Research Impact Development Manager - College of Social Sciences - 56208 - Grade 7

Position Details

College of Social Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £35,880 to £45,163 with potential progression once in post to £47,874

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2025

Closing date: 4th December 2024

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

Role Summary

The University of Birmingham is an exceptional university that has set itself the ambition to be in the top 50 of the world’s leading universities by 2030. The Business Engagement and Research Impact team will play a major role in this - fostering the University’s networks with international, national, and regional partners to grow our reputation and our research impact. Our existing partnerships with industry, the NHS, policy organisations, and those from the public, cultural and community sectors are achieving game-changing impact. These partnerships further our research, enabling our academics to make crucial breakthroughs, and this was demonstrated by our strong performance in the recent REF2021.

The role of Research Impact Development Manager (RIDM) is an exciting opportunity to work with welcoming and supportive colleagues to take our research impact to the next level. It requires an enthusiasm for people, the skill to interact with high-level professionals, academics, and organisations from multiple sectors, along with the ability to passionately translate complex information into a compelling demonstration of research impact.

The post-holder will provide dedicated impact support to academics across the College of Social Sciences, under the direction of the College’s Research Impact Development Partner (RIDP). Working alongside another Research Impact Development Manager, the post-holder will ensure academics have the knowledge and guidance they need to be able to facilitate, amplify, and evaluate the impact of their research. The role will rely on close working relationships with academic and Professional Services colleagues in the development, organisation and management of impact activity. The post-holder will therefore have excellent interpersonal skills and be proactive in establishing effective relationships with academic colleagues from within the School/College and across the University, including School Impact Leads and School Heads of Research. The post-holder will also work closely with the College’s research support services on shared areas of work relating to research funding and research operations, and wider University Professional Services teams (e.g. Communications and Press, Public Engagement, and Public Affairs). The post-holder will have strong project management skills and be proactive in developing and implementing plans to support the engagement and impact agenda of the College, including identifying new opportunities to increase impact through innovative engagement activities and through building external partnerships and relationships. They will also assist in the development and implementation of strategies for collating evidence relating to impact.

Main Duties

• Lead on School-level collation and evaluation of impact-related metrics to prepare impact case study submissions for future REF exercises, and more broadly, to support academics in building impact profiles and developing a strong impact-culture in their respective Schools and the College.
• Be the key impact consultant to researchers in designated Schools to enable them to develop and extend impact activities, with a particular focus on best-practice and utilising approaches from across the BERI team to amplify the reach and significance of this work.
• Support Schools and the College in the implementation of the University Impact strategy by advising and supporting academic colleagues within both a School and College environment.
• Support the strategic deployment of appropriate Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs) and support the deployment of other internal College/University funds and ad hoc funds such as QR funding.
• Develop a detailed knowledge of the research, engagement and impact landscape within the College and Schools, and the research objectives of individual academics.
• Support the activities and plans for increasing public engagement with academic research, working closely with academic colleagues in Schools and the College, and University Marketing, Communication and Press teams, and the central Public Engagement team.
• Work with academic and BERI colleagues to develop and maintain relevant external links and partnerships to enable effective working relationships towards the achievement of impact objectives and improving external engagement with the College’s research.
• Work collaboratively with research support teams on grant applications to ensure impact plans are considered and integrated effectively into the application process, and to identify new funding routes and opportunities for impact development.
• Work with School Heads of Research and School Impact Leads to implement short- and long-term strategies to foster a holistic impact culture.
• Develop an understanding of the wider research impact context of the HE sector.
• Promote equality and value diversity by acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Essential:

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent level qualifications) - where no equivalent qualification is held, relevant work experience evidencing progression and development together with evidence of the transferable skills and ability to work at this level will normally be required.
• Prior work experience in a Higher Education institution.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with a range of stakeholders including senior academic and non-academic managers; external partners and enquirers; colleagues from across the Professional Services, and staff in other universities.
• Proven ability to collaborate with academic, Professional Services and non-academic colleagues to deliver mutual agendas.
• Excellent written communications skills, including experience of writing reports.
• Ability to synthesise and communicate complex information to a variety of audiences.
• Accuracy and attention to detail, particularly experience of interpreting and adhering to detailed and precise requirements and providing advice on the same.
• Ability to manage time effectively, work to deadlines, and to maintain high standards when under pressure.
• Problem-solving skills including the ability to act with limited supervision.
• Absolute discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Excellent IT skills, in particular with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Excel and Word.
• Willingness to learn new IT-based systems.
• 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:

• Previous experience of working in a knowledge exchange or research impact environment is desirable. This might be evidenced, for example, through experience of commercialisation or supporting the delivery of other forms of impact such as in policy or the cultural sector.
• Experience of using a research information management system (e.g. PURE, HIVVE).