Institute Manager (Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute Manager) - School of Social Pol[...]

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham is seeking an IDRIS Manager to join their team at the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute. The role involves overseeing research projects, managing budgets, and leading operational aspects of the institute while contributing to strategic planning and engaging with stakeholders.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday a year

Pension scheme

Occupational sick pay

Generous benefits package

Qualifications

• Qualified to Degree level or equivalent plus practical managerial experience.
• Proven track record of successful project management.
• Excellent people-management and budgetary management skills.

Responsibilities

• Delivering one or more projects with high level project management support.
• Developing project plans and assessing risks and issues.
• Coordinating the organisation of conferences and workshops.

Skills

Project management

Budgetary management

Interpersonal skills

Organisational skills

Education

Degree level qualification

Tools

Project management tools

MS Office

Job description

Position Details

School of Social Policy and Society, College of Social Sciences

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, Fixed Term contract up to July 2027

Closing date: 26th June 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

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. OurBirmingham Professional programmeoperates 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 Overview

The post is situated in the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute (IDRIS) in the School of Social Policy and Society. IDRIS is an applied cross-University research institute established in October 2024 with the appointment of Professor Richard Hastings as 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of Psychology Health and Social Care. IDRIS also includes, in Social Policy and Society, three other professorial staff, an associate professor, two senior research fellows, a full time administrator, and a number of research fellows, research assistants, and PhD students. Most staff are employed on/funded through external research grants especially from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Other members of IDRIS are based in Schools and Departments across the Colleges of the University. IDRIS works in close co-productive relationships with people with intellectual disabilities, family carers, and with disability advocacy and professional organisations. IDRIS’s research and policy/practice impact is across the lifespan and across sectors (education, health, social care). IDRIS staff are engaged mainly in research on the development and evaluation of interventions and services to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Role summary

The IDRIS manager will work closely with the IDRIS Director (Professor Richard Hastings) and will work with other staff to contribute to the day-to-day management of the Institute’s research and ongoing IDRIS strategy development. The post-holder will be a core member of the IDRIS leadership team. The person in role will line manage research administrative staff and potentially some other staff (e.g., a researcher with lived experience of intellectual disabilities), and lead the administration, planning and project management for IDRIS. The post-holder will provide some higher level finance monitoring for research grants, be the key link between IDRIS and staff in the Research Strategy and Services Division of the University, and support the recruitment processes for new research staff. The post-holder will also take a lead role working with the IDRIS management team on IDRIS strategy development and implementation. They will contribute to the preparation of strategic funding bids and individual research grant applications. The post-holder will contribute to the project management of a number of externally and internally funded research grants and research networks and collaborations, and will plan and manage IDRIS events (e.g., conferences). The post-holder will help to maintain positive relationships with external partner organisations and might represent IDRIS at some internal and external meetings. To flexibly use resource, the post-holder might also be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere in the School or wider University.

Organisation chart

The post-holder will be line managed by a senior member of professional services staff with day-to-day involvement of the IDRIS Director (currently Professor Richard Hastings), and will in turn line manage research administrative staff and potentially other IDRIS staff members.

Main duties

• Responsible for the delivery of one or more projects or for contributing to larger University projects, through the provision of significant and high level project management support. This may include some or all of the following:
  • developing project plans, identifying (as appropriate) key performance indicators and milestones
  • reviewing and auditing progress on projects to identify and act on improvements to effectiveness, efficiency and delivery
  • reporting on progress including the development of reporting mechanisms, writing reports (eg on project budgetary management), and presenting to appropriate meetings such as Project Board or to other key stakeholders
  • providing executive support to Project Boards, work streams and working groups as required; setting agendas, collating and distributing papers and minutes and ensuring follow up action is taken
  • assessing and escalating as you deem appropriate issues and risks, including monitoring risk registers
  • Stakeholder management, ensuring effective liaison with project partners, funders, Project Boards as appropriate.
  • managing project resources efficiently and effectively, including budgets, and ensure project documentation is maintained
• Coordinate the organisation of conferences/ meetings/ workshops/ dissemination events if required.
• Develop and deliver communication strategy for the project(s), which may include developing, for example, newsletters, briefings for stakeholders and/or websites or other social media.
• Ensure that priorities are balanced, taking action to deliver agreed deliverables against timelines.
• Maintain an up to date knowledge of project management methodologies.
• Source, analyse and develop insights from the data to inform evaluation and review of projects.
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Person Specifications

• Qualified to Degree level or equivalent plus practical managerial experience or significant relevant experience demonstrated through increasingly more demanding roles evidencing the experience necessary for this role
• Proven track record of successful project management, preferably using one or more project management tools such as Prince2
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data.
• Excellent people-management skills (delete as appropriate)
• Excellent budgetary management skills and experience (delete as appropriate)
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office and website editing software. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, relationship building and influencing skills with the ability to deal confidently with a range of internal and external stakeholders/contacts
• Excellent organisational and multi-tasking skills with a methodical approach to work and the ability to prioritise workloads in order to meet deadlines
• 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.

Dimensions

Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You are likely to be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.

Planning and organising

• plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate;
• develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area;
• manage a team of staff and review, develop and motivate them;
• plan relevant training and development;
• provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area;
• oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements.

Problem solving and decision making

• review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems;
• deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities;
• deal with sensitive people matters/issues;
• provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision–making of others.

Internal and external relationships

• understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University.
• has an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others.
• developing empathy with the academic endeavour.
• influence decision makers and win support for proposals;
• develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders;
• co-ordinate activities across a number of areas.

Informal enquiries can be made to Ella Mortlock , email: [e-mail]

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 .