Advanced Research Computing Service Manager - IT Services - 107333 - Grade 9

Position: ARC Service Manager – IT Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. Full time, permanent. Grade 9. Salary range £58,225 to £67,468, with potential progression to £87,974. Closing date 13 May 2026.

Background: Central IT Services at the University of Birmingham use advanced architectures based on Unix, Linux, Windows, and cloud technologies. Advanced Research Computing (ARC) provides a range of specialist services for researchers, including the BEAR environment, the Baskerville GPU‑accelerated resource, and collaborations with national supercomputers.

Role Summary: The ARC Service Manager leads the administrative and organisational functions that maximise the success of ARC services and programmes, coordinating operation, finance, and stakeholder engagement across the University.

Main Duties:

• Delivery Plan: Maintain and continuously develop an overall ARC delivery plan, incorporate all major initiatives, and provide project and programme management for large‑scale HPC, storage, and data platforms.
• Risks: Maintain a coordinated overview of key milestones, risks, interdependencies, and resource needs across ARC projects. Actively manage day‑to‑day operational and tactical aspects of multiple large‑scale projects to mitigate and minimise risks.
• Team Priorities: Liaise with ARC line managers to ensure staff priorities align with the ARC delivery plan and operational priorities, and coordinate operational activity across ARC teams.
• Quality: Monitor day‑to‑day operations across ARC’s service portfolio (compute, storage, data services, research platforms, national service integrations) to ensure high service quality and consistency.
• User Support: Oversee ARC’s ServiceNow ticket queues, ensuring appropriate progress on complex or stalled tickets, spotting patterns or emerging issues, and enabling automation where beneficial.
• Finance: Maintain accurate and comprehensive financial records for all ARC budgets, track all financial commitments, and maintain an up‑to‑date multi‑year forecast. Work closely with Head of ARC, IT Services Finance, College Finance, and RSSD colleagues to ensure accurate financial information.
• Research Software Group: Ensure the Research Software Group’s Work Plan includes high‑quality planning and reporting data; cross‑reference project activity with financial data to ensure correct costings, billing, and recharge processing.
• Metrics and Performance: Oversee the collection, monitoring, and analysis of performance metrics across ARC services, including utilisation, user demographics, service availability, engagement volume, and cost‑recovery indicators. Provide regular operational and performance reports for senior stakeholders and governance groups.
• Line manage the Baskerville Operations and Resource Manager position.
• Support ARC leadership in preparing business cases, investment proposals, and funding bids.
• If required, deputise for the Head of ARC in any context (within or outside the University).
• Engage in sufficient personal and professional development to keep skills and knowledge up to date.
• Develop and implement a culture that promotes equality, value diversity, and inclusion.
• Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource‑efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience:

• Degree level education or equivalent experience, with substantial experience in complex operational or administrative roles within research computing, digital infrastructure, IT services, or a similar technical environment.
• Significant experience managing operational activities, processes, or services in multi‑team or multidisciplinary environments.
• Demonstrable experience in financial management, budgeting, forecasting, and oversight of resource‑intensive services.
• Experience contributing to business cases, investment proposals, or external funding bids (desirable: UKRI or similar).
• Experience in process improvement or change management within a technical or research environment.
• Understanding of research computing environments (e.g., HPC, cloud, storage, research software) or the ability to acquire such knowledge quickly.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities and deadlines.
• High data literacy, including confidence interpreting dashboards, service metrics, utilisation reports, spreadsheets, and financial data.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to produce clear reports, papers for senior committees, and accessible summaries for non‑technical audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills, able to build productive relationships across complex organisational structures.
• Understanding of research culture, UK Higher Education governance, compliance requirements, and broader sector or commercial awareness.
• Familiarity with ITIL‑aligned service management processes (desirable).
• Proactive problem solver with sound judgement and the ability to work independently.
• Comfortable working with senior stakeholders, including directors, PIs, committee chairs, and external partners.
• Ability to anticipate emerging issues and develop strategic responses.
• Excellent attention to detail, accuracy, and clarity in communication.
• Self‑motivated learner committed to ongoing professional development.
• Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues.
• Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues.

Benefits:

• 40 days paid holiday per year.
• One paid day a year for volunteering.
• Occupational sick pay.
• State pension scheme.
• Subsidised day nurseries.
• Flexible working arrangements available.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion: We are committed to proactively addressing barriers experienced by some groups and to promoting equality and inclusion. The University holds Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter, and Disability Confident accreditations.

Informal enquiries: Andrew Edmondson, email: a.c.edmondson@bham.ac.uk.