Service Improvement And Performance Lead

Service Improvement & Performance Lead

We value and welcome difference. We are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. If you share our values of respect, integrity, compassion, collaboration and inclusion, we'd love to hear from you. If you require this advert or the attached job description in any other format please contact people.recruitment@manchester.ac.uk.

Help shape the future of a world-class university. The University of Manchester has always stood for progress. From splitting the atom and creating the world's first modern computer, to shaping global policy, to advancing AI, health, sustainability, and social justice, the University of Manchester has shaped global change for more than a century.

That same pioneering spirit now guides our Professional Services as we deliver our 2035 Strategy. This is a bold commitment to the future strengthen our impact on society, accelerate research excellence, and create outstanding experiences for our students and staff. Our goal is a more connected University, delivering outstanding services that empower research, education, and global impact.

Professional Services (PS) sits at the heart of that ambition, and we're on an exciting journey to ensure we are organised for success, building a culture of service excellence, where every service is designed around the people who use it; every decision informed by insight, with teams confident in improving the things that matter.

We're looking for someone to help us make that shift through influence, clarity, and genuine collaboration.

The opportunity

As our Service Improvement & Performance Lead, you'll guide the University towards a future where improvement is part of everyday work, not a special project or a one-off initiative. You'll be making a meaningful difference to the way the University operates, by influencing how thousands of colleagues' experience, deliver and improve services every day.

The Service Improvement & Performance Lead is a connector, catalyst and enabler helping to bring clarity where there is complexity, shared purpose where there are silos, and momentum where change needs unlocking.

Imagine yourself walking into a leadership meeting and helping them translate broad ambitions into clear, measurable, user-focused service improvements that genuinely change staff and student experiences.

Co-designing a service improvement framework that becomes the foundation for how Professional Services continuously enhance the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the services they deliver for users.

You might be building a community of practice, bringing together cross-functional teams and individuals from across the University who look to you for guidance, coaching and tools to make their services better.

Through your ability to tell stories with data, you will enable senior leaders to make informed decisions with confidence because they can see performance clearly for the first time.

You'll support teams as they adopt new practices around user experience, continuous improvement, automation, and AI helping them build confidence and capability.

By delivering smoother processes, clearer accountability, better user experiences, and a stronger sense of "One University" working towards shared goals, your work will resonate with users and be felt across the University.

Who we're looking for

You know what it feels like to work in a large, complex organisation where nothing changes unless people believe in the direction of travel.

You've learned that progress comes from conversations, trust and clarity of purpose not from process maps alone, and you're at your best when you're helping people make sense of complexity and see a way forward they didn't see before.

You've spent time improving services or shaping performance in a way that genuinely made things better for users: smoother processes, clearer journeys, more meaningful outcomes.

You know the tools, methods and frameworks for service improvement. More importantly, you know how to use them in a way that fits the context, the people and the culture.

Data doesn't intimidate you - you're data-driven. You can look at a set of metrics and quickly spot what they're really saying.

You're also someone who brings value in rooms where decisions get made.

You can brief senior leaders with confidence, frame a problem so that the path becomes clearer, and help groups with different perspectives find common ground.

You connect dots across teams, disciplines and priorities helping people move from "this is complicated" to "this is possible."

Most importantly, you bring:

Curiosity and an openness to new ways of working

Confidence navigating ambiguity

A coaching mindset

A commitment to user-centred, people-centred improvement

The ability to make complexity understandable

A collaborative spirit rooted in our values of inclusion, respect, integrity, compassion and cooperation

If you meet some of these qualities and feel energised by our mission, we encourage you to apply. We don't expect perfection, just potential and purpose. You may come from higher education, public sector, industry or consultancy, but what matters is your ability to lead improvement through influence, credibility and connection.

Our values: what drives us forward

At Manchester, our values shape how we work, how we make decisions, and how we support each other every day.

We're powered by Knowledge and by Wisdom, acting with Humanity - treating people with respect, valuing difference and doing what's right, not just what's easy.

We protect Academic Freedom, and we rely on Courage: the confidence to challenge assumptions, ask the difficult questions, and help the organisation move forward with clarity and purpose.

Our pioneering spirit is part of who we are. Bold ideas, radical thinking, and the belief that we can always do better for those we serve power us.

Our guiding principles turn these values into action. We stay student-focused, act with integrity, collaborate as one team, remain flexible in a fast-changing environment, and take ownership for the outcomes we deliver.

And behind it all is a deep commitment to Social Responsibility and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion creating a university where people feel welcome, respected and able to thrive.

What will you get in return:

Fantastic market leading Pension scheme

Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme

Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays

Additional paid closure over the Christmas period

Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers

As an equal opportunity employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.

Our university is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here.

Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.

Please be aware that due to the number of applications we are unfortunately not able to provide individual feedback on your application.

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.