Description:
The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) in the School of Engineering is one of the largest specialist centres of its kind, with over 160 academics, researchers and professional services staff. Its work covers research on campus and at external locations, working with industry partners to develop and introduce new products and services for the rail industry.
BCRRE is lead partner in the industry-led UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) and is pivotal to the successful establishment and operation of the network. The newly-opened Centre of Excellence in Digital Systems (CEDS) will see collaborators from industry and academia co-working with BCRRE researchers to deliver substantial new multi-disciplinary projects in collaboration with multiple partners across the university and with industry, with significant research impact in many of its Schools.
Summary of Role
This is a key role to ensure the success of both UKRRIN and BCRRE research outputs for impact. The post holder will provide direction and professional support for lab-based experiments, field trials, and a safe and effective working environment for everyone using the UKRRIN CEDS and BCRRE facilities.
The post holder will liaise widely with BCRRE, School and College-level colleagues to ensure and oversee issues relating to safe, efficient operation of the UKRRIN CEDS and BCRRE facilities; all aspects of Health & Safety; risk assessments; confidentiality/Intellectual Property; and relevant operational elements of UKRRIN partners’ contracts (including, e.g. office and lab usage). The nature of the job requires a large degree of initiative and autonomy and collaborative skills to work with a diverse group of academic and industrial colleagues. The post holder may also contribute to wider College activities/policy/procedures through close cooperation with other colleagues across a number of disciplines.
Main Duties / Responsibilities
- The post holder works closely with the School of Engineering’s Technical Manager, the BCRRE operations group and key academics in BCRRE. They will be/become familiar with the operations and experimental activities carried out in CEDS and across BCRRE, and be/become fully conversant and up-to-date with legislation, regulations and University/School policies relating to these activities. Typical duties include:
- Establishing and operating safe and pleasant working practices and processes, across office, breakout and laboratory spaces, and across staff, students and industrial collaborators.
- Delivering health & safety, laboratory and building induction programmes, including access to relevant working areas. Ensuring key health & safety activities take place, including coordination of electrical, fire and water safety. Liaise with the School of Engineering’s Technical Manager to coordinate fire marshals and first aiders within the facility.
- Allocating working spaces for staff and PGR students in accordance with current SoE/BCRRE policies for collaboration, safe working environments, etc.
- Ensuring laboratory access, experimental and booking processes are fit-for-purpose, and amending them as appropriate. Scheduling activities into relevant spaces according to bookings received. Coordinating access for industrial collaborators, to ensure confidentiality of research whilst enabling collaboration.
- Coordinating equipment and facilities allocation, and operating an equipment/facilities booking system for University of Birmingham staff, students, industrial collaborators and secondees to use. Maintaining logs of which equipment is in use and where, and reporting this in relation to each project (where required).
- Guiding staff, students, and industrial collaborators in the development of risk assessments and standard operating procedures for laboratory and field experiments, and equipment.
- Coordinating safe and timely field trials, including obtaining, or advice on how to obtain, relevant industry-standard permissions, using specialist knowledge, and providing logistics support. Where required, support for arranging travel and accommodation to/from/during field trials for staff and equipment.
- Support for activity-planning of BCRRE technicians, negotiating with researchers and interfacing with the School of Engineering’s Technical Manager, BCRRE operational management and Estates to ensure the smooth operations of the facility, laboratories and experimental work.
- Providing expert advice to staff and students in the practical development of experimental facilities.
- Assisting CEDS/BCRRE staff in choosing and procuring new equipment, as appropriate. This may include arranging for the demonstration of equipment, obtaining quotations and assisting academic members of staff with the procurement process for the purchase of major items of equipment and ensuring the CEDS/BCRRE complies with University policy on procurement. Ensuring the CEDS/BCRRE achieves the best deal/value for money on all purchases, including consumables. Where relevant, provide advice on installation issues.
- Work closely with other BCRRE and UKRRIN staff to propose ideas to ensure facilities meet the needs of ever-changing research requirements, and to implement agreed changes.
Person Specification
- Honours degree in a related area (or have equivalent experience).
- Experience of working in a role dealing with a wide variety of industrial and academic personnel
- Broad-ranging relevant expertise, including knowledge of (or an enthusiasm to learn about) the rail industry, UKRRIN and BCRRE.
- People-management skills with a successful track record of leading, managing, adapting and motivating people in order to meet current and future needs, including those not directly reporting to the post holder.
- Communication skills, both written and oral, communicating with and engaging staff at all levels in the organisation.
- Ability to negotiate, mediate and deal effectively with sensitive or difficult issues.
- Experience of working collaboratively as part of a wider team.
- Experience of planning and delivering multiple projects with defined targets and deadlines in the context of a complex organisation with diverse needs.
- Ability to manage a broad ranging workload with challenging and competing deadlines and to deliver to agreed timescales.
- Strong customer service skills and ethos.
- Commitment to own continuous personal development and training.
- Ability to work flexibly and adapt approach for different environments.