Project Officer, Centre for Sustainable Cooling - School of Chemical Engineering - 98644 - Grade 6

The University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university is seeking a motivated individual to assist in project management within the School of Chemical Engineering. This full-time role involves supporting the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain projects, providing a dynamic work environment and opportunities for professional growth. Candidates should possess strong project management skills, excellent analytical abilities, and the capability to inspire confidence among colleagues. A commitment to inclusivity and sustainability is essential.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Significant practical experience in a similar role.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy with clear writing abilities.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the management of ACES and associated projects.
• Provide support to project delivery and project boards.
• Develop communications plans and presentations.

Skills

Project management tools

Excellent analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Highly proficient IT skills

Ability to recommend improvements

Education

Degree level education or equivalent

Tools

MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint)

Job description

Description

School of Chemical Engineering

Position Details

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 December 2026

Closing date: 25th November 2025

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been 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 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 Clean Cooling Network (CCN) is a global initiative “born in Rwanda” with a mission to make sustainable, resilient and equitable cooling and cold‑chain a cornerstone of development. CCN promotes cooling infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, providing essential tools, knowledge, training, and support to implement inclusive, equitable, and future‑proofed solutions with minimal environmental impact. As part of this, the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) in Kigali, Rwanda, serves as the flagship hub for CCN in Africa.

Role Summary

You will assist in the management of ACES and associated projects across the Centre for Sustainable Cooling in the School of Chemical Engineering. Roles at this level will require expertise and a detailed understanding of methods, systems and procedures in an administrative or professional area. 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, often with limited guidance / supervision.

Main Duties

The role will manage smaller projects in their entirety or 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 issue and propose solutions.

• Provide support to 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 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 appropriate.
• Contribute to developing communications plans, presentations, and promoting the projects and outcomes of projects/workstreams.
• Maintain 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.
• Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Promote 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, 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‑motivation 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.

Informal enquiries to Lada Zimina, 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.