Deputy Director of Operations (Education) - Grade 9

School of Education, College of Social Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £51,799 to £60,022, with potential progression once in post to £78,265

Grade 9

Full Time

Permanent

Closing date: 26th June 2022

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

Role Summary

The College of Social Sciences comprises four Schools; the Birmingham Business School and the Schools of Education, Government, and Social Policy. The College academic vision is driven by the University's enduring purpose as the UK's first civic university, undertaking education and research that transforms the lives of our students and our communities. The role of the Deputy Director of Operations (Education) offers the opportunity to directly contribute to our strategic priorities, and a key role in delivering the educational strategy to deliver a high quality and inclusive student experience across our diverse student communities that supports our graduates to be active global citizens

The Deputy Director of Operations (Education) (DDoOp) is the lead Professional Services role within the College specifically responsible for education support activities across the College. Reporting to the College's Director of Operations and working in partnership with the College Director of Education, the role holder will play a key role in leading the ongoing development and successful implementation of the College Educational strategy and ensure the continuing success and future development of the College's activities in this area. The role holder is expected to demonstrate a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion over a broad portfolio of activities which cover every area of the education agenda, in the College. The role carries a high degree of leadership, advisory and developmental responsibility for the professional services staff across the College who support education delivery, including educational enhancement, student experience and wellbeing. In addition to the Education portfolio, the DDoOp will also have responsibility for leading on key professional services activity as directed by the Director of Operations and acting as College lead for all matters associated with GDPR, Freedom of Information, Freedom of Speech and other compliance matters.

Importantly, the DDoOp works in partnership with a range of senior colleagues in the College both academic and professional services, and also across the other Colleges and areas of Professional Services. The role will be a key member of the University ASOG and Education Operations Groups working with counterparts in Colleges and Academic Services to lead and deliver on the education agenda. The role will hold responsibility for liaison with other areas of the university including the Guild and student representative groups to ensure that education and student experience matters are anticipated, resolved and managed strategically.

The role holder is a key member of the College Professional Services Strategic Leadership Team and Operations Management Committee, and expected to provide broad leadership across Professional Services teams and themes, leading projects as appropriate.

Main Duties

Strategy, Policy and Service Delivery

The roleholder will be expected to make a major contribution to the ongoing development of the College's Education strategy and to contribute at University level in influencing strategy there on the College's behalf. They will work in partnership with the Director of Operations, College Director of Education, and College Board to define and agree the strategy and priorities.

Detailed activities will include:

• Ensuring that the College Education strategy and practice properly reflects and positively adopts the University's strategic aspirations and vice versa.
• Lead in advising College Leadership and colleagues on all matters relating to Professional Services support to education activity, based on a thorough understanding of the strategic aims of the University and College and the inter-relationships and dependencies across the College programmes and education support activities.
• Play a proactive and influential role in the College Senior Education team with Director and Deputy Directors of Education, Heads of Education, and other senior Professional Services roles to drive forward operational matters and effectively communicate and translate institutional strategy for Schools and Departments.
• Lead on College strategy and policy for ensuring institutional compliance with all policy, regulatory and legal matters.
• Work collaboratively with the Director and Deputy Directors of Education to strategically manage the evolution of the College Education portfolio in relation to international work, partnership development and collaborative agreements, diversification of portfolio and blended and online learning in order to support the future size and shape of the College.
• To represent the College at University level for all matters relating to education delivery, enhancement and compliance, aligning College and University strategy.
• Provide leadership to the College professional services Education Support team including Compliance, Quality, Wellbeing and Student experience teams and responsibility for the co-ordination of all Education Support teams to ensure consistent implementation of strategy and changes to University practice and support the development of consistent cross College processes and procedures for both taught and research students.
• Work with peers across the institution, but in particular the other four Colleges, to share best practice and develop consistent approaches where possible.
• Lead College and/or cross-College or University special projects and any other duties appropriate to the role and grade.

The roleholder will be responsible for business improvement across education delivery for the College through

• Developing and leading process improvements, setting best practice standards and quality assurance expectations
• Promoting process improvements across College teams
• Evaluating service provision, and recommend and implement innovative solutions to improve service quality, efficiency and continuity and introduce long term sustainable improvements particularly in the context of a changing external and internal higher education landscape.
• Ensuring the College operates efficiently and effectively across all programme areas in light of the changing size and shape of the College portfolio.

Leadership and Staff Management

• Responsibility for creating an empowering, solution focused environment for all colleagues and ensuring effective, positive working relationships with colleagues at all levels.
• Line Management responsibility for the College Education Support teams (Compliance, Quality, Student Experience, Wellbeing) with staffing responsibility for all professional services staff providing Education support
• Ensure all resourcing models are efficient, flexible and adaptive to the changing environment
• Lead staff through periods of change, communicating a clear and positive vision and acting as a role model.
• Coordinating the development of standards and best practice across professional services
• Establish and promote effective working relationships and communication with all members of the College Senior Professional Services team, and beyond, to ensure an integrated and streamlined professional services offer for the College.
• Ongoing development and support for direct reports through coaching and training, both formal and informal.

Other Expectations

The DDoOp will be expected to lead College and/or cross-College or University special projects and any other such duties as deemed appropriate to the role and grade. The roleholder will be expected to participate in and support relevant College committees and act as Chair when required by the Director of Operations.

The roleholder will provide College leadership and representation as a member of the Academic Registrars wider senior management team, including participation in the Birmingham Professional Senior Management Forum, cross-College or University projects or initiatives, contributing to all areas of functional leadership/coordination and review.

The DDoOp will be expected to build and maintain excellent collaborative working relationships with all stakeholders. They will be expected to establish an effective network across the Colleges to ensure issues and policy affecting all areas of the institution are joined up in approach and work with fellow professionals in the wider HE community to ensure high level of professional knowledge an awareness of the UK higher education agenda.

The roleholder will actively promote a culture that promotes Equality and values diversity and inclusion, promote the Birmingham Professional agenda within the College and seek to support the Director of Operations and PSSLT in nurturing an empowering and supportive professional services environment with embedded partnership working with academic colleagues.

Person Specification - Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent level qualifications), higher degree where appropriate and/or evidence of sustained continuing professional development appropriate for the capability required and contribution from this role, plus substantial relevant managerial experience.
• Ability to exercise a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion.
• Demonstrable commitment to inclusion, diversity and equality in the workplace
• Demonstrable commitment to students at the heart of the education provision, and staff at the heart of the working environment
• Proven record of achievement working at a senior management level in a large organisation, and in particular demonstrating knowledge and experience of:
• · Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to translate strategy into operational plans, with measurable outcomes for a range of audiences.
• Excellent IT, organisational and administrative skills
• Able to provide examples of successful influencing of and negotiation with others, including senior managers and senior stakeholders, developing and presenting persuasive business cases through to delivery.
• Experience of successfully implementing and managing change in a medium or large complex organisation.
• Substantial staff and team management experience; evidence of progressing team development in a medium or large organisation and of motivating large teams through intermediary managers.
• Demonstrable success in a leadership role and strong operational understanding of people management and organisational culture issues and opportunities
• Planning and managing financial and physical resources with significant experience of budget management and forecasting and business continuity/resilience planning
• Able to operate with independent professional discretion, applying a significant amount of professional and independent judgement.
• Demonstrable experience of managing large and complex projects to deliver clear organisational benefits.
• Ability to operate successfully at a senior level within the University; demonstrated skills of working with senior management; can demonstrate an ability to handle complex business issues involving people impacts.
• Experience of developing effective networks and strong relationships with internal and external colleague
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility and a self-motivating approach with demonstrable personal skills in thinking strategically, analytically and creatively.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities and work to tight deadlines

Informal enquiries can be directed to Yvonne Hackforth-Williams, Director of Operations, College of Social Sciences, y.e.williams@bham.ac.uk.

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.