Assistant Director; RSSD Head of Research and Systems Innovation - Research Strate

Job Description

Research and Strategy Services

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £58,225 to £67,468 with potential progression once in post to £87,974

Grade: 9

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 24th February 2026

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is 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 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. 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.

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. 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 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.

The REF
2021 concluded that the University of Birmingham is one of the best universities for delivering impactful research in the country and by 2030, the University intends to be one of the world's top 50 leading universities across both education and research.

By uncovering opportunities within the changing research landscape and responding to the needs of our industrial, policy and creative partners, the Research Strategy & Services Division works alongside our inspiring researchers to deliver solutions to improve people’s lives, society, and our planet.

We collaborate across other strategic areas of the University to build partnerships that connect our research and education activities and translate our expertise into real‑world outcomes.

As a newly established Division within Professional Services, we are dedicated to fostering collaboration and working as one team to support the research ambitions of the University; improving processes and supporting innovation to provide a sector‑leading service to our researchers, partners, funders, and the beneficiaries of our research; and providing an inclusive and exciting career path for our professional research support community, in an environment with personal development at its core.

Our Division provides high‑quality insight and support to all elements of the research life‑cycle, from business engagement & research partnerships, and research strategy & development, through to research grants & contracts, post‑award research finance and research impact, all supported by a number of cross‑college teams providing underpinning expertise in research systems and data, research ethics and governance, the  research policy.

The Director of RSSD, Dr Catherine Cochrane, is the most senior Professional Services research lead at the University, and reports to the Registrar & Secretary & Chief Operating Officer, Nicola Owen. From August 2023, Catherine and the…