University of Birmingham are looking for someone who is interested and passionate about sustainability and environmental issues. The post holder will lead, facilitate and manage the development and implementation of change initiatives across the University, aligned to our Green Goals.
The University of Birmingham are looking for someone who is interested and passionate about sustainability and environmental issues; substantial work experience in this field is preferred but not essential, experience in leading successful change and engagement projects and programmes is key.
They are looking for someone who has leadership skills, someone who can build partnerships and establish a strong network both across our University and in the wider Higher Education sector. The post holder will lead, facilitate and manage the development and implementation of change initiatives across the University, aligned to their Green Goals. The post holder must be skilled at seeking out opportunities for collaboration, inspiring and encouraging commitment to change. The post holder must be able to communicate clearly, tailoring messaging and content for a diverse audience. The post holder should be open to seeking out new practices and ways of working from within the institution and beyond. The post holder must be comfortable working with ambiguity and able to find solutions to problems. The post holder must be flexible and able to prioritise their workload to deliver simultaneous and interdependent priorities to a high standard.
This is a full-time role and the post holder will be based at their Edgbaston Campus. As this is a role which has a strong component of engaging with our large community of staff and students who live and work here, presence on campus is an important part of the role. The University supports hybrid working where feasible and appropriate, the post holder may spend up to two days per week working away from campus, subject to review and agreement and alignment with the University’s hybrid working policy.
The University offers a competitive salary for the post with potential progression to £48,149 a year. In addition, the University offers a wide range of benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme, opportunities to join staff networks, formal and informal learning and development opportunities, and flexibility.
We pride ourselves on our collaborative approach and customer focus and are looking to recruit an individual who has values in line with ours: Ambitious, Open, Responsible, Collaborative and Innovative. We are open and welcoming to people from all walks of life and believe that a diverse team with a mix of perspectives and experiences provides the best environment for success.
The right candidate will join over 10,000 staff at the University, with opportunities to join staff networks such as the Rainbow Network, Parents and Carers’ Network, Women’s Network, Race Equality Network, and Enabling Staff Network. They will benefit from good holidays and a pension scheme, flexibility (we are currently working to a pattern of three or four days from campus), and lots of opportunities for learning and development.
Main Duties
- Work with the Head of Sustainability to foster commitment from our colleges and professional services divisions to achieve our Green Goals
- Build strong working relationships with key stakeholders through a blend of one-to-one meetings, workshops, presentations, engagement events and other activities
- Provide advice and guidance on the University’s approach sustainability and our Green Goals
- Chair sustainability meetings and/or action groups, including preparing agenda, minutes and ensure decisions are implemented
- Provide oral or written reports for Sustainability Governance Groups (or wider University groups) as required
- Identify where colleges, schools and/or professional services divisions can deliver greatest impact and lead the creation of bespoke action plans
- Guide the implementation and delivery of Green Goal action plans; develop a mechanism and framework to monitor and report progress risks to achieving our environmental goals and priorities
- Identify and deliver solutions to increase staff knowledge, skills and confidence to implement the Green Goals
- Establish and manage communities of practice to improve collaboration, sharing and alignment to the Green Goals across the University; support the management of the sustainability champions network with the sustainability engagement action group
- Seek out examples of best practice in other Higher Education sectors; build an external network of sustainability professionals to share best practice
- Develop and deliver concept-prove projects designed to improve environmentally responsible practices
- Identify internal and external resources to support and deliver the University’s sustainability work, including writing business cases for resources and/or seeking endorsement to embed initiatives
- Provide advice and content to develop or adapt UoB policy as required
- Gather and share examples and evidence of successes and achievements to celebrate; develop written content for internal and external communications to foster commitment to the Green Goals, including content for the annual Sustainability in Focus publication
- Contribute to the development and delivery of the wider sustainability team communication and engagement activity, including delivering UoB Green Week, UoB Xtra events and Sustainability Champion events
- Deliver initiatives to engage our students in the Green Goals, raising awareness of institutional progress and identifying opportunities for students to contribute to our Goals
- Support the University’s wider sustainability agenda as required, including (but not limited to) league table submission and improvement action plans
The post holder is required to be flexible in developing their role and will from time to time be required to undertake any other duties commensurate with the grading of the post, including deputising for the Head of Sustainability where appropriate.
