The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Data Connect and the Secure Data Services are joint services within the Research and Innovation IT team. Together they support and enable researchers in getting access to NHS and social care data safely and securely for academic research projects. They are strategically important services in the University that enable research that will directly impact on the quality and length of people's lives. 

The University  is a partner in the Yorkshire and Humber Secure Data Environment network which aims to ensure all sensitive data used for research stays within secure research environments to protect patient confidentiality and privacy.

We are seeking a Research Project Manager (Tech & Data) to support the Data Connect team, ensuring seamless project execution from planning to delivery. You'll work closely with the Senior Research Project Manager, the Head of Secure Data Services whilst acting as a key point of contact for all Tech & Data projects for all delivery partners of the Yorkshire and Humber Secure Data Environment.

In this pivotal role, you'll contribute to the full project lifecycle, proactively identifying and addressing obstacles to optimise federated projects involving both infrastructure and data.  Your responsibilities will encompass planning, scheduling, and delivering engagement, governance, and data management activities. You'll facilitate agile workflows, including daily stand-ups, backlog refinement, sprint planning, and retrospectives, to drive continuous improvement.

The Research Project Manager (Tech & Data) will work closely with other team members, particularly the Senior Research Project Manager and Head of Secure Data Services, as well as senior colleagues across all Secure Data Environment delivery partners, communicating openly about the work pipeline and opportunities, progress on current projects, highlighting risks and issues and collaborating to resolve them. They work, along with other team members, to communicate clearly to set project scope, timelines and delivery expectations.

Main duties and responsibilities

The Research Project Manager (Tech & Data) is responsible for the current active project activity including:

●     Working with SDE delivery partners to define project workflows, project scopes and timelines and ensuring alignment with stakeholder expectations.

●     Providing support to a range of programmes for the Yorkshire & Humber Secure Data Environment

●     Working with teams to break down defined research projects into manageable tasks and create sprint plans. 

●     Contributing to the improvement of service design, by providing feedback and insights based on user interactions and project experiences.

●     Maintaining and optimizing JIRA board workflows, ensuring efficient project tracking and task management.

●     Working closely with the Senior Research Project Manager and Head of Secure Data Services to manage capacity and resource allocation across all active projects.

●     Facilitating effective communication amongst delivery partners, ensuring clear and consistent information flow.

●     Creating and maintaining comprehensive project documentation, including project plans, reports, and meeting minutes.

●     Identifying and implementing process improvements, streamlining workflows and increasing efficiency.

●     Implementing and facilitating agile methodologies, including sprints, stand-ups, and retrospectives.

●     Provide progress updates to the Yorkshire & Humber Senior Leadership Team.

●     Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

As a member of the Research and Innovation team with IT Services, the role will also require engagement with activities to share skills, knowledge and experience more widely to improve how we work together to meet the strategic objective of the University as a whole.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Essential criteria

●     Demonstrable expertise in directly managing a portfolio of projects of various sizes. Including work scheduling and planning (Application / Interview / Task)

●     Good understanding of the use of modern techniques and tools for collaborative team working and product delivery (e.g. Kanban/SCRUM, Jira, Git/Github) (Application / Interview)

●     Knowledge of and ability to identify, track, report and mitigate project risks and issues appropriately (Interview)

●     Ability to communicate clearly and confidently with stakeholders including senior researchers and data providers (in the NHS and elsewhere) (Interview)

●     Demonstrable capability to organise requests for the team’s time against challenging deadlines into a coherent schedule (Interview)

●     An enabling, supportive and collaborative approach to team working (Interview)

Desirable criteria

●     Experience of managing technical teams with expertise to organise their work and continuously improve their working processes (Interview / Task)

●     Experience of working with sensitive health data, preferably with exposure to data governance process, data standards, and working within trusted research environments (TREs) and/or secure data environments (SDEs) (Application / Interview)

Further Information

Grade: 7

Salary: £38,249-£46,735

Work arrangement: Full-time

Duration: Fixed-term until 31 March 2026

Line manager: Senior Research Project Manager

Direct reports: (Junior) Project Managers

Our website: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/it-services/about (opens in new window)

For informal enquiries about this job contact
Katherine O’Sullivan, Head of Secure Data Services: on k.k.osullivan@sheffield.ac.uk

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will consist of an interview and technical test. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage at least a week before interviews. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact it-services-recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What we offer

    ●        A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.

     ●        Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.

     ●        Generous pension scheme.

     ●        A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.

     ●        A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).

     ●        Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.

     ●        A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Professional Services Shared Skills Framework

     ●        A range of generous family-friendly policies

                     o        paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies

                     o        support for those going through the menopause

                     o        paid time off and support for fertility treatment

                     o        and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Criminal record

A basic DBS check will be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role.

Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page:- sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/candidates.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.