Head of Technical Services

​Salary: £56,021 to £59,421 with progression to £64,914 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 26 January 2024

The Role

We are excited to launch this opportunity for an experienced, forward-thinking individual to lead our outstanding technical team.   

You will provide strategic leadership and support for our technical team working in partnership with the key academic colleagues and our 4 Newcastle based academic schools of Engineering, Computing, Maths, Statistics & Physics and Natural & Environmental Sciences.  The Faculty operates a number of highly technical outstations for both education and research including (currently): two farms, the Dove Marine Station, the Blyth Marine station (incorporating the research vessel and the Cavitation Tunnel) Tyne Subsea and the DER centre in Sunderland.

Reporting to the Head of Infrastructure, you will be responsible for leading the development and deployment of a multidisciplinary team of around 160 colleagues across a broad range of areas of Technical Services, including 2 Health & Safety officers, bringing together our community within the faculty.  You should bring with you a passion to lead an effective and efficient workforce who are equipped with the knowledge, skills and training to enhance and enable the educational, business and research activity faculty now and in the future. Our Technical Services team strive to find solutions to local and global challenges and deliver positive change.

We are keen to hear from applicants who have a proven track record in leading and influencing a range of impactful stakeholders to support positive change.

To be highly successful in this role, you need to be able to demonstrate that you can drive forward new initiatives and strategies that relate to technical experiences to colleagues at all levels in a way that is collegial and supportive.  To do this, your passion for colleague engagement should shine through in your application.  As well as this, we are interested in applicants with a strong working knowledge of health and safety in either laboratory, workshop, or other engineering facilities.  

If this sounds like you, please get in touch with Graeme Watson, Head of Infrastructure Graeme.watson1@ncl.ac.uk for an informal chat.

We are currently working with a hybrid model of some home based and on campus working.

We would be happy to support applicants who are relocating from outside of the region.

To apply please upload a CV and cover letter outlining how you meet the criteria set out in the knowledge, skills and experience section of the job description.  It is important that you evidence your statements with examples where possible.

The application closing date will be 26th January 2024, followed by a review of applications week commencing 29th January. I will be inviting shortlisted applicants to a task / exercise assessment and interview week commencing 12th February 2024 (both in person on separate days – target days of 15th and 16th Feb).

Key Accountabilities  

• Lead the development and implementation of long term strategic plans across Technical Services and be responsible for the delivery of activities that fall with this remit: developing prioritised, operational plans; bidding for resource, and planning and organising activities within resource allocated in support of those plans. Establishing and implementing strategic service requirements and priorities
•  Lead, inspire and develop a team of professional Technical Services colleagues to support and deliver effective and sustainable professional support. Responsible for motivating and mentoring colleagues, identifying skills and talent and ensuring that effective training and development opportunities and interventions are identified to ensure that technical colleagues are able to meet their full potential and there is a clear talent succession plan to ensure we have a dynamic team that can adapt to a changing education sector and the strategic ambitions of the SAgE Faculty and University targets
•  Proactively support the Faculty Dean of Infrastructure in developing a positive Health and Safety culture in the Faculty. Deputise at University Safety committee meetings when required. Lead the School Safety officers to maintain and develop an excellent working relationship with the department of Occupational Health & Safety
•  Make a significant contribution, alongside Faculty Deans and other PS leaders, to the Faculty strategic and business planning process. Specific responsibility for preparing the Faculty’s Technical Services plans, engaging with the academic community on service needs and requirements
•  Work with the research committees and working groups, focussed on new technologies underpinning research, contributing to discussions and helping to shape investment priorities. Seek out ways to secure external funding for investment in laboratory equipment
• Lead reviews or projects that are designed to develop the provision of Technical Services across the Faculty. Ensure that projects are managed effectively, using project management standards, and to the principles of time, cost and quality
•  Provide advice on, and support with, investment decisions and the procurement process for laboratory equipment/technologies that underpin the Faculty’s strategy and ambitions. Generating business cases and managing the procurement process, as necessary
•  Lead, in consultation with academic units, the continual review of the needs of research against the existing Technical Services provision to ensure a plan for the investment in replacement laboratory resources and equipment, as well as new technologies, to ensure a cost effective and managed programme of purchase and replacement across the Faculty
•  Lead the continual review of processes, procedures and practices in relation to technical provision and delivery, ensuring consistency across all Units and that the needs and expectations of relevant stakeholders are met
•  Represent and proactively promote the University and Faculty acting as an ambassador. To look outwards across the Higher Education sector and industry - building networks and identifying opportunities that will further develop and sustain the Faculty’s infrastructure in an effective and sustainable way. Horizon scanning to ensure awareness across the Faculty of opportunities and threats for example emerging technologies and skills requirements / gaps
•  As a member of the Faculty Professional Service Leadership Group (PSLG), have collective responsibility for the vision of the Faculty, fostering a culture of service excellence to deliver an outstanding professional service. Including developing and building strong relationships with business partners and members of PSLG, with the aim of creating a transparent, collaborative and resilient team approach
•  Manage Faculty technical staff budgets and regularly review staffing forecasts with Faculty partners

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Proven track record in the development, communication and implementation of policy and strategy in a senior Technical Services role

• Demonstrable experience of leadership ideally within a complex organisation

• Ability to recognise and analyse the dynamics of problems and issues and provide innovative technical solutions

• Up to date and detailed knowledge of Health and Safety policy, procedure and implementation in a Technical Services setting

• Collaboration and negotiating skills to help influence diverse stakeholders, understanding their agendas and winning their agreement for the organisation’s benefit

• Evidence of developing and implementing coherent and comprehensive strategies and change initiatives

• Experience of effectively motivating, leading and developing colleagues and the coordination of expert effort from other teams

• Experience of leading a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion

• Experience of Horizon Scanning activities and monitoring external developments to assess impact on the business

• Ability to manage own and other’s conflicting priorities and demands to meet business needs

Attributes and Behaviour

• High drive and initiative, able to demonstrate professional resilience

• An articulate, confident and politically adept communicator, ready and able to deal with difficult situations and to challenge where necessary

• Takes the initiative to develop and implement new ideas and approaches

• An energetic and “can do” approach which will inspire and enthuse others, ready to take the lead in driving forward initiatives

• Acts in a collaborative, inclusive, transparent and open manner, acting with integrity and able to build high levels of trust

• Possesses the personal stature to engage with and earn the respect and good will of peers and more senior colleagues

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification or professional experience in a similar role

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 silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We’re a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer an interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26468

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