The Role
We are looking for a passionate, motivated professional to support Enterprising Futures an initiative founded by Newcastle University graduate, philanthropist and entrepreneur Rob Wood.
As part of a £1.25 million donation, Enterprising Futures is advancing the University’s enterprise and entrepreneurship offer to students and graduates as well as our outreach work in secondary education.
Reporting directly to the Senior Manager for Entrepreneurship and Start-up, the post holder will also work closely with colleagues in Student Recruitment, Advancement and Student Success and report to the Enterprising Futures Steering Group.
Your role will be to work across teams and third-party stakeholders to ensure we are delivering an outstanding set of experiences across Enterprising Futures.
We are currently working with a hybrid approach to some remote and some place-based working and are happy to support candidates who want to relocate from outside of the region.
The post is full time, fixed term until 31st July 2028.
About you
To be successful in this role you should have experience of the education sector (Higher Education or Secondary Education). You will need to demonstrate the ability to work on complex projects to challenging deadlines as well as excellent organisational, interpersonal and written skills.
An essential element of this role will be your ability to influence stakeholders to ensure they are fully engaged in the successful implementation of the projects and initiatives you are working on.
Next steps
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Claire Adamson e:
To apply, please upload a copy of your CV and a letter of application which evidences how you meet the knowledge, skills and experience outlined in the person specification.
Key Accountabilities
1. Coordinate and lead project teams comprising of internal staff and third-party suppliers to ensure a collaborative and focussed approach in the delivery of the project
2. Maintain focus on the desired outcome of the project ensuring appropriate and continued engagement throughout
3. Where appropriate manage any budgets associated with the project controlling the expenditures within agreed tolerance and monitoring the costs against project deliverables
4. Create and maintain appropriate communication channels in order to ensure effective and timely communication with all stakeholders. This should include regular stakeholder meetings and updates to the Enterprising Futures Steering Group
5. To prepare and present project reports, project documentation and data reports relating to the project
6. Facilitate the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables and where appropriate develop business case details to enable selection of options. These should include a cost/benefit analysis for each option as appropriate including recommendations
7. Define project products and tasks in order to develop appropriate project plans and resource requirements
8. Lead the planning and initiation of projects and initiatives ensuring the correct governance is in place and appropriate stakeholders are involved
9. Ensure that the benefits of the project are identified, owned and tracked in order to support the effective evaluation and where appropriate continued delivery or wider deployment of the work
10. To lead on discussions regarding the student experience, digital student experience and the international student experience
11. Organise and deliver events to engage stakeholders and raise awareness of the work of Enterprising Futures and the wider Student Recruitment and Careers Service teams
12. Maintain a high level of awareness of relevant activities, benchmarking, good practice, policy matters and trends within Higher and Secondary Education
13. Engage with sector wide developments and innovation with a view to developing best practice within the team
14. To undertake any other duties reasonably requested in the delivery of Enterprising Futures and the University’s wider strategic objectives
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
15. Experience of working in a Higher Education Institution or similar mutli-faceted organisation
16. Experience of working with and managing the expectations of numerous stakeholders
17. Proven track record in managing complex projects or workstreams with measurable impact
18. Has the ability to see the “big picture”, to think strategically and to manage complex problems and issues
19. Understanding of the importance of Risk Management
20. Ability to develop a project plan and the ability to use various analytical and planning tools and techniques
21. Demonstrable experience of adopting and/ or developing sector standard evaluation frameworks to track and measure impact
22. Experience of conducting market research (primary and secondary)
23. Able to demonstrate effective leadership and motivational skills
24. Experience of developing and maintaining collaborative relationships and initiatives with a range of internal and external partners
25. Ability to work on own initiative, taking decisions and actions to deliver project outcomes and the needs of all beneficiaries
26. Ability to tailor communications to suit the audience and ability to influence decisions to maintain a focus on the delivery of a successful outcome
27. Experience of providing regular and ad-hoc reporting to a range of audiences, both verbally and written as appropriate and to agreed quality standards
28. Use of MS Office software (eg Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
29. Use of collaboration tools (eg Sharepoint, Microsoft Groups/Teams, Yammer)
Attributes and Behaviour
30. Ability to manage and prioritise a complex portfolio workload, solve problems and use own initiative appropriately.
31. Ability to be highly flexible and adaptable in the workplace and manage ambiguity and change positively.
32. Ability to work effectively alone as well as within different teams and groups, both internal and external to the organisation
33. Is able to achieve change at individual and functional level
34. Reviews and revises plans to meet with changing circumstances
35. Develops and implements new ideas
36. Willing to help others and share workloads
37. Works in a planned and structured way
38. A willingness to work irregular hours including evenings, weekends and intensive weeks when required, sometimes involving regional and national travel
Qualifications
39. A degree and/or relevant professional qualification (e.g. PRINCE2) or relevant experience in project management
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a Gold award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 28942