Position Details
Research Strategy & Services Division
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Salary: £58,225 to £67,468 (potential progression to £87,974)
Grade: 9
Full Time, Permanent
Closing date: 19th May 2026
Role Summary
The Head of Research Impact provides strategic and operational leadership for the development, coordination and delivery of research impact across the University.
Main Duties
* Lead the development and implementation of the University’s Research Impact Strategy, working closely with the DPVC (Research Impact), BERI leadership, and College teams, to ensure alignment.
* Contribute to the strategic leadership of the Business Engagement and Research Impact (BERI) service as a member of the BERI Senior Management Team.
* Manage a team of 9 Research Impact professionals, creating a strong and inclusive ‘one team’ culture that can work in an agile way across research disciplines.
* Provide expert operational leadership and coordination of the University’s REF2029 and future research excellence submissions, working alongside the DPVC (Research Impact) and College Impact & Engagement Leads, and provide authoritative advice to academic staff and senior leadership on REF impact case study development.
* Develop and oversee institutional frameworks that embed impact considerations across the research life‑cycle, from early‑stage research development through to partnership building, policy engagement, and evidence capture. Identify emerging opportunities and policy developments relating to research impact, advising the University on their strategic implications.
* Provide specialist advice and guidance to colleagues across the BERI team to support the wider development of REF impact knowledge and create increased capacity and capability to support REF impact case studies. Work with BERI and colleagues from across the University to strengthen the University’s profile and influence in policy, industry, and societal engagement.
* Work closely with colleagues from across the University to leverage support to increase the gravitas of individual impact case studies – including colleagues working with industry, across public sector partners, regionally, nationally and internationally.
* Lead initiatives to strengthen the University’s research impact environment, ensuring that impact is recognised, supported and celebrated across disciplines and career stages, including the development of training, mentoring and development opportunities for research to enhance their understanding of research impact and the pathway to achieving it.
* Oversee the development and effective use of institutional systems and processes for capturing and evidencing research impact, working with the RSSD Research Performance & Systems Team to ensure robust data, evidence capture, and reporting mechanisms to support the REF and wider impact monitoring.
* Work closely with Research Development and Pre‑Award teams across RSSD and the College Hubs to ensure that ambitious and credible impact strategies are embedded within major research funding proposals, including UKRI, Horizon Europe and other strategic funding programmes.
* 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.
* Strong working knowledge and experience of the UK higher education and research sector and environment.
* Proven leadership and team management experience, ideally in complex matrix environments.
Specialist Knowledge
* Extensive experience in research impact development and REF impact case study delivery, ideally within a research‑intensive university.
* Deep understanding of the REF impact framework, criteria, and expectations—including policy and sector developments in this area.
Advisory and Analytical Skills
* Outstanding project and programme management skills, including timeline planning, risk management, and stakeholder coordination.
* Strong data and systems awareness, ideally including familiarity with research information systems (e.g. PURE).
Communication and Engagement
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to influence senior academic leaders and coach case study authors.
* Ability to analyse complex evidence, write persuasively, and support narrative development for a range of audiences.
* Confident in building relationships and communicating with credibility at all levels, including with senior leaders, researchers, and external partners.
Collaboration and Influence
* Experience of working collaboratively across teams to deliver shared outcomes.
* Skilled in building professional networks and influencing change through constructive dialogue and engagement.
* A strategic thinker who delivers; proactive, resilient, and comfortable working under pressure and to REF‑level deadlines.
Organisational and Strategic Awareness
* Good understanding of the research environment within a UK higher education context, and the operational realities of delivering a Research Excellence submission for a large and complex institution.
* Proactive in keeping abreast of external developments and emerging change that will affect the development, submission and success factors for the REF2029 submission.
Values and Professionalism
* Committed to academic values and the societal impact of research.
* Collaborative and inclusive, able to build consensus across diverse disciplines and perspectives.
* Innovative and improvement‑focused, always seeking better ways to support research and researchers.
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