Commission Lead - Human Resources - 108136S26 - Grade 8

Position Details

People and Organisational Development

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Grade: 8

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to May 2028 

Closing date: 26th October 2026

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work. 

Department overview 

People and Organisational Development (POD) is a specialist directorate within the University’s Human Resources function, providing expertise in organisational development, leadership and management development, and coaching. Through the University’s Coaching Academy, POD delivers both one-to-one and team coaching to support individual and organisational performance. As an established accredited training provider, POD also designs and delivers management and leadership qualifications through its internally managed apprenticeship programmes.

Role Summary

The Learning Commissioning and Supplier Manager is responsible for leading the strategic commissioning, supplier management and evaluation of externally delivered learning and development activity. Working across a complex stakeholder environment, the role ensures RESTRICTED investment decisions are evidence-based, aligned to organisational priorities, and deliver high quality outcomes and value for money across the University. 

Working collaboratively with stakeholders across the University, the postholder will ensure that local priorities and flexibility are maintained while applying robust commissioning, evaluation and cost-benefit analysis to investment decisions. Through greater oversight of learning expenditure, the role will help identify opportunities for efficiencies, reduce duplication, maximise value for money and ensure resources are directed towards activities that deliver the greatest organisational impact. 

Operating at scale the post holder will work with a diverse range of academic and professional services stakeholders to identify and align external investment to strategic priorities and ensure learning provision meets organisational and workforce requirements. Responsible for a training budget of circa £5 million per annum, the postholder will ensure that learning investments deliver measurable organisational impact, an excellent learner experience and demonstrable value for money. 

The role combines expertise in learning and development, supplier and contract management, performance evaluation, financial analysis and stakeholder engagement. The postholder will work collaboratively with colleagues across academic and professional services functions to identify capability needs, commission effective development solutions and use data and insight to drive continuous improvement and informed decision-making. 

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the successful candidate will act as a trusted adviser to stakeholders, ensuring that commissioned learning and development providers deliver activity that is aligned with institutional priorities.

Main Duties

Learning and Development Commissioning 

• Lead the commissioning and implementation of externally delivered learning and development programmes, working with stakeholders to identify capability needs and translate these into effective development solutions. 
• Develop commissioning specifications, outcome measures and procurement documentation, ensuring programmes align with University priorities and workforce objectives. 
• Oversee the quality, delivery and impact of the commissioned learning portfolio, including reviewing suppliers and stakeholder feedback to drive continuous improvement and value for money. 

Supplier and Contract Management 

• Lead the commissioning and implementation of externally delivered learning and development programmes, working with stakeholders to identify capability needs and translate these into effective development solutions. 
• Develop commissioning specifications, outcome measures and procurement documentation, ensuring programmes align with university priorities and workforce objectives. Oversee the quality, delivery and impact of the commissioned learning portfolio, including reviewing suppliers and stakeholder feedback to drive continuous improvement and value for money. 

Performance Evaluation and Quality Assurance 

• Develop and implement evaluation frameworks to measure the effectiveness, quality and impact of externally commissioned learning and development programmes. 
• Establish KPIs, success measures and evaluation methodologies, producing insight and recommendations to inform future commissioning decisions and service improvements. 
• Work collaboratively with suppliers and stakeholders to address quality issues, drive continuous improvement and ensure value for money. 

Financial Management 

• Manage commissioned learning and development budgets, using financial analysis, cost modelling and benchmarking to inform investment decisions. 
• Evaluate return on investment and value for money across external programmes, and develop business cases and options appraisals to support future learning initiatives and strategic workforce development priorities.

Stakeholder Engagement 

• Build and maintain effective partnerships with leaders, managers, HR colleagues and external providers to identify learning and organisational development priorities. 
• Provide expert advice on learning commissioning and supplier management, facilitating collaboration between stakeholders and service providers. 
• Develop strategic relationships across the higher education sector to explore shared opportunities, while influencing decision-making to ensure learning investments deliver measurable organisational impact and value.

Data Analysis 

• Use organisational data, evidence, market intelligence and sector best practice to inform commissioning, supplier management and investment decisions. 
• Promote a culture of evidence-based decision-making, ensuring learning and development provision is aligned to organisational priorities, delivers measurable impact and maximises value from external partnerships and supplier investments.

Person Specification

Qualifications 

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience. 
• CIPD qualification, relevant Learning and Development qualification, or substantial professional experience in Learning and Development, Organisational Development or Workforce Development. 

Experience 

• Significant experience in commissioning, procuring, managing and evaluating external learning and development solutions within complex organisations. 
• Proven ability to work with external suppliers and stakeholders to design, deliver and assess learning interventions, including supplier and contract management, learning needs analysis, budget management, business case development and value-for-money evaluation. 
• Strong understanding of organisational development, workforce capability planning, equality, diversity and inclusion, and digital learning approaches. 
• Highly skilled in stakeholder engagement, influencing, data analysis, project management and communication, with the credibility to act as a trusted adviser on learning and development investment decisions. 
• Experience of working with stakeholders to understand organisational requirements and translate these into commissioning specifications and externally delivered services. 
• Demonstrable experience of managing multiple commissioning projects and supplier relationships concurrently, balancing commercial awareness with a strong focus on learner and organisational outcomes. 
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office and reporting tools, including Excel and Power BI, to analyse data, monitor performance and support evidence-based decision-making.

Informal enquiries to Monique Myers, email: [email protected] 

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.