Durham EDGE Senior Manager (Job Number: 26000892)
Faculty of Business
Grade 8: - £47,389 - £56,535 per annum
Open-Ended/Permanent - Full Time
Contract Duration: NA
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Working Arrangements: Hybrid
Closing Date: 02-Aug-2026, 5:59:00 PM
Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.
The University
At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.
Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.
We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University.
The Role and the Department
Durham EDGE
Durham EDGE provides a single front door to executive and professional learning, with a clear promise of research‑led, practice‑anchored impact. Marketing activity emphasises the positive outcomes for organisations and provides evidence of repeat business and alumni pathways.
Durham EDGE is responsible for a portfolio of executive & professional provisions and which includes:
MBA Programmes: Full Time / Online / Executive MBA (EBS) / Global Executive MBA (Polimi)
DBA Programmes: Durham / Global (EmLyon) / Fudan
Executive Education: Open and Custom Courses
Professional Education: Apprenticeship & Summer School courses
Business Development activities
Upskilling Small Businesses (USB)
Business Consultancy activities
Key subjects for Durham EDGE programmes include: leadership; change; transformation and governance; digital and data; sustainability and energy; health and public leadership; finance and fintech; digital and circular economy; and space and advanced manufacturing. The delivery mode varies between in-person, blended and fully online. Durham EDGE in-person programmes are delivered in Durham, London and a variety of international locations.
Durham EDGE Senior Manager Role:
Durham University Business School is seeking to appoint a Senior Manager to join the newly established Durham EDGE Senior Management Team. This role will play an important part in supporting the development and delivery of Durham EDGE’s growing portfolio of programmes.
The post holder will lead a professional services team, ensuring excellence in administrative and student support across the full student lifecycle, from admissions through to graduation. With a focus on quality and customer service, they will help ensure the team meet the tailored needs of Durham EDGE’s students and clients, contributing to a highly positive overall experience.
Working closely with professional services teams, academic colleagues and senior leaders across the School and wider University, the Senior Manager will support the delivery of Durham EDGE priorities and projects. This includes coordinating activities across teams, contributing to planning processes, supporting the Deputy Executive Dean (Durham EDGE) and ensuring the implementation of relevant strategies and policies.
The role will also oversee the delivery of key operational processes, provide support for committees and networks, and ensure that services are delivered efficiently and in line with University policies. It offers an opportunity to contribute to an exciting and growing area of the Business School and to support continuous improvement in service delivery.
Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.
The base location for the role is Durham University Business School, Waterside Building, where Durham EDGE is located. The role holder will typically be located in the Durham EDGE Office with the Executive Learning and Teaching team bringing the team together in a vibrant office environment which supports collaborative working and is designed to embrace hybrid working. There may be a requirement to work from other locations throughout the campus and travel to other locations to support programme delivery in other venues nationally or internationally.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:
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You’ll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
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We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
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No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost-effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.
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We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
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We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
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Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
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Our family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
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We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
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You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
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Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
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If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.
Your application should cover the following criteria:
Essential Criteria
Qualifications/Experience
1. Educated to degree level (or equivalent relevant experience).
2. Professional practitioner with relevant specialist knowledge and expertise to manage and influence the delivery of high quality, client-focused programmes, events and activities, ideally within a professional education, executive education or similar customer-facing service environment.
3. Experience of advising, shaping and delivering responsive services that meet evolving requirements and providing guidance to senior colleagues and external clients.
4. Experience of participating in internal or external networks to share good practice, develop effective partnerships and positively influence the University’s reputation and client engagement.
5. Experience of implementing policies and procedures and contributing to continuous improvement of services, including adapting processes to meet non-standard delivery models.
6. Track record of managing and developing teams and coordinating complex service delivery across multiple functions, including influencing outcomes where direct line management responsibility is not held.
7. Experience of managing end-to-end delivery of complex programmes, services or customer journeys, ensuring a consistently high-quality and seamless experience across multiple touchpoints.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
8. Excellent spoken and written communication skills, with the ability to develop and manage highly effective working relationships with internal teams, academic colleagues and external stakeholders.
9. Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including Microsoft 365 with the ability to enable efficient and customer-focused service delivery.
10. Extensive relevant knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory, contractual and organisational policy and guidelines.
11. Ability to contribute to operational and strategic levels planning, including aligning programme delivery with organisational priorities, client expectations and market demands.
12. Ability to manage competing priorities, solve problems and implement appropriate solutions in a fast-paced, client-driven environment with tight and non-standard timelines.
13. Ability to enable a high standard of customer service and experience, ensuring all interactions and delivery processes are coordinated, responsive and aligned to expectations of professional and corporate clients.
14. Ability to influence and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver outcomes where responsibility is shared across multiple service areas.
Desirable Criteria
15. Knowledge of programme planning and delivery processes, including timetabling across variable delivery models, resource allocation, finance and operational coordination..
How to apply
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Submitting your application
We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
What you need to submit
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A CV: and
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A supporting statement which outlines how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification.
Contact details
For a chat about the role or any further information please contact Professor Amir Michael - Deputy Executive Dean (Durham EDGE) ([email protected])
Typical Role Requirements
Service Delivery/Development
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Ensure service excellence and high standards of support is achieved through effective understanding and delivery of client and stakeholder needs.
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Contribute to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the University’s values.
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Develop and apply an in-depth understanding of university policy, School processes, accreditation standards and external developments when carrying out your role.
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Ensure that policy and regulatory standards are met within the service area that you are responsible for.
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Use your professional knowledge and experience as a Senior Manager to resolve problems, shape processes and activities, and develop system, providing subject matter expertise and advice.
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Use your managerial and leadership expertise to identify priorities and shape the services for EDGE to achieve the required outcomes.
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Look for ways to continually improve services and take a lead role in the development and implementation of assigned policies, processes and standards.
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Initiate and manage business process reviews to improve the service in your area.
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Ensure data (commercially sensitive and/or personal) is appropriately stored and managed.
Planning and Organisation
Contribute to the development of EDGE operational plans and support the Deputy Executive Dean (EDGE) with the Integrated Planning Process.
Manage the planning and organisation of operational activities within your assigned portfolio within EDGE to ensure successful programme and project delivery, including requirements in relation to all aspects of Learning and Teaching, timetabling, workload and curriculum development.
Oversee the analysis of data about the service levels provided by EDGE and make recommendations for improvement in reports to senior managers and committees.
Allocate and monitor designated budgets, expenditure and resources.
Team Development
Manage and develop the people, performance and resources of the allocated Learning and Teaching team to ensure that a customer-focused service is provided.
Help shape the skills and expertise needed to deliver a professional service by recruiting, inducting and training team members and structuring the team in a way that will best meet operational and strategic priorities.
Ensure that your team can deliver the required services by clear and effective planning, objective setting and devolving and delegating responsibilities to appropriate team members
Carry out regular performance reviews to provide feedback on objectives and expectations and identify any development needs.
Handle most HR issues and support the welfare and wellbeing of your team, referring more complex issues to specialist services or more senior managers.
Communication/Liaison
Use your professional knowledge to identify and recommend priorities for long-term business plans.
Provide professional guidance and advice to stakeholders, clients and students, referring to other services, when appropriate.
Design creative and innovative communications to promote and increase engagement relating to EDGE and work in partnership with relevant teams to ensure websites and material is accurate and impactful.
Build and establish contacts and networks with key stakeholders, internal and external staff, suppliers, contractors and industry specialists.
Create positive working relationships, including internal and external networks, using your networks to develop strong partnership working, increase your knowledge and skills, swap information with peers and positively influence the University’s reputation.
Represent EDGE and the University at promotional events.
Identify opportunities to develop and increase participation in special interest groups.
Useful links
If you would like further information you may find the following will help : Durham University Business School
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
