Project Manager School of Mechanical Engineering 104636 Grade 7

Position Details

School of Mechanical Engineering

Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range 36636 to 46049 with potential progression once in post to 48822. As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7 salary 46049

Full Time Fixed Term contract up to September 2031

Closing date: 12th March 2026

UK and International travel may be required for this role

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 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 almost 5000professionalservices 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 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 areand 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 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 campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool shopsplaces to eat and drinkour own art gallery museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Background

This role is based within the School of Engineering (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences). The School which is the largest in the College is a multi-department School comprising the disciplines of Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Electrical and Systems post holder will be expected to take a lead role in Project Management for theEPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub in post holder is an integral member of the Schools research Professional Services staff which is led by the Head of Operations and the Research Administration Manager. The post holder will provide research support to the Principle Investigator and Project Team for the Hub to ensure successful delivery. The post holder will be part of a wider network of Project Manager and Project Officer staff in the School of Engineering the College of EPS and wider University.

Role Summary

Specifically the post will provide project management of the EPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub in Robotics Automation & Smart Machine Enabled Sustainable Circular Manufacturing & Materials (RESCu-M2). The vision of this hub is to pursue an integrated holistic approach toward creating a new manufacturing ecosystem for circular resource use of high value products through advances in AI and intelligent automation empowering the UK to be a world leader in circular manufacturing. More information can be found here: 34.6M awarded to host National Hub for a robotics-enabled sustainable future for manufacturing - University of Birmingham

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 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
• Responsible for leading and coordinating 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
• Promote equality and value diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture
• Supporting the Universitys sustainability agenda through resource efficient working
• Travel may be required to support successful project delivery
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge Skills Qualifications Experience

• Qualified to Degree level or equivalent and practical managerial experience or significant relevant experience demonstrated through 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 budgetary management skills and demonstrated experience of managing large and complex project budgets and portfolio.
• Highly proficient IT skills including the MS Office and website editing software. 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 confidently deal with a range of internal and external stakeholders/contacts.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to multi task approaching work methodically with 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.

Desirable:

Substantial experience of managing large and complex research projects.

Informal enquiries to Ali Wright email:

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications:We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

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.