Technical Services Review
Update to technical services staff, February 2015
Our vision
To have a Technical Service that represents a unique strength for Exeter:
• Providing consistently outstanding service to academics and students
that other HEI aspire to
• Constantly seeking ways to be more resilient, efficient, agile and
compliant
• Leveraging the talent we have to develop the highest levels of
professional capability in creative and collaborative ways
• Offering attractive careers for the next generation of scientific talent to
aspire to
• Delivered by excellent leaders and managers
There was a variety of feedback from technical services
and academic staff but some key themes emerged
The technical services feedback fell into the following
categories:
How the service is structured:
•
Structure and leadership
•
Capacity and resilience
How we deliver the service:
•
Facilities, equipment and process
•
Funding
•
Compliance
•
Excellent and effective management
Overall comments supported the thoughts of the
working group, although there were some concerns:
•
Losing specialisms
•
Maintaining business as usual through the transition
•
Understanding what we have and what we need
effectively
•
Joining up with other projects and initiatives
Technical services staff feedback was most
predominant in:
•
How the service supports us / we support the service:
•
Community / sharing / communication
•
Skills / training / career development
•
Career progression / succession planning / retention
•
Feeling valued
Comments about the project itself
•
wide ranging including timescales, parallels with VS
How the service support us / we support the service,
with career progression being a clear area of concern
Academic staff feedback was most predominant in:
•
Structure and leadership, with keeping delivery local a
key concern
Some common areas of opportunity came out from
both the technical services and academic staff
The next phases of transformation…
Issues raised to consider
Project Phase
Local delivery and management
Establish structure & leadership
Clear expectations
Future proofing
Resilience and efficiency
Matrix management
Job descriptions
Implementing delivery model
Improved process for adding technical staff to
grants
Optimise grant funding
Establish clear career progression
Opportunities for career development
Plan for attracting and retaining staff
Career development and progression / reflection
renewal
Structure and Leadership
We have developed a new operating model to demonstrate how a
community of technical professionals can operate across the university
and fulfil our vision
Key features
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Agreed across all colleges
Delivers clear line of sight to academic strategies and performance led
Promotes transparency and shared accountability
Is matrix-led: from a management and operational standpoint
Focussed on local delivery and devolved
Enables expertise to be leveraged wherever it exists
Embeds peer-to-peer networks and promotes continuous development
Designed to be flexible to optimise resources and promote staff
development
• Financially accountable to colleges and SMT
Proposed STEMM technical services operating model
HoDs; DoRs
CEGs
&
Governance
units of
activity
Teaching delivery
functions
HoDs; DoEs
Research delivery functions
H&S and ethics
purchasing services
Interfacing examples
research services
Key responsibilities and interactions
HoDs; DoRs
units of
activity
Research delivery functions
Unit of activity managers: not discipline specific or
geographically fixed, H&S coordinators. Risk management
defined according to profiling set out below.
Lab managers: fixed geographically, team
leaders of C and D grade staff, members of the ‘buyers
network’. Each location risk profiled e.g. radiation,
lasers, human tissue etc.
Lab assistants/GBPs/apprentices: flexible
workforce directed strategically by unit of activity
manager according to changing operational needs.
Proposed cross-cutting delivery functions
Including examples of potential facilities
1
2
3
Facilities
Clinical research
facility
Workshops
Space and logistics
(including stores)
Bio-informatics
EDS/ FXPlus
One
Exeter
IT
Imaging
Analytical
chemistry
Graphene
centre
Mining &
minerals
Potential Research Units of activity
UoA (Research)
Discipline
College
Building
Campus
Biological Services Unit
Multi
Multi
Multi
Multi
Biosciences/Medicine
Multi
Multi
Multi
Multi
Xat
Multi
Single
Single
Single
VES Group
Single
Single
Single
Single
Renewables
Single
Single
Multi
Single
Manager
Psychology
Lab manager
Medical School
Biosciences
Unit of Activity
What does this mean for me?
• You will likely be aligned to a community of technical services
professionals in either:
1. Research delivery
2. Teaching delivery
3. One of the cross cutting delivery functions
• Head of Service will be responsible for overall service supported by
managers and team leaders
• Managers responsible for teams of staff
• Roles will be clearly defined and remunerated as appropriate
• Enhanced opportunities for career progression
• Grant funded (fixed term) technicians will be embedded / aligned in the
structure but remain in the same research groups
What are the next steps?
• Unions briefed 
• Alignment to overall Transformation Programme
• Institutional signing off proposed operating model and
business case
• Detailed structures – job descriptions and roles
• Recruitment of Head of Service
Support for change
•
Information on Technical services website with opportunity to feedback
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/technicalservices/
•
Your line manager or Assistant College Manager
•
Project Sponsor – Linda Peka
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College HR Partners
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Training – Several courses available on the impact of change and how to
manage
•
Care First - 0800 174319 - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/carefirst/
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Union representative