Head of REF and Planning

Queen Mary University of London - Professional Services

Location: London

Salary: £64,331 to £71,834 per annum

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Placed On: 4th September 2025

Closes: 24th September 2025

Job Ref: 7410

About the Role

The Head of REF and R&I Planning is a new role, created to play a pivotal part in leading the University’s preparations for the REF 2029 submission. The postholder will work with senior leaders across the university to co-ordinate preparations for REF29 and ensure that our submission reflects the trajectory of growth and development the university has undertaken over the period of the exercise.

About You

The successful candidate will have a strong background in research planning and policy interpretation, an ability to operate in complex organisations, and demonstrable skill in building relationships. They will have exceptional eye for detail, and a track record in managing large multi-year projects, including those that deliver significant income. They will be used to operating in a changing external environment, with the ability to develop flexible and high-quality plans which support excellent performance in the context of uncertainty and enable us to respond effectively to change. They will be an excellent collaborator, skilled in working with academic and professional services colleagues in a distributed structure to develop and deliver a submission that secures an excellent outcome for the university.

About the Department

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK’s foremost research-intensive higher education institutions, ranked 7th for the quality of our research in the most recent Research Excellence Framework. Our strategy 2030 sets out a strong ambition to growing research income, quality and impact, doubling where we are today.

About Queen Mary

At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable. Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers. Our reformer heritage informs our conviction that great ideas can and should come from anywhere. It’s an approach that has brought results across the globe, from the communities of east London to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities. Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.