Strategic Programme Development Manager - Executive Support - 102772 - Grade 8

Position Details

Executive Office

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, Permanent

Closing date: 19^th November 2026

First stage interviews will take place on Friday 27th November (via Teams).

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

Strategic Programmes & Change is a high-performing team with a critical role at the heart of the University. We work with senior leaders to align stakeholders, set strategic direction and deliver outcomes — helping the University achieve its ambitions as a Global Top 50 institution and long-term financial sustainability. Our portfolio is complex, fast-moving and varied; no two days are the same.

Executive Division

Strategic Programme Development & Change sits within the Executive Division, led by the Chief of Staff. The Division brings together a varied team working collectively to drive the University's performance and keep us on track to reach our Global Top 50 ambition by 2030. We use our convening power to lead key initiatives, maintain strong networks across academic and professional services — and beyond into the wider HE sector — and respond quickly as new priorities emerge. As part of the Division, you will benefit from access to these networks and the support of experienced colleagues across a range of fields.

We are trusted, collaborative and outward-looking, and we are seeking someone who shares our values: Ambitious, Open, Responsible, Collaborative and Innovative. We are committed to building a diverse team and believe that a mix of perspectives and experiences creates the best environment for success.

The right candidate will join over 10,000 staff at the University, with opportunities to join staff networks such as the Rainbow Network, Parents and Carers’ Network, Women’s Network, Race Equality Network, and Enabling Staff Network. They will benefit from good holidays and a pension scheme, flexibility (we are currently working to a pattern of three or four days from campus), and lots of opportunities for learning and development.

Role Summary

We are looking for a Strategic Programme Development Manager to join our highly regarded team. The successful candidate will:

• Have a proven track record of delivering outcomes in complex, fast-paced environments, with the resilience to navigate ambiguity and shifting priorities
• Think strategically — bringing clarity to ambiguity, identifying paths forward and developing creative solutions to difficult problems
• Build effective relationships across organisational boundaries, balancing competing interests to collaboratively build consensus and drive results
• Shape thinking, influence decisions and drive action – using clear, persuasive communication to build confidence, align stakeholders and deliver measurable outcomes

Our impact philosophy is simple: align with strategic priorities, lead with purpose, collaborate across boundaries, build institutional programme and change capability, and deliver measurable benefits.

The post holder will enable the development and delivery of complex, University-wide initiatives that advance the Birmingham 2030 strategy. Working with senior academic and professional services leaders, the role will turn strategic ambitions into robust business cases, practical delivery plans and define measurable outcomes.

When completing the application form, please use the person specification above to inform your answer to the section that says: This section should set out your reasons for applying, skills and experience, and other interests and activities as appropriate to the person specification. As a rough guide, we would expect you to write in the region of 1,000 words and cover how your skills and experience apply to the role, with clear examples. You may also attach a CV if you wish, however, shortlisting will be predominantly based on the information in the application form.

First stage interviews will take place on Friday 27th November (via Teams).

Main Duties

To be personally responsible for leading and managing significant and complex University-wide initiatives. This will involve:

• The curation of a coherent and robust business case for the intended audience (e.g. UEB, Council) that has explored all suitable options, having convened and coordinated the appropriate inputs, and ensures the alignment with all levels of governance.
• Working closely with Programme/ Project Sponsors (academic and Professional Services) to identify and plan the requirements for implementation and ensuring that programmes will delivered in accordance with the plan.
• Providing thought leadership, challenge and analysis to define the problem, identify ways forward and agree next steps for the benefit of the organisation.
• Scoping and planning programmes of work, ensuring outputs are progressed and are integrated and aligned with the full portfolio of strategic initiatives.
• Utilising excellent negotiation, communication and creativity skills to gain agreement across a broad range of stakeholders to initiatives. This will include working with staff groups for whom the proposed programme may represent significant changes, eg. to ways of working, and gaining commitment.
• Managing and coordinating the different strands of the initiatives including ensuring effective communication flows to all stakeholders.
• Implementing relevant programme / project and change methodologies in support of strategic initiatives.
• Development of benefits realisation plans.
• To act as a repository for lessons learned and to ensure this knowledge is applied in the future.
• To be conduits to professional expertise within UoB, for example Finance Business Partners, College Planning Partners, Legal Services, to ensure the right people are sufficiently engaged at the appropriate stages.
• Development and execution of engagement strategies that yield results, working with a wide range of stakeholders and audiences, including academic colleagues, professional services staff, and students.
• Preparing and, where appropriate, presenting reports, proposals and papers for stakeholders, project sponsors, College Boards, RLG and other senior meetings.
• Working collaboratively with other teams that are responsible for delivering programmes, projects and change, to ensure a coherent and consistent approach to programme and change management across the University.

Examples of work that the role will be assigned to may include: the development of the investment case for major capital works (estates, digital), convening virtual teams with relevant colleagues from across the University to respond at pace to emerging strategic opportunities, developing decision making ‘playbooks’ to enable effective senior decision making, and providing programme management capabilities to major cross-functional strategic initiatives.

Delivering the work of the Strategic Programmes & Change function

This will involve:

• Promoting equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Deploying our institutional Portfolio and Programme Enabling Frameworks, including benefits realisation and risk management, to contribute to the development of the University’s programme and change management capability.
• Identifying and, where appropriate, adopting best practice within and outside HE in programme development and change management
• Developing and delivering training and other forms of support to staff developing and managing programmes and change within the University.
• Being a proactive member of the Strategic Programmes & Change function, contributing to its continued success and development and supporting other members of the team.

Duties and responsibilities within the post and the obligations placed upon post holders may vary and develop over time.  Any resulting changes will be subject to consultation with the post holder and the Head of Strategic Programmes & Change, through the agreed annual review process.

Person Specification

The post holder will have the following combined experience and personal qualities:

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Relevant degree or relevant equivalent professional qualification (change management, project management), plus substantial relevant experience evidencing the experience required in this role.
• Outstanding writing skills: with the ability to write/prepare high-quality papers, presentations, reports and briefings to Project Board, Executive Board, and Council (our governing body) levels. This includes a clear style of communication and the ability to write for different audiences.
• Experience of developing robust strategic businesses cases to Executive Board and governing body level, in collaboration with senior stakeholders, for significant cross-functional strategic initiatives, for example major capital investments, substantial organisational change.
• Evidenced successful setup and delivery of strategic programmes and projects (including structures, processes, tools & methods) in a complex governance organisation.
• Experience of developing effective networks and strong relationships at all levels in a complex organisation in order to support the delivery of major initiatives.
• Highly developed research skills and experience of producing and analysing complex source material, information and data and turning these into purposeful reports or strategic and operational plans that influence policy and assist decision making.
• Analysis and assessment of complex project, programme and portfolio information to provide clear recommendations to senior leadership and governance bodies.
• Strong facilitation skills, including workshops, and face-to-face.
• Excellent oral communication and presentation skills, with an ability to use a range of communication skills and strategies to gain commitment to action or change.
• Excellent IT, organisational and administrative skills.
• An ability to work simultaneously and effectively to progress several different tasks.

Personal Characteristics and knowledge

• Strong intellectual ability and the ability to apply this to management tasks.
• Ability to identify and assess strategic drivers in determining the strategic alignment and viability of major initiatives.
• Knowledge of a wide range of Project, Programme & Change methodologies, with evidence of applying tailored professional best practice to organisational needs, including benefits realisation and risk management.
• Analysis of complex problems and formulation of innovative, simple and effective solutions.
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility and a self-motivating approach. The ability to complete tasks based on only broad direction and with minimum supervision.
• Enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging demands, working to different people, deadlines and within budget.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including tact and diplomacy, and an ability to work at all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• A flexible approach and attitude and a willingness to respond to changing requirements of the team.
• Demonstrates collaborative working, builds open, trusting and effective partnerships.
• A firm but diplomatic attitude with the ability to prioritise, negotiate and use one’s own judgement.
• A commitment to promote and adhere to the agreed values of the University and the Executive Division.
• Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area.

Informal enquiries to Stuart Harvey, Head of Strategic Programmes & Change, email: s.harvey@bham.ac.uk

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.