Post Award Officer

**Position Details**

Research and Strategy Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2026

Closing date: 16th November 2025

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

**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**

The University has an exciting vision to build on the success of REF2021, by continuing to transform its research performance across outputs, income, impact, and policy influence. Central to this ambition is the Research Strategy & Services Division (RSSD), a new Professional Services department that is being established to provide a transformative and sector-leading approach to research strategy and support.

**Role Summary**

The Post Award Officer, Research Strategy & Services will be responsible for the financial management and administration of a portfolio of research projects, including responsibility for funder claims, reporting and forecasting, associated with the academic area(s) that they support. The post holder will provide stakeholder management to academic project leads, and will build successful relationships with their peers and colleagues across the wider RSSD, other Professional Services including College administration. They will develop, share and own best practice for post-award financial support, key funders and the portfolio of activity associated with their academic area(s).

The role holder will work within RSSD to embed a culture of collaborative working throughout the team, that empowers all staff within the team to thrive, and work in close partnership with the wider Professional Services, ensuring that academics and external partners receive a consistent and high-quality service to build strong credibility across all functions.

**Main Duties**

- Provide high-quality financial management throughout the full post award lifecycle across the portfolio of their academic area(s). Offer expert advice and guidance, to academic colleagues including on budget maximisation and funder terms and conditions.
- Directly manage a portfolio of externally funded research projects undertaking financial claims, reporting, monitoring, and project closure. Deliver to a high standard and high level of accuracy minimising financial risk to the institution. Ensure an understanding of customer needs across the academic community for their area of responsibility, the wider RSSD and other University Professional Services areas.
- Contribute to ensuring that the Post Award function operates efficiently, proactively seeking opportunities to streamline handovers, steps and tasks, systems and processes. Share best practice across the wider RSSD Post Award teams to facili