Research and Impact Manager

Key Responsibilities

Research Management

• Manage the Centre’s income generation activities.
• Support bidding for external funding (pre and post award) including horizon scanning of funding opportunities, costing/pricing, approvals, development etc.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders effectively (Finance, Legal, Research, Enterprise and Scholarship, Business Development Unit, Development Office, Learner and Discovery Services).
• Manage the Centre's Knowledge Exchange (KE) and impact activities and processes, including collation of evidence and preparation of reports.
• Support Senior Manager in financial monitoring and reporting on internally and externally funded projects.
• Support Director and Senior Centre Development Manager in reporting on Centre's and projects’ milestones.
• Carry out administrative tasks associated with the role, such as attending group management meetings, governance and reporting on activities.
• Deputise for the Senior Centre Development Manager (as appropriate) and provide cover for members of the FBL Research, Enterprise, Scholarship team as needed; share skills to extend expertise of the team as a whole.

Comms and Public Engagement

• Coordinate the Centre’s networks and partnerships.
• Develop a programme of engagement that supports vision of the Centre.
• Develop and manage the Centre's comms strategy alongside the central comms team; liaise with Central and Faculty based Comms teams and other internal stakeholders as appropriate.
• Stay up to date with Centre’s remit and research/KE developments.
• Promote the Centre externally including virtual presence and social media platforms (website, blogs, newsletters).
• Undertake horizon scanning of new comms and engagement opportunities and keep up to date with developments in public engagement.
• Provide advice and support to members of the centre (staff and PhD students), in planning, co-creating and delivering engagement activities.
• Work in collaboration with the Centre’s Director, Research Team, Senior Centre Development Manager and Centre Coordinator to support and operationalise Centre’s core strategic priorities.
• Plan, conduct, analyse and report the findings from evaluation of engagement activities.
• Prepare briefings and updates for various stakeholders and audiences.
• Liaise with other units at the Open University on Knowledge Exchange, policy, comms, impact etc.

About You

Essential criteria:

• Educated to a degree level or have equivalent experience in a relevant role.
• Previous operational and/or research management/grant administration experience.
• Proven experience in managing multiple projects and key internal and external stakeholder relationships successfully.
• Previous experience of setting and managing finance budgets.
• Proven analytical skills and the ability to interpret, advise on, and adhere to policy and procedures, excellent attention to detail.
• Awareness of the Higher Education (HE) funding environment, the Research Excellence Framework and the ‘Impact Agenda’.
• Understanding of effective social media engagement and management within HE/research context.
• Ability to work collaboratively and contribute to effective team working.
• Well-developed interpersonal and negotiation skills, enabling effective collaboration and influence in situations where there is no direct authority.
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines and adapt to changing priorities and reflect on stakeholder feedback.

Desirable criteria:

• A project Management qualification.
• Interest in the Centre’s remit.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work location

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that attendance on our Milton Keynes campus will be required. There is an expectation that you will work from our Milton Keynes office at least 1 day per week but this role requires flexibility to attend campus according to business need and so there will be occasions when attendance more than once a week is required.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

If shortlisted, we anticipate interviews taking place online on 7th or 8th September.

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

Please apply via our site at the link provided.