Position Details
Research Strategy and Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606
Grade: 8
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 14th October 2025
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
Background
Research Strategy & Services Division
The University is one of the UK's leading research-intensive institutions, committed to delivering outstanding research and fostering strong partnerships with industry. As part of this commitment, the Research Strategy & Services Division (RSSD) provides integrated, end-to-end support for research & innovation activities, bringing together professionals in a vibrant community of connected teams.
To further strengthen our support for industry-funded research, we are introducing a new role within the College Hub serving the Colleges of Engineering & Physical Sciences and Life & Environmental Sciences. The Industry Contracts Partner will play a vital role in delivering a responsive and commercially minded contracting service, working at the interface between academic teams, industry collaborators, and the University's professional services.
Role Summary
The Industry Contracts Partner will lead the negotiation and costing of research contracts with industry partners, ensuring alignment with University policy and sector best practice. Operating within a collaborative team environment, the post holder will provide expert advice on contractual risk, conduct due diligence checks, and contribute to regulatory compliance activities.
This is a pivotal role for a contracts specialist who thrives on complexity, innovation, and collaboration. It requires a deep understanding of university-industry engagement, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to manage complex and sensitive contractual issues. The post holder will be a key contact for internal and external stakeholders and will play an active role in developing resources and training to strengthen contract management across the wider research support community.
Main Duties
* Lead on the negotiation and drafting of a portfolio of industry-funded research contracts, ensuring alignment with institutional policy and relevant legislation.
* Provide expert guidance on the costing and pricing of industry contracts, ensuring full economic costing and strategic pricing policies are appropriately applied.
* Conduct and/or review due diligence and export control checks for industry partners, liaising with senior academics and external stakeholders to ensure effective risk mitigation.
* Work closely with the Business Engagement & Research Impact (BERI) team to provide a seamless commercial interface with industry partners.
* Collaborate with Research Support Managers and other colleagues within the College Hubs to ensure contracts are developed in alignment with wider research activity and operational procedures.
* Provide advice and guidance to colleagues in the Hub teams on their own negotiation of industry contracts.
* Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory frameworks (e.g. Export Control, National Security & Investment Act, FIRS) and support the implementation of relevant compliance activities.
* Support the Assistant Director (Contracts Policy & Compliance) in the delivery of workshops, training materials, and written guidance for research contracting to build capacity across RSSD.
* Provide authoritative advice to academic staff and senior leadership on complex contractual issues and associated risks.
* Contribute to cross-team working, resource sharing, and peer review of contract activity across the Hubs to ensure consistent standards and avoid siloed working.
* Act as a contracts signatory with delegated authority, providing quality assurance on agreements developed by other members of the team.
* Assist in the review and refinement of contract-related processes to support continuous improvement and efficiency.
* Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, sector trends, and best practices in contracting.
* Undertake any other duties commensurate with the level of the role.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Education and Experience
* Educated to degree level or with equivalent professional experience gained in a research-intensive or regulatory environment.
* Substantial experience of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating research-related contracts, preferably in a higher education, commercial research, or technology transfer setting.
* Proven experience of working with academic researchers and external partners (especially industry) to support collaborative research.
Specialist Knowledge
* Strong working knowledge of contract law, intellectual property rights, and terms relevant to industry-facing research agreements.
* Demonstrable experience of applying full economic costing (FEC) principles and pricing models in a research or commercial setting.
* Familiarity with key regulatory and compliance areas relevant to research partnerships, e.g. Export Control, National Security & Investment Act, Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, or willingness to develop specialist knowledge in these areas.
Contractual and Advisory Skills
* Excellent negotiation and influencing skills, with the ability to resolve complex issues in a way that balances risk and opportunity.
* Confidence in advising academic and professional stakeholders on contract terms, risk implications, and compliance considerations.
* Ability to manage a diverse portfolio of agreements, delivering outcomes efficiently and with sound professional judgement.
Communication and Engagement
* Excellent communication skills, with experience of drafting guidance, reports, and policy papers for varied audiences.
* Ability to work with confidence, flexibility, and agility to meet the fast-paced demands of industry partners, ensuring efficient turnaround times while maintaining contractual integrity - recognising that commercial timelines often differ from traditional academic processes.
* Able to build effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including academics, industry partners, and RSSD colleagues.
Teamwork and Collaboration
* A collegiate and flexible team player, committed to contributing to an integrated and high-performing research support service.
* Experience of working across functional boundaries to achieve shared goals, including contributing to crpss-team initiatives, training, and guidance.
* Resilient, solutions-focused, and proactive, with the confidence to work independently while knowing when to escalate.
* Highly organised, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing competing priorities to meet institutional and partner deadlines.
* A commitment to continuous improvement, integrity, and excellence in service delivery.
Values and Professionalism
* Resilient, solutions-focused, and proactive, with the confidence to work independently while knowing when to escalate.
* Highly organised, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing competing priorities to meet institutional and partner deadlines.
* A commitment to continuous improvement, integrity, and excellence in service delivery.
Role context
Roles at this level provide authoritative professional advice and opinion across a range of activities and/or will lead and manage diverse team(s) and resources. You will use your professional skills to resolve problems where the solution is not immediately apparent. Significant evaluation and independent thought is therefore required to resolve ambiguity. You will have wide discretion to decide on direction whilst ensuring activities are broadly consistent with operational policies. You will be able to influence policy through advising on the impact of policy change and implementation in your area of work. You will need to assess the impact of your activities across your area, with related areas and to ensure they fit with the broader objectives of the University.
Core competencies/transferable skills
Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully use the following core competencies/transferable skills in each of the areas shown below. You will be expected to take ownership for getting things done, including calling on or joining others to assist. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.
Planning and organising
* provide professional expertise, and manage resources and/or a diverse team;
* integrate and co-ordinate work across different parts of the department/university;
* project manage activities to facilitate major changes;
* develop policy within functional guidelines, and contribute to strategic development within own area;
* be accountable for the quality and professionalism of service delivery, with an appreciation of longer term issues.
Problem solving and decision making
* anticipate, interpret and assess customer needs, identifying trends, generating original ideas and testing innovative solutions;
* resolve issues which may not have arisen before through use of experience and judgement.
Organisational understanding
* have an excellent understanding of your own working area and a broad understanding of the contribution other areas make to the success of the University;
* have an excellent understanding of how the University operates, together with an understanding of how academia operates in the UK;
* demonstrate empathy with the academic endeavour and seek to encourage others to do so.
Relationships and communication
* use coaching skills to motivate and develop staff;
* influence others (including across the University) to follow a particular course of action;
represent the department at internal and external meetings/events/network with colleagues in other institutions to share best practice.
Informal enquiries to Nathalie Maillard, email:
View our staff values and behaviours here
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .