The Role and Department
The Senior Project Manager will enable the delivery of 'Reimagining Governance for a Flourishing Research Culture' project. They will be pivotal in enabling the strategic objectives of the project, will deliver the operational and process management of the programme and be critical in the development and dissemination of the projects aims, outcomes and communication. The Senior Project Manager will have excellent organisational, analytical and process management skills, and be experienced in creating and nurturing positive collaborative relationships.
To facilitate the operational and technical delivery of the project within Research and Innovation Services (RIS), the post-holder's line manager will be the Director of Research Development and Operations but their day to day work will be directed by the project lead, the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and the Research Culture Manger (also a Co-I on the project). They will be embedded within the project team. The team includes the co-applicants: Professor Ari Saranandom (Department of Biosciences), Professor Fuschia Sirois (Department of Psychology), Dr Ladan Cockshut (Assistant Professor (Research) and Co-I for Evaluation), Dr Beth Upex (Senior Technical Manager, Department of Archaeology) and Andrew Moss (Research Culture Manager, RIS), an external consultant, and four postdoctoral research associates. We are a cross-departmental and cross-faculty team and will be based in a collaborative space in a central office. We also offer the opportunity for flexible hybrid working subject to the business delivery requirements of the project.
The Senior Project Manager will be supported by the Research Culture Team in RIS which sits within the Research Development Team. The Senior Project Manager will be expected to work closely with teams from across the division particularly the Research Policy Team. As well as working with various teams and colleagues within RIS, the post-holder will work across the university with different divisions including the four academic faculties, University Research Institutes, HR, Governance Support Services, and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion unit. The Senior Project Manager will work alongside external stakeholders, especially the external consultant and charitable organisation engaged with the project.
This role is an exciting opportunity for someone who wishes to develop a career in project management and university research governance and administration. The role requires someone who has the drive and desire to bring about effective culture change and wishes to engage in innovative approaches to co-create and advance a positive research culture at Durham across the research community.
Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.
Research and Innovation Services
Research and Innovation Services (RIS) provides guidance, expert advice and hands-on support for all aspects of research and research-related work, including securing funding, working with partners, undertaking knowledge exchange, demonstrating impact, commercialising outputs, ensuring good research practice and supporting professional development.
Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.
Working arrangements
This role is full time (35 hours/week) but we will consider requests for flexible working arrangements including potential job shares. It is expected that this role will be predominantly face-to-face on campus, and the successful applicant will be prepared to locate to the northeast of England. There will be some scope for hybrid working arrangements in agreement with line manager, but this post will not be fully hybrid.
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