105838 - Grade 8

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham is seeking a leader for Campus Services to drive its strategic mobility agenda, ensuring effective transport services fit with sustainability goals. This role involves budget management, collaboration across departments, and championing sustainable practices while supporting the diverse needs of the campus community.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday a year

One paid day a year for volunteering

Occupational sick pay

Generous pension scheme

Three high quality subsidised day nurseries

Qualifications

• Significant experience in managing transport operations.
• Experience in leading and managing teams.
• Authoritative knowledge of fleet and logistics industry.

Responsibilities

• Drive the University’s sustainable logistics strategy.
• Manage a £4m annual budget for transport services.
• Lead and motivate departments in sustainable travel initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Communication

Strategic Planning

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent professional qualification

Job description

Position Details

Campus Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £46,735 to £55,755 with potential progression once in post to £62,728

Grade: 8

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 30th June 2025

'Open House' Drop In Session:We will be holding an ‘open house’ drop in session at the University’s Exchange building, in Centenary Square, Birmingham, between 10am and 5pm on Friday 6th June 2025. If you’re interested in working at the University of Birmingham and perhaps have a few questions, this is an opportunity to meet colleagues in the Recruitment team. It will be a relaxed and informal event – you can drop in at any time.

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, andweare 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 todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.With almost 5,000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai, there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer 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 andtothe success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer avarietyof 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 dayspaid holidaya 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 thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Background

Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover exceeding £50m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.

Facility Services

The department which consists of Soft Facilities, Worklink and Sustainable Logistics including Car parking is responsible for influencing the movement of people and goods across the region, nationally and internationally. This influence extends beyond the campus, impacting local infrastructure and necessitating strategic engagement with both local and national government to shape service delivery.Central to the University's operational excellence is its commitment to sustainable practices. This is exemplified by its award-winning Fleet, Transport, and Sustainable Travel management, operating within Facility Services, part of the directorate of Campus Services. These departments, encompassing Transport Services, Sustainable Travel, and Car Parking, provide a comprehensive mobility and logistics solution.perating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.

Role Summary

As a key leader within Campus Services, the post-holder will drive the University of Birmingham's strategic mobility agenda, ensuring sustainable, business-focused travel, car parking, and transport services that meet the institution's evolving needs. This role will oversee a £4m annual budget, delivering efficient, effective, and economical services while ensuring agreed service standards are met.

The role will champion the University's commitment to sustainable practices, particularly in fleet, logistics, and business travel, contributing directly to the institution's Sustainability Strategy and air quality improvement goals. This involves developing services, protocols, and policies concerning mobility, accessibility, and transport logistics, ensuring alignment with the University's sustainable strategy. The post-holder will also monitor and influence business travel expenditure exceeding £10.5m, ensuring car parking and sustainable travel initiatives are strategically aligned to optimise efficiency and minimise environmental impact, directly contributing to the reduction of scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Main Duties

• Drive the University of Birmingham's Sustainable Logistics Strategy, aligning transport, car parking, and sustainable travel initiatives with the institution's core values and sustainability goals. Lead the monitoring and reporting of carbon emissions from all University transport activities, ensuring consistent achievement of reduction targets.
• Working with the Transport Manager provide direction in fleet management and sustainability, optimising energy and economic efficiency.
• Represent the University at local, national, and European transport forums, fostering partnerships and enhancing the University's profile through commercial and research collaborations.
• Lead, motivate, and develop the Transport, Car Parking Services, and Sustainable Travel departments, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective services. Champion the sustainability agenda across all teams and wider University groups, positioning the University as an industry exemplar in global business travel, fleet, and logistics management.
• Cultivate a culture of continuous learning and professional growth, providing strategic guidance and mentorship to operational managers. Lead by example, promoting a positive and agile work environment.
• Effectively manage operational leads, ensuring delivery of agreed objectives, service standards, and targets, while addressing any concerns in accordance with HR policies.
• Responsible for ensuring all annual review processes, including Performance and Development Reviews are conducted in the service area.
• Identify appropriate opportunities for development and change and encourage other team members to do the same.
• Define departmental priorities and budgets, supporting the University's strategic mobility goals. Oversee campus-wide sustainable infrastructure projects and initiatives ensuring the mobility needs of the University's 45,000+ community are met.
• Lead the planning and monitoring of small to medium-scale infrastructure projects, supporting the Sustainable Travel Officer to further development the expansion of cycle hubs; implementation and management of Electric Vehicle charging point networks across campus; and enhancements to pedestrian and micro-mobility infrastructure, promoting safe and efficient movement.
• Collaborate closely with the Estates department to integrate sustainable travel strategies into capital projects, ensuring optimal integration of car parking and alternative transport solutions.
• Manage project timelines, budgets, and resources effectively, ensuring projects are delivered to a high standard and within agreed parameters.
• Collaborate with key University departments, particularly Estates, to ensure a cohesive approach to car parking.
• Develop and implement strategies that align car parking provision with the promotion of sustainable travel, addressing commuter travel challenges and optimizing car parking management.
• Co-Chair the Campus Safety Transport Group with the Director of Facility Services, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations, and resolving safety issues across campus.
• Support the Director of Facility Services develop and maintain departmental health and safety documentation, legislative guidelines, and policies, ensuring University-wide compliance.
• Proactively review and revise internal policies and guidelines, partnering with Human Resources, Procurement, and Estates to address legislative changes and government policies.
• Act as the University's primary travel liaison with Birmingham City Council, Transport for West Midlands, University Hospital NHS Trust, and industry bodies, addressing air quality, congestion, and infrastructure challenges.
• Represent the University at planning meetings and working groups, ensuring the University's interests are effectively represented.
• Lead the development of future service offerings, defining operational frameworks to meet the mobility needs of students, staff, and visitors, both on and off campus.
• Working with the Transport Manager ensure full compliance with transport legislation, representing the University in any legal matters. Maintain legal compliance for the University's fleet of over 100 vehicles, adhering to Department for Transport, VOSA, and University financial policies, and managing comprehensive audit processes.
• Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Relevant degree or relevant equivalent professional qualification, plus significant experience in managing transport operations (in increasingly large and/or complex projects) or substantial relevant experience evidencing the experience required in this role
• Authoritative sector knowledge of the global fleet, transport and logistics industry
• Fully conversant in car parking management and its integration with capital projects. Comprehensive understanding of the constraints within car parking legislation and local authority policy.
• Demonstrates a good level of understanding of UK and Global HE and the implications for future and current strategy within sustainable logistics.
• Communicate effectively at senior levels to persuade and influence, keeping abreast of developments to ensure service provision is align with broader agenda
• Able to effectively create partnerships across the sector in order to create opportunities for research and enhance the reputation and profile of the University
• Competence to represent the University externally to industry and other bodies
• Excellent people management skills, with proven experience of leading, motivating and managing team
• Comprehensive experience of managing significant budgets, ideally £4m+
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Substantial degree of independent judgement and professional responsibility
• Excellent co-ordination and leadership skills – this is integral to the role in leading successful departments to encourage growth and development
• Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area.
• 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.

Core competencies

Planning and organising

• Experience in long term planning utilising information platforms in order to address trends and environmental factors.
• Experienced in coordinating the direction and daily operation of a number of areas ensuring a seamless service is delivered across all.
• Co-ordinate resources as appropriate using software, data and KPI’s to ensure the teams are efficiently skilled and equipped for change

Problem solving and decision making

• Competence in evaluating departmental activity and ability to recommend and implement innovative solutions to improve service quality, efficiency and continuity.
• Proactive in anticipating market, political or economic challenges, implementing policies and developing initiatives to the advantage of the University and ability to respond to changing priorities as they occur.
• Experience in resilience and positive response to change and a strong understanding of University culture and ability to influence the formal and informal organisation.

Organisational Understanding

• Aptitude to shape strategic direction, develop, and implement operational plans and policy for Sustainable Logistics to deliver University objectives as set out in its vision.
• Through beingaccessible and visible, ability to provide leadership, for a team of professional staff and create a motivating environment where people are challenged, developed, encouraged and supported to achieve outstanding results.
• Ability to develop long term plans and steer a path towards their achievement whilst balancing short term pressures and challenges.

Relationships and communication

• Ability to communicate and form strong working relationships within the University understanding academia and the importance of written and verbal disciplines.
• Attending committees and events will be an integral part of the role and the post holder will be expected to deliver presentations and be a confident and engaging public speaker.
• Represent the University at all levels communicating across a broad structure including executive boards and governing bodies.

Informal enquiries to Monica Guise, email: [e-mail]

View our staff values and behaviourshere

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 .