Senior Engagement and Training Coordinator - IT Services -107056 - Grade 8 at University of Birmingham

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2031

This role will focus primarily on engagement and training around the Baskerville NCR, supporting a distributed community of researchers across the UK. At the same time, the post holder will join the team in supporting and building communities within the University. REDG’s role is to build relationships, maximising the take-up of the available services and ensuring diverse research areas can benefit from the service offerings by raising awareness, providing support and facilitating training, exploiting the expertise in the wider team. In relation to training, it is expected that this role will be focused on management and coordination, with the majority of the specialist training being delivered by Research Software Engineers from the Research Software Group. 

Main duties

• Lead and manage outreach around the NCR, contributing to internal outreach activities as required.
• Working collaboratively, form partnerships within ARC, with academics, within IT Services and other professional services, across the University, and particularly with other national HEIs and research organisations.
• Manage and coordinate service communications around the NCR, seeking expert technical input or delegating when required. Amongst other things, the task involves handling the messaging around both planned and unplanned outages accurately and diplomatically, ensuring the quality of the NCR’s webpages, the production of promotional material, as well as building and maintaining contact mail lists and relationships with relevant Comms teams within the University, and other organisations e.g. UKRI.
• Develop, organise, promote and support the NCR’s training programme of advanced skills for research staff and students using ARC trainers, academics and externals. Explore and exploit a variety of delivery modes to best meet the needs of users and to make effective use of the available and limited resources.
• Coordinate and generate appropriate supporting training material for remote use using multiple media e.g. video clips or online learning modules to increase accessibility and productivity.
• Proactively seek out and engage with research groups unfamiliar with the NCR to facilitate solutions for them and raise awareness of how to apply via appropriate research funding applications.
• Drive the development of an active user community through: 
• Launch and showcase events across the UK research community
• Seminars and networking events, locally, regionally and nationally
• Coordination of challenge events or hackathons
• Encouraging best practices and the sharing of knowledge and or experience including through technology Special Interest Groups and 
• The creation and curation of research case studies, and recognition through citations in publications to demonstrate the success of the service and return on UKRI’s investment (and to meet the requirements of the NCR grant).
• Originate, source and maintain appropriate documentation to ensure that the NCR service remains accessible to a wide range of disciplines.
• Support the delivery of research-led teaching activity delivered by ARC.
• Liaise and engage with external professional networks within the HPC sector, such as the HPC-SIG, to keep informed of the latest developments and sector initiatives, and promote the NCR service.
• Seek feedback from users to enrich the user experience, particularly around training needs.
• In addition to University provided training and development, you will undertake sufficient personal and professional development as required, ensuring skills and knowledge are up to date, so that the role is performed to the required level.
• When requested, lead projects involving staff from other teams of IT Services, and research groups, following IT Services’ standard project management techniques, to achieve the agreed project brief.
• Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion 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

• Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification, preferably in a subject with a strong data component. A higher degree may also be held. Where no equivalent qualification is held a proven track record of extensive and substantial work experience in a series of progressively more demanding and relevant roles will be required.
• Broad and deep experience advising and supporting researchers with complex computing needs with the ability to synthesise and translate complex technical services and issues for non-technical users of the service.
• A strong understanding of the needs of researchers and how these might differ from corporate IT settings.
• Sound understanding of core computing concepts including networking, security and scripting as well as a broad appreciation of the technologies that underpin the delivery of supercomputing services.
• Familiar with UNIX or Linux as well as Windows PCs and Mac, and some associated software applications.
• Good customer relationship management skills, coupled with high levels of diplomacy and the ability to deal with all levels of professional and academic staff.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a busy environment with competing demands.
• Proven excellent communication skills through multiple media.
• Proven ability to work as part of a team to deliver service.
• Knowledge of Higher Education, Research and its environment.
• A self-motivated learner with a track record of continually updating skills.
• Experience with line management or supervision is desirable.
• Familiarity with ITIL or service management would be an advantage.
• GCSEs to a minimum of grade C/4 in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications). 
• 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.

End Date: 12th April 2026