Research Project Officer

Position Details

College of Social Science 

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Part Time ( 22.5 hours per week)

Fixed Term contract for 12 months

Closing date: 25th October 2026

There’s a possibility of extension of the end date, and increase of the FTE, during the post’s duration, depending on additional funding becoming available for the post through new research project grants. Any extension and FTE increases would be agreed between the role-holder and their line manager.

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. 

The post is situated in the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute (IDRIS) in the School of Social Policy and Society. IDRIS is an applied cross-University research institute established in October 2024 with the appointment of Professor Richard Hastings as 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of Psychology Health and Social Care. IDRIS also includes, in Social Policy and Society, three other professorial staff, an associate professor, two senior research fellows, an institute manger, a full-time administrator, and a number of research fellows, research associates, and PhD students. Most staff are employed on/funded through external research grants, including those funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Other members of IDRIS are based in Schools and Departments across the Colleges of the University. IDRIS works in close co-productive relationships and with people with intellectual disabilities, family carers, with social care organisations and the NHS, and with disability advocacy and professional organisations. IDRIS’s research and policy/practice impact is across the lifespan and across sectors (education, health, social care). IDRIS staff are engaged mainly in research on the development and evaluation of interventions and services to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Role Summary

The IDRIS Research Project Officer will work closely with the Institute Manager, the IDRIS administrators, and IDRIS researchers across our portfolio of research grants and core activity. The successful applicant will carry out variety of finance, procurement, and HR activities such as budget monitoring and management, communicating with key stakeholders, and grant administration. Individual projects may require bespoke support, this may include Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement work, desk-based research work such as literature reviews, data collection (e.g., via surveys, interviews), pilot work informing grant applications, and event planning. They may need to work to support or advocate on behalf of individuals with learning disabilities. They will also serve as a deputy to the Institute Manager.

Main Duties

The Research Project Officer will assist in the management of larger projects through the provision of well-developed and timely project management support, and will also oversee core Institute work, for example managing research staff employment contracts or running Institute events. You will be expected to work proactively and use your initiative and planning skills to set your own priorities to ensure progress is maintained as expected, identify any issues and propose solutions while working closely with academic staff. 

• To support Research Project delivery, Project Boards, workstreams and working groups within an overall project or manage elements of larger projects or smaller projects. 
• Support may include some or all of the following:
• Carrying out project planning activities; 
• Identifying milestones which will need to be adhered to;
• Assist in the collection of research data and analysis; potentially through literature review, survey and pilot research, qualitative research methods, or transcribing video or audio interviews conducted by project researchers
• Milestone tracking/key performance indicator tracking;
• Developing and proposing solutions for any issues; 
• Recommending improvements to project management; 
• Preparing progress reports for project boards or other meetings; 
• Assisting in budgetary monitoring and management, including reporting; 
• Assisting with stakeholder management, developing and maintaining regular contact with internal and external stakeholders, including members of the public, to understand requirements;
• Assessing and escalating issues and risks as appropriate.
• Provide guidance as required to support staff and any students who may be assisting with or conducting research. 
• Assist with recruitment of institute staff and management of employment contracts.
• Contribute to developing communications plans, presentations, journal publications and promoting the projects and outcomes of projects/workstreams.
• Maintain an up to date knowledge of project management methodologies.
• Determine short term priorities for own work, ensuring you maximise quality, efficiency and continuity.
• Manage one part-time project administrator.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. 
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff.
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures. 
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications). Where no equivalent qualification is held, extensive practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Significant practical experience in research support or research roles, experience of using project management tools.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy and to analyse information and data.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and powerpoint.
• Ability to understand policy, processes and procedures, but also to recommend improvements and implement changes.
• Excellent analytical skills used to produce reports, identify issues and resolve them decisively.
• Excellent interpersonal skills. The postholder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues, external collaborators and members of the public, and provide excellent customer service at all times while developing and maintaining excellent collegial working relationships with academic staff and external stakeholders, including people with learning disabilities and their families. 
• A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues. 
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach. 
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2012, including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

Desirable criteria

• Experience working with people with learning disabilities in a professional or voluntary role, or through lived experience (e.g., family member)
• Experience conducting or supporting health, education, or social care research
• Postgraduate degree in an academic discipline relevant to IDRIS's research

Informal enquiries to Alexander White, email: a.white.2@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.