Is this scheme right for you?
What We Are Looking For
We’re looking for five individuals to join us for a three-year graduate development scheme. This scheme is for you if you’re looking for a leadership career within Higher Education.
We’ll give you a number of work placements where you’ll learn about the University’s strategic priorities and contribute directly to making them a reality by working on critical business projects. We’ll help you develop your leadership and team working skills whilst you gain a qualification in project management.
At the end of the scheme, once you’ve gained all of this experience we hope you will consider staying with us and we'll naturally support you every step of the way to securing a further role with us.
What will you be doing?
In the first two-years, you’ll spend your time on three, eight-month placements: two internal placements along with a placement with an external small company or charity within our local community. Typically, you’ll be involved in activities such as:
- Immersing yourself in key departments to understand the role they play within the University, learning how they operate and using this knowledge to deliver new initiatives.
- Learning how to solve problems, you’ll conduct root cause analysis, work with senior leaders to plan solutions as well as project manage their implementation.
- Working alongside existing experts to deliver operational excellence.
You’ll develop your business and project management skills over the first two years allowing you to take a more in-depth role in your final, 12-month placement. You’ll gain valuable professional experience, both project management and leadership skills, as well as learning how the University works.
Your placement managers and scheme manager will support you throughout the scheme, providing you with goals to meet, feedback on your progress and a development plan to help you with your ongoing progression.
Read more about the placements completed by our previous Graduate Trainees.
You
To be ready to take on this role, most importantly you’ll need to be in tune with our values. Our values stem from our motto ‘mind moves matter’ and outline our approach to who we are.
We are:
- Grounded: We know who we are. We’re confident yet not arrogant. We engage with the real world in a practical way.
- Open: For many, committed to widening participation, inclusive and collaborative.
- Restless: Don’t come here if you want a quiet life! We constantly push forward, challenging and improving.
- Ambitious: We will change the world for the better.
What we require from you
In addition to aligning with our values, we’re looking for you to:
- Hold, or expect to gain, a minimum of a 2:1 in a first degree in any subject obtained in the last five years.
- Be interested in Higher Education as well as being a good team player, agile, flexible, self-motivating, excellent communicator, have great IT skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines under pressure.
- Be able to work autonomously, using own initiative, and be pro-active whilst working on varied projects.
- Be a great communicator, both orally and in written form.
- Have great team working skills and the ability to understand needs of, and work effectively with, others, including senior management and key stakeholders.
- Have strong organisational and time management skills, with ability to project plan and manage multiple deadlines/priorities.
- Work within changing and ambiguous situations, without stalling delivery plans.
- Consider how technology and digital approaches can be used to solve problems and meet growth aspirations.
- Be able to use Microsoft Office, incl. Outlook and Teams.
To apply for this scheme you must have the right to work in the UK and already have a visa in place for the duration of the scheme.