Digital Adoption Manager

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary: Salary in the region of £47,000 per annum.

Closing Date: 22 March 2023

The Role

We have reimagined the way we deliver our University IT Services, building a world-class IT department responsive to the needs of our global community. We’re growing significantly and we’ve created new opportunities and made changes to how we work. Our people have been at the centre of this change, with a particular focus on development and opportunities to learn new skills.

To thrive as our Digital Adoption Manager, you will be a tech-savvy strategic leader and manager with a demonstrable enthusiasm for staying up to date with the latest digital trends and technologies. You will be able to inspire a brilliant team to drive the successful adoption and usage of digital products and technologies within our diverse university community.

You will develop, implement, and measure digital adoption strategies, programmes and resources and will be adept at managing change programmes through your effective and engaging style of communicating. Your ability to develop wide-ranging relationships and instil confidence and enthusiasm for new ways of working will be invaluable in sharing technical concepts with non-technical stakeholders. If this sounds like the ideal role for you, and you can evidence how you meet the essential skills described in the job description we’d love to hear from you.

The University is an exciting and dynamic place to work, dedicated to world-leading education and research. Benefits include excellent pension; flexible working options; a minimum of 37 days holiday (including public holidays); discounted travel for the Metro and local bus services; and discounts for national retailers. You can find out more on our benefits web page.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment and we would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working.

If you have any questions please get in touch with Kay Jones, Interim Director of Service Delivery, at kay.jones@ncl.ac.uk .

Key Accountabilities

• Developing and maintaining a deep understanding of the Service User’s needs and implementing policies, standards, and guidelines for Business Support and Innovation to meet the Service Users’ requirements, including, but not limited to:
  • Understanding and managing business readiness support requirements for the successful implementation of new or changed systems and/or processes
  • Providing appropriate training and development initiatives to enhance digital capability and improve service efficiency across the university
• Leads and develops a professional team to ensure service provision is prioritised, resources, managed and executed efficiently and effectively
• Managing team members and coordinating internal and external staff (contractors or consultants) in relation to any project undertaken within the team (or occasionally elsewhere within NUIT or the wider University).
• Supporting the development of the staffing strategy for the team, as part of NUIT’s overall staffing plan, including recruiting and/or engaging staff within the team.
• Contributing to the development of the operational budget required to support all aspects of the service area, as well as any project budgets ensuring that the University derives best value-for-money.
• Supporting project proposals (including business cases) for new services and business initiatives ensuring proposals are well informed and supported.
• Researching and understanding emergent technologies and trends within the service area, including, for example, attending conferences, communicating with external stakeholders (e.g. suppliers, individuals and other similar institutions) and ensuring the University benefits from the results of this research.
• Developing and maintaining effective relationships with key stakeholders in order to:
  • Develop a deep understanding of current and future service and/or product development requirements
  • Understand and capture Service Users’ needs and provide guidance on innovative and value for money options
  • Address Service Users’ concerns and issues quickly and effectively, including escalating where necessary
• Developing a culture of Customer Service excellence focussed on continually meeting or exceeding the expectations of service users including ensuring the quality of service provision and maintaining appropriate levels of communication and associated documentation.
• Understanding the University’s policies, plans and strategies and ensuring services provided align with the University’s strategic objectives.
• Taking membership of various ad hoc committees or working groups, as required, both within NUIT, the University and externally within the region, nationally and internationally.
• Contributing, where necessary, to the development of strategies, policies, procedures and relationship management (customers and suppliers) to ensure that the systems and services delivered by NUIT are organised and maintained in the most efficient, effective and value for money manner to support overall University objectives.
• Applying and maintaining specific information security controls as required by organisational policy and local risk assessments and ensuring compliance with University policies, regulations, legislative requirements and quality assurance standards.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience of developing and publishing training and user support material
• Experience of training delivery and/or hands on user support
• Experience of Project Management / work stream lead
• Understanding of effective Business Readiness requirements
• Expert level knowledge of one or more of the University’s core systems and/or software
• Management experience gained in a complex organisation, including working with senior-level management and key stakeholders
• Experience in service planning, development, and improvement
• Ability to communicate and sell a vision that inspires and motivates staff and aligns with IT and organisational strategies
• Experience in budget and financial management
• Understanding of current and emerging technologies and how other enterprises are employing them
• Good working relationships and the ability to identify opportunities to enhance capabilities that support business objectives
• Understanding of appropriate regulatory and statutory compliance, including GDPR, and information security
• Good verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts and technologies to business leaders
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Attributes and Behaviour

• Motivates and guides team members by fostering commitment, team spirit and trust
• Develops, directs and coaches team members to embed an environment of collaboration and a strong customer service culture
• Seeks to improve organisational performance though the identification and application of best practice to processes, products and services
• Actively seeks opportunities for significant technology enhancements

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University also holds the HR Excellence in Research award for our work to support the career development of our researchers and is a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.