Head of Sustainability

Interview Date: Please note that first round interviews will take place on 13^th January, and final interviews on 26^th January.

We are excited to advertise the recruitment of a Head of Sustainability, a new senior role with a wide-ranging remit to lead and coordinate delivery of the University of Birmingham’s sustainability goals and priorities.

This is an exciting opportunity to be the professional lead for sustainability in a large and complex university, which is an anchor institution for the city of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region. You will develop an overall plan to deliver our ambitious sustainability targets, ensure we are collecting and monitoring the data we need, and provide expertise and positive challenge to ensure we achieve our targets. You will work with academics who are at the forefront of tackling climate change and will support culture change amongst staff and students across the University to enable us to operate more sustainably. Above all, you will make things happen.

The University’s Strategic Framework 2030 sets out our ambition to be one of the world’s leading Universities, and strengthens our commitment to sustainability as one of the core pillars of our activity. We will use our research and education to make a major global contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and have set out a headline aim to be net zero carbon for scope 1 and 2 by 2035 and overall by 2045. As a research-intensive University founded on social responsibility, we have the expertise and partnerships to play a significant role in tackling global sustainability challenges.

You will be working in an organisation with a long record of substantial contributions to issues of sustainability through a significant programme of related research, education, and operational activities. These include a substantial partnership with Siemens, significant impact in climate-related research and practice, Tyseley Energy Park, and the Birmingham Institute for Forest Research. The University is a member of the UN Global Compact, a signatory to the Race to Zero for universities and colleges, a member of the COP26 universities network, and a joint founder of the World Alliance of Universities on Carbon Neutrality.

Based within the Executive Support Division, you will be in the heart of the University and close to the senior leadership who are committed to achieving the University’s ambitious sustainability targets. You will have a passion for, and in-depth understanding of, the key issues for sustainability, allied with a strong awareness of how large, complex organisations such as universities operate.

Working for the University offers a wide range of benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme, opportunities to join staff networks, formal and informal learning and development opportunities, and flexibility. Across all of our Professional Services, we recognise that it is our people who are the heart of what we do, and so we are focussed on creating a culture for them to thrive. We support this through our sector-leading staff development programme: the Birmingham Professional.

For an information conversation about the role, you are welcome to contact Mark Senior, Chief of Staff (m.r.senior@bham.ac.uk).

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