Strategic Planning Business Partner

Salary: £45,585 to £48,350 with progression to £54,395 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: 28 January 2024

The Role

The Strategic Planning Business Partner plays an important role in the coordination and delivery of the University’s planning processes. Reporting to the Director of Strategic Planning & Change, you will work closely with University’s faculties, academic units, and professional services in supporting the development and delivery of their strategic plans and objectives.

Key to which will be overseeing the university’s integrated annual planning process and supporting the development of high-quality management information and insight.

We’re looking for an individual who:

• is able to develop strong working relationships across distributed teams.
• can understand the needs and objectives of units across an organisation and can ensure they are aligned to their plans.
• has experience of supporting and contributing to an integrated planning process.
• has a sound understanding of the role of data and insight in planning and decision making.    

For further information on the role, please contact Neil Gardner (neil.gardner@newcastle.ac.uk),   

Key Accountabilities

University Planning

• To oversee the delivery of the University’s integrated planning process. Working closely with colleagues within the Faculties, Hubs and Units to deliver the annual planning process. With particular responsibility for student number planning and the underpinning narratives
• To ensure the overall coherence and alignment of the academic, financial, student, workforce and research plans and targets that underpin University planning

Supporting Business Units

• To provide leadership on planning related activities and work closely with other professional service teams/individuals in the delivery of the university’s objectives and strategic vision
• To support the development and monitoring of annual student recruitment targets, working closely with business units to ensure market insight is used to anticipate and respond to market opportunities
• To work closely with the Head of Business Intelligence, Analytics and Insight to ensure that the University has the data and corporate information it needs to make well-informed operational and Strategic Planning decisions

Horizon Scanning

• To provide support for the development of Faculty, Hub and Unit strategic plans through the provision of high-quality information and insight related to all elements of university planning
• To work closely with the Head of Business Intelligence, Analytics and Insight to support the Director of Strategic Planning and Change in identifying future trends, patterns and changes in policies and political priorities and the proactive monitoring of market trends and competitor activity in the UK and globally

Other responsibilities

• To undertake other specific projects on behalf of members of Executive Board and the Director of Strategic Planning and Change
• To manage teams and colleagues in the delivery of projects aligned to Strategic Planning

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience of supporting an integrated planning process.
• An understanding of the Higher Education sector and the political and policy, regulatory and reporting context research intensive universities operate in
• A strategic thinker with an understanding of how strategy development, planning, implementation and oversight operates
• Experience of identifying an organisation’s information requirements and ensuring that it has the data and information it needs to support strategic and operational planning
• An understanding of Higher Education processes and associated data sets (HESA, student, research, workforce, finance) and their use in supporting internal and external requirements including statutory reporting and league tables
• Experience working with complex data sets, dashboards and business intelligence systems to analyse, interpret and communicate insights and information to a range of audiences

Attributes and Behaviour

• Influential and able to achieve results navigating political complexity and lead complex processes working with colleagues without line management authority
• Team-worker who builds effective internal and external relationships, with colleagues at all levels in distributed roles and with external organisations
• Excellent communicator with highly developed interpersonal and verbal, written and presentation communication style and approach
• Confidence and belief in evidence-based data analysis, highlighting trends and patterns in data and challenging assumptions, beliefs and decisions with clear arguments and perspectives
• Achieves results working with ambiguity in a fast-paced environment, flexible, adaptable and able to complete multiple complex objectives, tasks and projects to tight deadlines table

Qualifications

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent

 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 are 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 and interview scheme.

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

Requisition ID: 26571