Research Project Manager

Diversity Dashboard; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 39,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

41 days annual leave

Hybrid work

Generous pension

Discounts

Staff networks

Professional development

Job summary

University of Sheffield is seeking a Research Project Manager for the Data Connect team within the School of Medicine and Population Health. You will guide projects from scoping to delivery, coordinating a multi-disciplinary team including data managers, scientists, and engineers, ensuring governance and timely outcomes.

The role emphasizes agile delivery, stakeholder engagement with NHS partners, and continuous service improvement within a hybrid, full-time arrangement.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable expertise in directly managing and delivering projects of varying size and complexity.
• Experience with coordinating multi-disciplinary teams (data scientists, engineers, data managers).
• Solid understanding of agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) and collaboration tools (Jira, GitHub).

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary initial contact for researchers approaching Data Connect.
• Coordinate the multi-disciplinary team to break down projects into tasks and sprints.
• Manage resource allocation across 50+ active projects and monitor risks and dependencies.
• Liaise with academic researchers and NHS partners to support governance and data access.
• Contribute to service design and continuous improvement based on user insights.
• Create and maintain project documentation and ensure clear communication across stakeholders.
• Carry out any additional duties aligned to the role and university objectives.

Skills

Project management

Agile delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Team coordination

Risk & issue management

Tools

Jira

GitHub

Job description

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Data Connect is a strategically important service within the University's School of Medicine and Population Health, dedicated to helping researchers securely access health and social care data. By enabling cutting-edge, data-driven research, Data Connect directly supports work aimed at improving the length and quality of people's lives.

We are seeking a dynamic Research Project Manager to join the Data Connect team. Reporting directly to the Senior Research Project Manager (SRPM), you will act as a primary first point of contact for researchers approaching the service. In this pivotal role, you will work alongside the SRPM to co-ordinate a vibrant, multi-disciplinary team of data managers, data scientists, and data engineers. Using agile delivery practices, you will help embed flexible, iterative workflows and ensure service continuity across our expanding portfolio of over 50 active projects.

You will guide projects from initial scoping through to successful delivery while building strong relationships across the region, actively liaising with academic researchers and key NHS stakeholders-including the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB) and local NHS Trusts-to facilitate governance, data access, and impact.

Main duties and responsibilities

The Research Project Manager is responsible for active project delivery across the service, including:

Initial Engagement & Project Scoping

• Act as the primary initial point of contact for researchers approaching Data Connect.
• Work directly with Principal Investigators and research teams to define project workflows, scope, and realistic timelines, ensuring alignment with stakeholder expectations.

Agile Planning & Team Co-ordination

• Work alongside the SRPM to co-ordinate the multi-disciplinary team (data managers, data scientists, and data engineers) to break down defined research projects into manageable tasks and structured sprint plans.
• Implement and facilitate agile delivery practices operating in 2-week sprint cycles-including daily stand-ups, backlog refinement, sprint planning, and retrospectives-to maintain momentum and efficiency.
• Maintain and optimise JIRA board workflows, ensuring accurate task management and project tracking.

Portfolio Support & Resource Planning

• Work closely with the SRPM to manage team capacity and resource allocation across a portfolio of over 50 active projects, ensuring operational continuity.
• Communicate transparently regarding the work pipeline, highlighting risks, dependencies, and obstacles early to collaborate on solutions.

Stakeholder Liaison & Data Governance

• Liaise effectively with academic researchers, internal University leads, and key NHS stakeholders (such as the SY ICB and local NHS Trusts) to support project alignment and data governance.
• Collaborate with the Data Management team to oversee the governance, collection, storage, and analysis of research data, helping to resolve technical and administrative workstream obstacles.

Service Design & Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of service design by feeding back insights gathered from user interactions and project delivery.
• Identify and implement process improvements to streamline workflows and increase service efficiency across the team.

Communication & Project Documentation

• Facilitate clear and consistent information flow across the multi-disciplinary team, users, and external partners.
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including project plans, progress reports, sprint notes, and key meeting actions.

Other Duties

• Carry out other duties commensurate with the grade and remit of the post and engage with activities to share skills, knowledge and experience more widely to improve how we work together to meet the strategic objective of the University as a whole.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

• Demonstrable expertise in directly managing and delivering projects of varying size and complexity, including work scheduling and resource planning. Essential
• Experience of working with or supporting technical or multi-disciplinary teams (e.g. data scientists, engineers, data managers), helping them organise workloads and continuously improve delivery processes. Essential
• An awareness of sensitive data handling considerations, including basic principles of data protection (e.g. UK GDPR) and data governance in a research or health context. Essential
• Solid understanding and practical experience using modern agile frameworks (e.g. Scrum, Kanban) and collaboration tools (e.g. Jira, GitHub) to support project delivery. Essential
• Proven ability to identify, track, report, and proactively mitigate project risks, dependencies, and issues. Essential
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships and engage confidently with diverse stakeholders, including senior academic researchers, PIs, and external NHS partners (e.g. ICBs, NHS Trusts). Essential
• An enabling, supportive, and highly collaborative approach to team working and problem-solving. Essential
• An enabling, supportive, and highly collaborative approach to team working and problem-solving. Essential
• Practical experience working with sensitive health and care data, including familiarity with data governance processes, data standards, and Trusted Research Environments (TREs) / Secure Data Environments (SDEs). Desirable
• Proven ability to manage, prioritise, and schedule incoming requests for team resource against competing deadlines and tight timelines. Desirable

Further Information

• Grade: 7
• Salary: £38,784 to £47,389 per annum (pro rata) with the potential to progress to £51,753 through sustained exceptional contribution.
• Work arrangement: Full-time - 35 hours per week. Hybrid -Flexible options considered
• Duration: Fixed Term Contract - October 2026 to 31 July 2027
• Line manager: Senior Research Project Manager
• Direct reports: None at present
• Right to work in the UK: If you do not currently hold the right to work in the UK, you can find more information here to help determine your visa eligibility. Additional guidance is also available on the UK Visa & Immigration website.
• Our website: https://sheffield.ac.uk/smph
• For informal enquiries about this job contact Rosie Gough, Data Connect Operational Lead, [e-mail]

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in early October. This will consist of an interview and competency test exercise. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within 2 weeks of the closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact [e-mail]

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated Professional Services Shared Skills Framework.
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • access to menopause support in the workplace
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Leader (opens in a new window). If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ( www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.