Senior Impact and Partnership Development Manager (Project Manager)

INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

Innovation, Impact and Business

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

This new full-time post is available immediately on a fixed term basis until 31st December 2026. 

Summary of the role

Research England (UKRI) has recently awarded the University of Exeter a £5 million grant to deliver the Developing Business-Aware Academics project. Led by the University’s Business School, the project is a partnership with the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) and five English business schools. It will pilot and evaluate a range of initiatives aimed at helping doctoral and early career researchers to develop the business awareness and competencies that improve innovation and knowledge exchange across academia and industry.

We are seeking a Project Manager to not only successfully deliver this high-value, high-profile project but also to capitalise on its outputs by proactively identifying new initiatives to help achieve the university’s strategic objectives for impact, knowledge exchange, corporate engagement and income generation.

This means co-leading the project with the Principal Investigator, Professor Alison Truelove; managing the planning, delivery and evaluation of project outputs; and maintaining strong relationships with all project partners. The Project Manager will also be the primary lead on any initiatives to capitalise on strategic opportunities for new products and services, working across the University to make the case for change.

We are therefore seeking a Project Manager with a proven ability to lead and manage projects and work at a strategic level, with the personal credibility to interact with and influence others, and who has experience of working with businesses and government bodies to develop innovative projects that lead to income generation or other opportunities.

The Project Manager will be hosted within the Innovation, Impact and Business (IIB) Business School Partnerships and Programmes team, which provides dedicated support to the Business School. This will enable them to draw on other enterprise and knowledge exchange initiatives delivered within the wider IIB team, whilst working closely with the PI and Business School colleagues.

This post will be based in Exeter, but the post holder may need to spend some time at the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) office in London, and some UK travel will also be necessary.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 150 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 and QS World University Ranking 2022).  

Our research income in recent years means we’re the fastest growing UK Research University with some of the world’s most influential scientists, and we seek to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today through this. More than 99% of our research is of international quality and our world-leading research impact is growing faster than any other Russell Group university (2021 Research Excellence Framework). We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City .

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

With over 27,000 students and 6,400 staff from 180 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including: 

• 41 days leave per year
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to six weeks full pay) and a new Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

Please contact Nicky Cunningham, Head of Business School Partnerships and Programmes ([email protected] ) or Professor Alison Truelove, Project PI ([email protected] ).