Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Lead

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Job Title: Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Lead

Posting Start Date: 23/07/2026

School/Department: Research Partnerships & Innovation

Work Arrangement: Full Time (Hybrid)

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary per annum (£): £48,822.00 - £58,225.00

Closing Date: 23/08/2026

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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.

Overview

RPI supports agreed University, Faculty and School priorities for research and innovation: income generation, research excellence, PGR experience, partnership development and knowledge exchange leading to income and/or impact and commercialisation of IP and student enterprise. Our focus is on delivering professional, value-add advice and support to our community of researchers and innovators. We are a well-connected team which understands the priorities of the organisation and our external stakeholders and customers and the external environment in which we operate. Team members collaborate, reflect, develop their skills and have a risk-appropriate mindset of continuous improvement to our processes, policy and approach Demonstrating the impact of our excellent academic research in the real world to a range of audiences is a key priority. This role is a great opportunity to work with researchers to develop knowledge exchange activities, to develop and maintain non-academic partnerships and to build high-quality case studies of the resulting impact. We are at a critical point in our preparations for the next Research Excellence Framework, and your expertise will make a significant contribution in supporting, guiding and enabling the highest possible quality submission.

Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange Team Focus

The Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange teams will focus on a range of priority areas depending on the discipline area. In Engineering and Physical Sciences, a primary focus will be building partnerships in areas of research strength which will enable the University to secure income either directly or indirectly. In Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, a primary focus will be on building partnerships to enable and underpin impact at national and/or international scale. In Health and Life Sciences, a primary focus will on securing opportunities for translational research income leading to impact. All will lead on significant Knowledge Exchange bids.

Work with senior faculty leadership teams to transform the University's research strengths into practical solutions and impacts which drive economic growth.

Lead on the delivery of a culture of KE, Innovation and Impact and supporting academics on their journey 1 A Remarkable Place To Work

Lead, manage and develop a team of KE Managers.

Typical deliverables will include

Account management and growth of existing relationships

Business development and prospecting of new relationships of strategic importance to the Faculties and the University.

Manage internal KE Funding calls and specific impact funds, and support the selection of high-quality applications.

Lead strategic KE bid development

Main duties and responsibilities

Contribute to the strategic leadership for the overall Partnerships & KE Service, maintaining a focus on the University’s overall priorities and how the service can support them.

Work closely with Faculty leadership to ensure that your KE Support Team is focused on the delivery of KE priorities in Faculty Strategies.

Build a close working relationship with University Research Centres and Translational research centres to ensure that your team provides proactive and focused KE support.

Build a close working relationship with the Regional Engagement Team, ensuring that you understand the priorities of our Regional Engagement Work Programme and how your team can deliver against these.

Lead a team of KE professionals to deliver a quality knowledge exchange service that supports the delivery of faculty priorities.

Foster a high-performing team environment by using coaching and mentoring techniques to develop individual strengths, responding to diverse motivations, and leading by example to drive continuous improvement.

Work with allied professional services or other academics as appropriate, to support the development of KE projects (including IP commercialisation) and engagement with our research, innovation and teaching.

Proactively network with potential external (non-academic) partners to understand their needs and identify common interests with our academics, including representing the University at relevant external events.

Identify potential projects and KE opportunities with external partners, catalysing new relationships with potential academics.

Support successful KE proposals, working closely with colleague across RPI and the University

Support Faculty Impact Managers and Departmental Impact Leads to develop a pipeline of excellent knowledge exchange projects, identifying those with the most impact potential, and leading your team so that it supports impact managers to maximise and robustly evidence the impact.

Collate data on KE activity to support the continual improvement of data collection and presentation to inform strategic decision making (and UKRI monitoring exercises e.g. Knowledge Exchange Framework).

Regularly share and receive information from interdisciplinary, faculty and departmental committees and across the Partnerships & KE Service on priority partners and projects. 2 A Remarkable Place To Work

Lead on the organisation and delivery of knowledge exchange initiatives and events, including the continuous professional development of the service and its staff.

Any other duties, commensurate with the grade of the post.

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.

Criteria

Essential or desirable

Stage(s) assessed at

A degree (or equivalent experience), ideally in a relevant discipline

Essential

Application

A strong understanding of, or the aptitude to quickly acquire knowledge regarding, the research funding landscape, the REF, the KEF, and specific funder requirements for Knowledge Exchange.

Essential

Application & Interview

Good understanding of the Universityʼs research, teaching and innovation priorities and how knowledge exchange can support the delivery of these.

Essential

Application & Interview

Evidence that you negotiate, influence and persuade internal and external stakeholders, at all levels of seniority, with considerate and thoughtful communications and that you can articulate a clear argument for how your viewpoint supports delivery of University Objectives/agreed priorities

Essential

Application & Interview

Substantial experience of bringing individuals and groups together to develop concepts and cross-disciplinary projects, especially those involving external partners, and successfully bidding for funding to support these and build successful partnerships

Essential

Application & Interview

Evidence that you can both manage and lead a team: setting clear priorities, and managing performance to drive improvements and motivate colleagues

Essential

Application & Interview

Evidence of your ability to use your strategic understanding of the external context in which the University operates, to work with stakeholders to determine priorities, taking into account the longer term impact of decisions and plans

Essential

Application & Interview

Evidence that you are able to integrate, analyse and interpret information from different sources and then take a risk-based approach to provide evidence-based advice and solutions

Essential

Application & Interview

Excellent customer service skills and managing a team to meet customer needs - including a proven ability to prioritise team workloads, as well as manage multiple stakeholders with competing needs.

Essential

Application & Interview

Willingness to travel and attend networking and public engagement events outside normal working hours as required.

Essential

Application & Interview

Ability to manage and develop teams where all staff can excel through effective coaching, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth, while leading by example to demonstrate a commitment to personal and professional development.

Desirable

Application & Interview

Further Information

Grade

Duration

Line manager

Head of Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Development

Direct reports

X5 KE Managers

Our website

For informal enquiries about this job, contact Saq Rasul [Head of Knowledge Exchange] on ***email_hidden***

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place at the beginning of September. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 31st August. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact View email address on uk.workus.org.

Our vision and strategic plan

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

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;

A range of generous family-friendly policies

paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies

access to menopause support in the workplace

paid time off and support for fertility treatment

and more

We are a Disability Confident Leader (opens in a new window). 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.

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 ( 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.

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