Programme Manager (NIHR RSS Network Chief Operating Officer) - College of Medicine and Health - 1073

Position Details
Research and Knowledge Transfer, College of Medicine and Health
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606
Grade: 8
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2029
Closing date: 10 th May 2026

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, 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 be able 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 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.

Department Overview
The Research Delivery team, part of the College of Medical & Health Research Office, is a vibrant hub for Professional Service staff (~120 individuals) supporting high-value, strategically important projects and programmes. We work closely with both Professional Services colleagues and Academics across the University and partner organisations, to maximise the impact of funded research, and lead on the development of renewals for large infrastructure awards. The portfolio of research supported is wide ranging ( https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/medical-dental/index.aspx ).

This role will be embedded within the Research Delivery team’s Applied Health pillar (currently providing programme and project management support to over £100m of research funding) and benefit from established relationships with programme partners and key stakeholders including NHS Trusts, collaborating research institutions both locally, nationally and globally, patient and public contributors, charities and funders.

Role Summary
A unique opportunity has arisen for an ambitious and dynamic Programme Manager (NIHR RSS Chief Operating Officer (COO)) to lead the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Network. The RSS Network aims to provide transformative, expert advice for all health, public health and social care researchers from pre-application through to post-application, harnessing and connecting RSS Hubs and Centres with specialist expertise to increase their impact via strategic collaboration, methodological innovation and cross Network coordination.
Reporting to the Network Director, the COO will be a highly motivated leader, responsible for the successful implementation of strategic initiatives via large programme and project management. The role will be responsible for leading the coordination and development of the Network and will be expected to ensure that there are appropriate mechanisms for full engagement of all partner organisations and stakeholders by building a culture of partnership and collaboration and directing the work of the Central Team to deliver the core functions that will maximise national impact of the Network.
The post-holder will be required to build and maintain a wide range of relationships spanning NIHR, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), funding, policy-making and industry bodies. In addition, the role will require the ability to effectively engage and collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders and maintain a high level of influence and act as an ambassador the RSS and NIHR vision.

Main Duties
Leadership and Coordination

• Provide visible internal and external leadership of the RSS Network Central Operations Team to deliver the Network Strategy through annual plans and achieve key metrics.
• Provide oversight and support for Network governance arrangements, regularly reviewing governance effectiveness and recommending improvements as required.
• To manage key relationships and play a pivotal role in enhancing the Network’s reputation. In particular, to support our relationships with senior stakeholders across the NIHR Infrastructure landscape and ensure consistent and valued engagement with the RSS Hubs and Centres with specialist expertise.
• Responsible for managing large or multiple projects that may have contributors from multiple areas, translating strategic vision and planning into reality on a national scale.
• Engage and communicate with a variety of stakeholders to ensure progress but also to disseminate outputs of the project as appropriate.
• The post-holder will be accountable for all finance matters as they relate to the management of the Network, maintaining relevant information with respect to the budget and reporting to the Network Executive and Independent Advisory Committees.

Network Strategy
Support the iteration of the Network Strategy in response to national policy and initiatives and Government direction. This will require careful balance to ensure delivery against agreed metrics whilst recognising the views of the Network’s constituent organisations.

Oversight for the following core functions of the Network Central Team

• Programme Management and Performance Oversight: To oversee delivery of agreed objectives and ensure performance data is available to the Network Executive and Independent Advisory Committees to fulfil their oversight role.
• To provide senior management input to ensure the success of all functional workstreams within the Network, working in partnership with national RSS Network workstream teams.
• Data Analytics & Performance Reporting: To oversee the development and implementation of a data strategy to ensure high quality and consistent data capture and reporting so that we demonstrate positive impact for all our stakeholders.
• Communications, Events & Engagement: To oversee the Network communications, events and engagement activities to maximise the visibility of the Network, its key activities and impact, reinforcing the Network’s reputation as the ‘go-to’ organisation for high-quality, transformative research design and delivery advice.

People management

• Direct line management of the Central Operations Team.
• Manage diverse groups of staff ensuring relevant targets and goals are achieved within resource constraints.
• Create a motivating environment where staff are challenged, developed, encouraged and supported to achieve outstanding results.
• Responsible for ensuring all annual review processes, including Performance and Development Reviews are conducted in the service area.
• Identify appropriate opportunities for development and change and encourage other team members to do the same.
• Guide staff through periods of change, communicating a clear and positive vision.

General

• Actively promote equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent level qualifications), or extensive experience of working in a complex organisation with relevant managerial experience
• Significant experience of large-scale programme and project management processes, and use of relevant performance metrics to evaluate success. Relevant formal Project Management qualifications such as APMP, Prince2 or MSP are also useful, but not essential.
• Authoritative knowledge of the work practices, processes and procedures relevant to the role, including knowledge and understanding of the health and care research sector, preferably with knowledge and experience working with/in NIHR infrastructure.
• Experience of strategic vision and planning with the ability to translate strategic planning into successful operational delivery on a regional and national level.
• A proven ability to meet targets, with minimal supervision to deadlines.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills that will help to identify and implement improvements and efficiencies across the project or projects you work on.
• Highly developed negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate priorities and effectively engage and influence others at all levels internally and externally.
• Experience of managing large financial budgets along with experience of budget planning and forecasting.
• Excellent people management skills, with some experience of leading, motivating and managing teams.
• High level of self-motivation and personal accountability with ability to plan and deliver goals to deadlines under pressure.
• 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. Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action.

Further particulars can be found here
Informal enquiries to Jo Sartori, 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 everyone on our website.