Co-Aims Senior Project Manager - School of Engineering - 106369 - Grade 8

Position Details

School Of Engineering

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 September 2029
• Closing date: 22nd October 2025

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

Co-AIMS Research Hub Overview

Co-AIMS is a £13.7 million national research hub funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). It units seven universities and High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres with over 50 partners from industry, innovation, and government to position the UK as a world leader in AI-powered sustainable manufacturing. Combining pioneering research with industry-led flagships, the hub’s vision is to deliver robust, trustworthy AI systems that boost productivity, resilience, and environmental performance. The hub-and-spoke model connects universities as research “spokes” to address real-world challenges across priority sectors. This is a timely, transformative initiative: leveraging cutting-edge AI to reduce waste and emissions while empowering workers and businesses to adapt sustainably in the face of global disruptions. Co-AIMS offers a unique opportunity to drive UK leadership in human-centred, ethical AI for manufacturing.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/new-research-hub-could-revolutionise-ai-based-manufacturing 

Role Summary

The Co-AIMS Hub Manager will play a critical leadership role in delivering the UK’s flagship research initiative on AI-powered sustainable manufacturing. This position will require engaging confidently with senior stakeholders from universities, industry partners, regulators, and policy makers to build strong, collaborative relationships. The manager will oversee complex budgets, ensuring effective allocation and monitoring of funds, and establish clear, efficient communication channels between all funded and contributing partners. They will help shape and deliver the national research agenda, support the growth of additional research activity, and co-create the hub’s long-term sustainability strategy beyond the initial funding period. A core responsibility will be to foster an equitable, diverse, and inclusive research environment across all hub spokes and partners, ensuring that EDI principles are embedded in all activities. The manager will also lead the development of a comprehensive training and development programme for hub research staff and PhD students, cultivating the next generation of skilled leaders in AI for sustainable manufacturing.

Main Duties

Project Delivery

• Responsible for managing a large, multi-institution research hub that has contributors from research, innovation and industrial backgrounds. This will include all of the following:
• leading on the management of the hub, including influencing and developing complex project plans;
• creating and maintaining an overall project management plan for the whole hub using project management principles and using appropriate software;
• identifying objectives and indicators of success;
• planning, organising and maintaining a regular schedule of hub meetings and ensuring sufficient engagement by all relevant parties to the hub;
• establish effective networking relationships with all stakeholders;
• managing the budget for the hub as required;
• delivering hub outputs agreed with senior management, on time, to budget and to the agreed quality standard.

Monitoring, evaluation and communication 

• Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation strategy for the research hub. 
• Establish and implement reporting procedures which meet requirements, and ensure all necessary data is gathered in a timely and efficient manner.
• Analyse data to determine if it is fit for purpose, and take appropriate action to ensure data quality where necessary. 
• Develop reporting mechanisms for the hub then report on hub progress to the hub boards and highlight any risks.
• Maintain a risk register as appropriate, and communicate risks in a timely manner, proactively proposing solutions. 
• Engage and communicate with a variety of stakeholders to ensure progress but also to disseminate outputs of the hub as appropriate. 

General

• Actively manages equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour. 
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working. 
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Relevant degree or relevant equivalent professional qualification, plus significant project management experience (in increasingly large and/or complex projects) or substantial relevant experience evidencing the experience required in this role.
• Formal Project Management qualifications such as APMP, Prince2 or MSP.
• Authoritative knowledge of the work practices, processes and procedures relevant to the role, including broader sector/commercial awareness.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly for a variety of audiences, and to produce and analyse source material, information and data.
• Proven ability to meet targets, with minimal supervision to deadlines.
• Substantial experience of engaging, and collaborating, with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills that will help to identify and implement improvements and efficiencies across the hub project you work on. 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of managing large financial budgets along with experience of budget planning and forecasting.
• Highly proficient IT skills, including the MS Office suite. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required. 
• Excellent people management skills, with proven 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.
• Experience of championing Equity, 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.

Dimensions

Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice across a range of activities and will help manage diverse teams and resources across organisational boundaries. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought are therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University and the funding body EPSRC. 

Planning And Organising

• provide professional expertise, and manage resources and/or a diverse team;
• integrate and co-ordinate work across different parts of the hub and university;
• lead and manage staff who are likely to be carrying out diverse duties, and ensure collaborative working to deliver a successful service;
• project manage activities to facilitate major changes;
• develop policy within functional guidelines, and contribute to strategic development within own area;
• be accountable for the quality and professionalism of service delivery, with an appreciation of longer term issues.

Problem Solving and decision making

• anticipate, interpret and assess customer needs, identifying trends, generating original ideas and testing innovative solutions; 
• deal with significant people management issues such as change programmes;
• resolve issues which may not have arisen before through use of experience and judgement. 

Internal and External relationships

• has an excellent understanding of their own working area and a broad understanding of the contribution other areas make to the success of the research hub; 
• has an excellent understanding of how Universities and RTOs within the hub operate, together with an understanding of how academia operates in the UK;
• demonstrates empathy with the academic endeavour and seeks to encourage others to do so; 
• use coaching skills to motivate and develop staff;
• proactively and sensitively manage the performance of their team and create a motivating environment;
• influence others (including across the hub) to follow a particular course of action;
• represent the hub at internal and external meetings/events/network with colleagues in other institutions to share best practice.

Informal enquiries to Professor Niels Lohse, Co-AIMS Hub Director, email: n.lohse@bham.ac.uk 

View our staff values and behaviours here 

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.