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School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £29,762 to £32,411 with potential progression once in post to £36,333

Grade 6

Full Time / Fixed Term contract up to September 2026

Closing date: 25th June 2023

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. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates 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.

This post is created to assist the management of the Wellcome Tust-funded project: “A Health-centred Systems Approach towards Net-Zero: Transforming regional climate mitigation policies (Heal-NZ)”. The project is led by Professor Zongbo Shi and Dr. Suzanne Bartington at the University of Birmingham and Dr. Jackie Homan in West Midlands Combined Authority, and in collaboration with other policy stakeholders. The overall aim of Heal-NZ is to transform regional Net-Zero policy solutions by adopting a health-centred systems approach. To this aim, Heal-NZ brings together scientists from a range of disciplines (including social science, climate, air quality, data, health and economics) from the Universities of Birmingham, Surrey, and York, and stakeholders from West Midlands Combined Authority, Defra, Birmingham City Council, Clean Air Fund, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Coventry City Council, Solihull Council, Cambridge Environmental Research Counsultants, and WSP in the UK to develop new tools and science understanding.

Heal-NZ is a transdisciplinary collaboration network involving 25 investigators, 10 researchers and a project manager. This post will start in Oct 2023.

Main Duties

Your primary responsibility will be management of the designated project – “Health-NZ” funded by the Wellcome Trust. In order to flexibly use resource you may be asked to work elsewhere in the department or across the wider University.

The Project Officer will manage the Health-NZ project through the provision of well-developed, efficient 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 of the research team is maintained as expected, including identifying any issues and proposing solutions.

• 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.

Person Specification

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications). Where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Knowledge in climate change, air quality, and/or public health is desirable
• 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 effectively utilise social media and online networking platforms highly desirable
• 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 postholder 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-motivating 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 can be made to Zongbo Shi - [email protected]

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working .