Demonstrators Deputy Lead - School of Social Policy and Society - 106836 - Grade 8 in Birmingham

Position Details

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606. As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 8, salary £56,535.

Part time (18.75 hours per week) Fixed Term contract up to December 2027

Closing date: 1 February 2026

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.

With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.

In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

IMPACT ('Improving Adult Care Together') is a UK-wide centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and the Health Foundation. IMPACT is an ‘implementation centre’, drawing on knowledge gained from different types of research, the lived experience of people who draw on care and support and their carers, and the practice knowledge of social care staff. It works across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to ensure it is embedded in and sensitive to the different policy contexts in the four nations, and able to share learning across the whole of the UK.

Its aims are to enable practical improvements on the ground, and make a crucial contribution to longer-term cultural change, by:

• Supporting more widespread use of evidence in adult social care, leading to better care practices, systems and outcomes for people who draw on care and support, their families and communities
• Building capacity and skills in the adult social care workforce to work with evidence of different kinds to innovate, improve care and deliver better outcomes
• Facilitating sustainable and productive relationships between the full range of adult social care stakeholders to co-create positive change/innovations and improve outcomes for people drawing on care and support and their families
• Improving understanding of the factors which help and hinder the implementation of evidence in practice, and using this to overcome longstanding barriers to positive change

One of our four delivery models takes the form of ‘IMPACT Demonstrators’. Each project is undertaken by a pair of Strategic Improvement Coaches, who work in a local service or whole system to facilitate a large evidence-informed change project, support a local evaluation and influence national policy and practice.

Role Summary

Overall coordination of the Demonstrator Model is provided by the IMPACT Demonstrator Lead, based at the University of Birmingham. This post, the Demonstrator Deputy Lead, will work alongside the Demonstrator Lead to implement the delivery of the model and share learning on how evidence can better inform strategic decision making in adult social care. They will liaise with key actors within the Demonstrator sites during the initial set up phase including senior decision-makers, professional leads, service providers, people who draw on care and support, family carers, and the voluntary and community sector. They will support the Strategic Improvement Coaches through facilitating a community of practice and providing opportunity for shared reflection. They will help to promote the work of IMPACT and learning on how evidence can inform strategic decisions in adult social care to professional, practice, lived experience, and policy audiences across the UK. This role is therefore a unique and exciting Enterprise, Engagement and Impact opportunity which will involve engaging with academic and non-academic stakeholders across the adult social care sector. It would be suited to a candidate who is confident in applied research and who has expertise in relationship-building, communicating with a variety of audiences, and working collaboratively to achieve practical change.

Main Duties

• You will lead and contribute to a range of Enterprise, Engagement & Impact activities, including:
• To work alongside the national Demonstrator Lead in the overall leadership, coordination, and delivery of the Demonstrator model
• To contribute to the induction and on-going support of Strategic Improvement Coaches as they are appointed to new projects
• To facilitate learning networks and opportunities for shared reflection across the Strategic Improvement Coaches
• To provide guidance and support to the Strategic Improvement Coaches on the Demonstrator approach and associated processes within IMPACT (e.g. monitoring and evaluation)
• To support the Strategic Improvement Coaches on translating learning from individual projects to a wider audience
• To represent the Demonstrator Model at internal and external meetings and events, including those for a professional, practice and academic audience
• To work with the Strategic Improvement Coaches and the Demonstrator Lead in addressing challenges which arise in the delivery of the projects and the overall model
• To undertake rapid reviews of evidence related to topics which are being addressed within demonstrator projects and develop accessible overviews of findings
• To demonstrate a commitment to the active and meaningful involvement of people whose voices are seldom heard and to co-production at all stages of projects
• Contribute to the overall success of IMPACT through engaging with its wider activities, participating in sharing of learning and development opportunities, and collaborating with other colleagues in relation to the implementation of the Demonstrators and / or their roles and responsibilities.

Person Specification

• Demonstrable commitment to the values of co-production and an understanding of how to embed these values in Enterprise, Engagement & Impact activities
• Postgraduate qualification OR equivalent professional qualification OR sufficient policy and practice experience to demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills
• An understanding of the factors that enable or prevent change in organisations, practice and policy and the contribution of evidence to successful implementation
• Commitment to reflective approaches to learning by self and others
• Excellent presentation skill in person and virtually
• An ability to adapt communication approach to reflect needs of potential social care stakeholders
• High level of personal organisation and motivation
• Collaborative and flexible approach to work and excellent inter-personal skills
• An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses in leading projects and solving problems which may arise
• Actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion with internal and external stakeholders

The role can be based at the University of Birmingham, but can also be based anywhere in the four nations of the UK and can be based predominantly at home.

Informal enquiries to Robin Miller, email: r.s.miller@bham.ac.uk