Senior Technical Services Manager at University of Birmingham
School of Engineering
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £46,485 to £55,295 with potential progression once in post to £62,098
Grade: 8
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 5th January 2025
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 School of Engineering consists of three departments – Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering with a variety of facilities ranging from load frames to high voltage power systems to state-of-the-art 5-Axis CNC machines. The School’s estate consists of four buildings as well as shared space in a further building.
Role Summary
The Senior Technical Services Manager provide senior and strategic leadership for the development and delivery of the technical services within the School of Engineering. As such the post holder will be expected to provide strategic input in identifying how technical services can best support academic staff in delivering teaching and research. Acting as the primary interface between academic, research and technical teams. Fostering a collaborative environment, working in partnership with the Head of Operations, driving a positive culture change, to enhance and improve the relationship and interaction between technical staff and academics.
This will include high level responsibility for the management and maintenance of capital teaching and research labs and equipment, the financial viability of facilities, as well as staff leadership and management and responsibility for safe working practices.
The Senior Technical Services Manager is required to develop solutions to complex engineering problems using new or existing technologies and through innovation, creativity, and technical analysis, and accountable for complex systems with significant levels of risk.
The post holder will engage with peers across the College and wider Campus and will network externally to ensure best practice is brought into the University.
Main Duties
Overall responsibility for the leadership, management, and delivery of high-quality technical services to staff and students which will include:
Service Delivery
Oversee allocation of resources (staff, equipment and facilities) in support of operational need, mid- and long-term strategic aims and objectives.
Collaborate with colleagues across the School and College (and wider University as appropriate) to ensure efficiency of services and minimise replication of resource. Making recommendations as required to open or close facilities, where appropriate.
Produce regular briefing information for the Head of School, Head of Operations, College Head of Estates and Facilities and College Deputy Director of Operations (Administration) for onward dissemination to College Board.
Using professional and technical expertise, develop business plans which will deliver optimum services, including financial, staffing and space implications. This will include horizon scanning for future development and expansion, seeking new business opportunities as appropriate and ensuring that new initiatives can be integrated into existing technical facilities.
Responsible for evaluating service provision and effectiveness and identifying and implementing significant service improvements.
Developing policy and procedure as required to ensure appropriate service levels are maintained.
Working through technical managers, develop a database of service users and ensure all service areas have effective and efficient service booking facilities.
Maintain a broad sector and commercial awareness, proactively networking as appropriate to ensure the service offered matches or exceeds expectations.
Provide comprehensive professional guidance, making innovative contributions for considerations to assist academics around services/technologies available via the Facilities for incorporation within grant applications.
Provide technical expertise, to ensure research, education and any other activity is supported with necessary technical resources.
Engage directly with technical teams, ensuring work aligns with academic need, specifically in high-tech, specialist areas such as the Clean Room and Advanced Machine Tools.
Responsible for ensuring the asset register is up to date and accurate for the School.
Financial
Review, in collaboration with the School Head of Operations financial plans to determine how technical services targets related to will be met.
Establish and maintain a strategic oversight of annual and 5-year plans linked to the operation of the Engineering facilities, ensuring replacement equipment costs are taken into consideration as appropriate.
Responsible for managing trading accounts relating to technical services, proactively identifying overspend issues and proposing how to resolve issues, with regular reporting updates, feeding into the Head of operations as School financial budget manager.
In conjunction with Procurement, source and negotiate appropriate service contracts for equipment within the School Facilities, ensuring value for money.
Establish/monitor and audit effective and efficient systems to ensure equipment and services are charged at appropriate rate(s).
Work with local PI’s and the Procurement team in the tender process of large or capital equipment bids, ensuring best value and quality of provision, as well as consideration of local School and College infrastructure requirements and ongoing technical support for excellence of School and College Research Facilities.
Staff Management - directly or through Technical Managers:
Lead and manage the School Technical and specialist Facilities Managers, and through them diverse groups of technical staff, ensuring all teaching and research aims and objectives are met, balancing short term delivery with longer term planning.
Managing team workload and address bottlenecks, ensuring the provision of prompt and efficient technical support.
Leading by example, promoting a positive, can-do culture and ensuring high level of staff engagement and morale, creating a motivating environment where staff are challenged and developed and supported to achieve outstanding results.
Build a cohesive technical team by encouraging cross functional collaborations and fostering a culture of proactive problem solving and innovation.
Determine priorities for dissemination and allocate resources to meet planned objectives and requirements.
Set and monitor performance standards, taking appropriate action to ensure excellent service delivery.
Responsible for ensuring all annual review processes, including Performance and Development Reviews are conducted in the service area.
Lead and guide staff through periods of change, communicating a clear and positive vision.
Promote and encourage College participation in the Technical Academy as part of the UK’s Technician Commitment and to engage in local initiatives such as Midlands Innovation and supporting programmes such as TALENT.
Health and Safety
Lead the development of a health and safety-first culture, managing all H&S matters in relation to the effective and efficient operation of the services/technologies and other laboratory area.
Working collaboratively with the College Health and Safety Manager, make a major contribution to ensuring activities are fully compliant with the policies and procedures of the College / University (including ensuring all risk assessments are appropriate and up to date) and relevant licensing body.
Interpreting and advising on Health & Safety legislation relating to operational/functional activities within the Facilities and identifying the implications for the School.
Ensure all areas of the School are subject to regular Health & Safety inspections, produce reports for consideration at the School Health and Safety Executive Committee, and take responsibility for ensuring any action points arising from inspections are completed, ensuring all relevant stakeholders are informed of progress.
Marketing
Work closely with appropriate staff within other Colleges to maximize the use of equipment /platforms within respective facilities. Play a proactive role in marketing the School of Engineering facilities to external groups from HE and commercial environments using professional expertise.
In collaboration with the College Business Engagement Partner and College Marketing Comms Manager establishing new business opportunities via the creative use of the website, seminars, demonstrations, and advertising campaigns.
Network with external businesses and internal users to ensure service provision remains viable and competitive.
Regularly review competitors’ websites and aligned information and advise the Enabling Technologies Executive of initiatives which may impact on the core business/efficacy of the Facilities.
General
Represent the School Technical Facilities internally on the relevant School committees and externally at meetings/events/networking opportunities.
Actively manage equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Essential
Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification, and or substantial work experience in a relevant technical and management role with a proven track record of extensive and substantial work experience in a series of progressively more demanding and relevant roles.
Proven technical knowledge and understanding in a relevant technical engineering area.
Up to date awareness of Health and Safety aspects of the equipment and processes within Engineering and with other relevant statutory regulations.
Experience of ensuring an appropriate risk assessment environment.
Evidence of literacy and numeracy.
Proven analytical and problem-solving skills that will help to identify and implement improvements and efficiencies across the facilities.
Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office and website editing software. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required including use of bespoke in-house finance and HR systems and Facility Management software.
Excellent people management skills, with proven experience of leading and managing teams.
Committed to delivering the highest levels of customer service and to find new ways to increase customer satisfaction.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively with a range of stakeholders.
Experience of contributing at a high level to committees, project and working groups in a complex organisation; ability to develop and deliver presentations to a variety of audiences.
Ability to manage own workload, plan effectively, balance competing priorities and work to deadline.
Experience in writing policies and strategies to support organisational and/or local change.
Experience of interpreting management information for use in College level (or equivalent) initiatives and reviews.
Experience of delivering projects to high standards with minimal supervision to tight deadlines.
Experience of championing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in own work area.
Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied.
Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action.
Desirable
Experience in working in both education and research environments.
Familiarity with University governance and funding structures.
Role context
Roles at this level will either be technical specialists operating at a very high specialist level as expert contributors or experienced functional/technical professionals with a broader knowledge across their discipline with managerial responsibility for the delivery or ownership of a service.
Core competencies/transferable skills
Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully demonstrate the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. You will be expected to take ownership for getting things done, including calling on or joining others to assist. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.
Planning and organising – Ability to:
lead and manage a technical team to deliver a service, balancing short term delivery with longer term planning horizons.
determine priorities and allocate resources to meet planned objectives and requirements.
monitor performance standards, taking appropriate actions to ensure service delivery is uniformly excellent
ensure health and safety of the area and equipment/hardware.
carry out project work including planning and delivering programmes of work to budget and deadline.
advise on future requirements of, for example, equipment, apparatus, furniture and fittings, space.
make a major contribution to the development of policies and procedures to ensure that all legislative and University requirements are met within the laboratories/workshops and work areas.
make significant contributions to the design/development/application of services, techniques, specialist equipment or materials.
design, plan and deliver programmes of specialist work.
operate as a high-level specialist – initiating and developing ideas/approaches, promoting, and delivering innovative solutions.
Financial – Ability to:
Plan long-term, helping to address future challenges, such as succession planning, while contributing to the financial sustainability of technical services.
Work with academics to secure external funding, for technical equipment and facilities, contribute to writing grant proposals and support technical project management.
Problem solving and decision making – Ability to:
use analytical and problem-solving skills to resolve specialist and technical issues; may be one of the few able to provide solutions in a specialised field.
use a problem-solving approach to challenges and balancing strategic thinking with practical problem-solving are essential.
provide comprehensive advice and make innovative contributions.
Actively improve operational efficiency, ensuring the technical team are responsive to the needs of research and education projects.
Organisational understanding – has an excellent understanding of:
Own working area and a broad understanding of the contribution other areas make to the success of the University.
How the University operates, together with an understanding of how academia operates in the UK.
Relationships and communication
Exceptionally strong communications skills, ensuring clear, open lines of communication between teams, being approachable and transparent, and manage complex cross-functional relationships. Communicate clearly on technical or professional issues to non-specialists and senior level audiences.
Ability to foster a culture of collaboration between technical staff and academics, breaking down barriers and building mutual trust.
Ability to lead at a strategic level, and engage practically with technical teams, understanding the realities of lab work and resource management.
Represent the department at internal and external meetings/events/network with colleagues internally across the wider university and externally with other institutions to share best practice.