University of Birmingham
Assistant Director, Learning Environments - Academic Services - 15261 - Grade 9
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Position Details
Academic Services
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 27th September 2026
UK and International travel may be required for this role
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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/staff-benefits]
Background
The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant city, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services play a crucial role in this by providing outstanding support to our researchers, enable an exceptional educational experience for our students, and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.
Team overview
Education Technologies and Learning Environments (ETLE) is a newly formed, pioneering team — one of the few of its kind in UK higher education — sitting at the heart of the University of Birmingham's ambition to become a global top 50 institution. As part of Libraries and Learning Resources within Academic Services, ETLE occupies a uniquely pivotal position: bridging the worlds of technology, pedagogy, and physical space to enable truly transformative education.
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Our vision is bold: learning experiences where technology enables genuine human connection, curiosity is cultivated, and students and academics flourish together — driving discovery that shapes society and addresses global challenges. To realise that vision, ETLE works in close partnership with the University's academic community to navigate educational transformation at pace and at scale. We deliver reliable, responsive support that sustains excellence today, while pioneering innovative learning experiences that harness emerging technologies and pedagogies. Through our work, we enable world-class education, foster collaboration across disciplines, and contribute to the University's ambition to unlock new potential and change how the world works.
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This is an exciting and defining moment to join ETLE. As a newly established team, we are building something genuinely significant — and this role offers a rare opportunity to help shape our culture, our direction, and our impact from the ground up. If you are driven by the desire to lead, innovate, and leave a lasting legacy in higher education, ETLE is where you belong.
Role Summary
This is an exceptional and rare leadership opportunity for a technically authoritative, strategically minded professional who is ready to shape the future of learning environments at one of the UK's most ambitious universities. As Assistant Director, Learning Environments, you will provide expert strategic leadership across a bold and high-impact portfolio encompassing AV and media services, learning space design, immersive and emerging technologies, study spaces, and space operations. With direct influence over more than 300 centrally managed teaching and learning spaces, a budget in excess of £1 million per annum, and a talented, diverse team of over 30 professionals, this is a role where your expertise will genuinely matter: shaping the spaces, technologies, and experiences that define how thousands of students learn, discover, and thrive. If you are passionate about innovation, inspired by the power of great learning environments, and ready to lead at the highest level, this is the role for you.
Main Duties
- Strategic Leadership of Learning Spaces & AV Services: Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive service design and AV strategy across all University teaching, study, and event spaces, ensuring a consistently high-quality, user-focused suite of services across over 300 centrally managed spaces.
- Learning Space Design & Capital Projects: Provide expert leadership and authority on learning space design, including input into new building developments and campus redevelopment projects. Work collaboratively with Estates, ITS, and academic stakeholders to shape the design, specification, and commissioning of innovative, future-ready learning environments.
- Immersive & Emerging Technology: Act as the University's expert authority on immersive and emerging learning technologies (including XR, VR, and lecture capture). Horizon-scan to proactively identify, evaluate, and recommend emerging tools, technologies, and service models that will enhance the quality and innovation of learning spaces and services.
- Standards, Policy & Governance: Devise, maintain, and review a robust framework of standards, policies, and procedures relating to AV, presentation, video conferencing, lecture capture, immersive learning, and study space services, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, codes of practice, and University policies.
- Strategic Planning & Reporting: Contribute to the development of the Library and Learning Resources directorate's strategic and operational plans. Produce high-quality reports, business cases, and briefings for senior leadership, project boards, and governance committees, using data and expert judgement to inform strategic decision-making.
- People Leadership & Team Development: Lead, motivate, and develop a diverse team of over 30 AV/Media Technologists, learning space designers, and student workers through two direct reports (Service Team Lead and Design Team Lead). Foster a high-performance culture, ensuring the team has the technical expertise, skills, and capacity to deliver excellent services. Provide expert technical guidance and upskilling to support team development.
- Service Quality, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement: Lead the development and implementation of evaluation methodologies to assess the effectiveness and impact of learning space services and projects. Use data, insight, and expert judgement to drive continuous improvement and influence future service and investment decisions.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership: Develop and maintain effective relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including the Assistant Director of Digital Education, Head of Portfolio Development, Estates, ITS, academic colleagues, the Library and Learning Resources Senior Leadership Team, and external suppliers and contractors. Engage with senior University leadership, including University Executive Board members and project boards, as required.
- Student & Academic Experience: Ensure that service design and space development decisions are informed by student and academic feedback, usage data, and pedagogical best practice, maintaining a clear and consistent focus on enhancing the quality of the learning and teaching experience across the University.
- Budget & Resource Management: Hold accountability for an annual budget in excess of £1 million, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and efficiently across service delivery, equipment lifecycle, and design projects. Identify financial risks and trends, taking independent action to implement appropriate solutions and ensure delivery on budget.
- Asset & Lifecycle Management: Provide strategic oversight of the lifecycle management of all AV and learning space assets across centrally managed spaces, ensuring timely maintenance, replacement planning, and accurate records of assets, stock, and service activity to support operational and financial planning.
- Supplier & Contract Management: Lead the management of relationships with external installation engineers, maintenance contractors, and technology suppliers, ensuring value for money, quality of delivery, and alignment with University standards and strategic objectives.
- Procurement & Tendering: Lead or contribute to procurement exercises and tendering processes for AV equipment, learning space technology, and associated services, ensuring compliance with University procurement policies and public sector regulations where applicable, and securing best value for the University.
- Risk Management: Identify, assess, and manage operational and strategic risks associated with learning space services, AV infrastructure, and project delivery. Ensure appropriate mitigation plans are in place, escalating risks to senior leadership where necessary, and maintain a proactive approach to risk across all areas of responsibility.
- Business Continuity: Lead the development and maintenance of business continuity plans for critical AV and learning space services, ensuring operational resilience and minimal disruption to teaching and learning activity in the event of service failure or other unforeseen circumstances
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