THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
Recruitment Role Profile Form
Job Title:
Placements Delivery Manager (maternity leave cover)
School/Department:
Graduate School, Research and Graduate Services
Job Family and Level: Administrative, Professional & Managerial Level 4
Contract Status:
Fixed-term 6 months (Maternity Cover)
Hours of Work:
Full-time
Location:
University Park
Reporting to:
Postgraduate Placements Manager
Purpose of the New Role:
The University of Nottingham has successfully bid to the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) for resources to support a Postgraduate Placements Programme, a three year project
valued at close to £600K.
This post will support the Postgraduate Placements Manager (PPM) in the delivery of the
postgraduate placements programme, placing postgraduate students from the University of
Nottingham with host organisations within the Greater Nottingham area. The overall purpose
of the role is to market the University’s placement offering and liaise with potential host
organisations, as well as arrange and monitor postgraduate placements and provide delivery
support to the Postgraduate Placements Programme.
Working with the PPM, employers and with representatives from across the university involved
in postgraduate support and the Department of Communities and Local Government, the post
holder will have responsibility for the day- to-day delivery of key aspects of the project,
brokering relationships between the University and employers, and will be required to meet the
stringent reporting and output requirements of the ERDF. This will require detailed
conversations with the organisation and the postgraduate student, the development of an
agreed brief/contract, management of the recruitment process, monitoring of the placement
once underway and supporting the appointed postgraduate through personal development
planning.
The longer term objectives of the project are to: raise the profile of and engagement with
higher level skills within this sector; increase local productivity and retention of higher level
skills within the East Midlands region; and encourage further longer term engagement and
knowledge transfer between the university and local SMEs.
Main Responsibilities
1.
Project delivery and co-ordination
 Project and work schedule planning, overseeing and producing project
deliverables/outputs (placements) within budget and to schedule to the
highest quality standards
 Maintaining project documentation to the highest quality standards,
including report writing for internal and external audiences
 External liaison with appropriate bodies
 Creating evaluation and feedback mechanisms for both placement
holders and placement hosts, informing continuous improvement.
 Monitoring the overall project delivery targets, with support from the
designated APM Level 3 Project Officer
%
time
per year
40%
2.
3.
4.
5.
Networking, liaison and brokerage
 Building external partnerships with employers and employer networks,
facilitating collaboration.
 Negotiating and contracting with external organisations and
postgraduate students, ensuring all relevant University policies and
legislation is adhered to.
 Liaison with internal and external stakeholders, including convening
stakeholder-led meetings. This will include promoting and publicising
the benefits of the placement programmes activities to postgraduates
and academic colleagues.
 Simplifying access, for local SMEs/employers, to specialist postgraduate
knowledge and skills with the express intention of improving business
performance.
Promotion and dissemination
This will include:
 Researching, marketing and promoting a range of research-based
placement opportunities across a targeted audience of employers in the
region
 Working with relevant staff internally, such as industrial placements
officers and ERDF project managers to promote the placements
programme to both employers and postgraduate students. Forging
effective links with internal schools and departments to ensure
recruitment meets project targets.
 Liaising with the Postgraduate Placements Manager and Graduate
School staff to ensure a joined-up approach to postgraduate
development through information and best practice sharing. This will
also include on-line systems/networks.
Personal Learning & Development
 Undertaking professional & personal development, where appropriate,
to ensure the continual updating of skills and knowledge
Any other duties appropriate to the role and level
Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience
Essential
Qualifications/
 Degree (or equivalent) in relevant area
Education
or equivalent formal training.
Skills/Training

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





Knowledge of recruitment and/or
placement management.
Excellent oral and written
communication skills.
Excellent interpersonal and negotiating
skills, with the ability to ensure the
best outcomes in relationships with all
stakeholders.
Ability to work on own initiative,
prioritise and manage own time and to
ensure optimal use of resources
available.
Excellent organisational skills.
Excellent project management and
project monitoring skills.
Ability to work according to tight
deadlines.
Advanced IT skills to include use of
Microsoft Office packages; Excel,
Access and Word.
Audit/record keeping skills with a focus
upon accuracy and attention to detail.


30%
20%
5%
5%
Desirable
A recognised project
management qualification
(Prince 2, ILM or equivalent)
Knowledge and
understanding of the UK
governments skills agenda
Experience






Other


Experience of working within the HE
sector.
Experience of networking and
developing productive working
relationships.
Substantial experience of researching,
marketing and promoting placements
and /or recruitment opportunities.
Experience of working in a team.
Proven planning and organising skills.
Ability to work in a team environment,
supporting colleagues and sharing
expertise.
Enthusiasm, self-motivation and ability
to exercise sound judgement.
The ability to apply creative, lateral
thinking in the creation of
collaborations/problem solving.





Experience of working with
European grants.
Experience of monitoring
and managing budgets.
Experience of working on
events management.
Experience of working with
SMEs/Employers.
Ability to build working
relationships across
different formal structures.
Decision Making
i)




ii)





taken independently by the role holder
Identification of external partners to approach in order to develop placement/research
project opportunities, and instigation of appropriate communication with these.
Identification of appropriate partners within the University to develop partnerships,
projects and activities with.
Day to day management of activities relating to the delivery of facilitated placements
on which the role holder is the designated lead.
Day to day decisions on management of workload, prioritisation, and responses to
incoming requests, actions, leads etc.
taken in collaboration with others
Development and implementation of a range of media for marketing the placements
programme both internally and externally.
Decisions on appropriateness of brokerage opportunities with individuals and
organisations involved.
Development of communication methods with internal colleagues
Networking on strategic issues relating to postgraduate placements
Oversight of the development of administrative systems and mechanisms for managing
the brokerage and placements of the students.
iii)
referred to the appropriate line manager (Postgraduate Placements Manager) by the
role holder
 Significant spend against the project.
 Strategic planning for the on-going development and future of the ERDF initiative and
associated placement activity.
 Workload balance issues in the event of conflicting priorities.
 Any issues involving potential conflict with other individuals, groups or organisations.
Please quote ref: FIN035314