Senior Technician
Note: This opportunity is only available to current employees of the University.
Role Summary
The Senior Technician is the specialist hands‑on expert who makes high‑quality teaching, research, and enterprise activity possible. In practical terms, this is the person who knows the kit, the techniques, and the processes inside‑out, and who keeps the studios, workshops, laboratories, or performance spaces running as productive, safe, and well‑resourced environments for everyone who relies on them.
You will sit at the heart of the School technical service working shoulder‑to‑shoulder with academic colleagues to make sure existing technical resources are exploited to their fullest and contributing your specialist judgement to how those facilities should develop in future. It’s a lead role, not a junior one: you’ll be the person students turn to for guidance, the person academics consult when they’re planning new modules or research projects, and the person external clients meet when the University takes on consultancy or enterprise work in your area.
The University’s success depends on staff like you taking pride in the working environment, sharing your expertise generously, and helping the School stretch what’s possible with the equipment and facilities we have. You will play a visible part in the student experience and a quietly essential part in the School wider ambition.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide specialist technical support to learning and teaching across studios, workshops, laboratories, and performance or exhibition spaces, as the work requires.
- Offer technical advice, guidance, and instruction to students, academic colleagues, and external clients particularly around specialist techniques, processes, and equipment.
- Demonstrate the safe and effective use of specialist equipment, both digital and traditional.
- Set up equipment and materials ready for teaching sessions, research activity, or events.
- Carry out routine maintenance and repair of complex equipment, including planned preventative maintenance and quick fixes on the day.
- Manage day‑to‑day relationships with external suppliers of equipment and consumables.
- Keep working spaces and equipment properly maintained, tidy, and fit for purpose.
- Support academic staff with the purchase of specialist equipment and materials, providing the technical know‑how to inform decisions.
- Maintain electronic and paper records relating to equipment, consumables, stock levels, loans, and (where required) financial administration such as purchase orders and invoices.
- Supervise other technical staff where required, providing guidance, training, and informal coaching in your specialist area.
- Contribute to income generation by spotting opportunities to use the School technical resources for enterprise, consultancy, or knowledge exchange activity.
- Carry out risk assessments and take active responsibility for health and safety in the work environment, ensuring full compliance with University policy and relevant regulations.
- Work flexibly across the School and, where required, across campuses.
The role is genuinely practical. Expect to be on your feet, moving and setting up equipment, fixing things, troubleshooting in real time, and often dealing with several requests at once during busy teaching weeks.
Qualifications
- Degree in a relevant subject or an equivalent combination of qualifications, skills, and experience.
- Significant practical experience in a relevant occupation, function, trade, or craft (this experience can come from industry or from an educational setting).
- Experience of delivering specialist technical support in an education environment.
- Specialised knowledge of the equipment, technology, processes, and techniques relevant to your area of work.
- IT skills including familiarity with specialist systems and software for your discipline, and confident use of Microsoft Office.
- Good written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex specialist techniques to non‑specialists and demonstrate equipment confidently.
- Clear understanding of relevant health and safety requirements and risk assessment.
- An organised approach and the ability to work on your own initiative.
- Ability to organise technical resources and facilities to meet competing demands.
- Physical ability to carry out the practical aspects of the role, including moving, setting up, and storing equipment.
- Willingness to undertake duties at different premises, including any University campus.
- A teaching or training qualification, or formal experience of delivering training.
- Experience supervising or leading other technical staff.
- Experience contributing to enterprise, consultancy, or knowledge transfer activity.
- Familiarity with procurement processes and financial administration (purchase orders, invoicing, inventories).
- Experience supporting open days, exhibitions, public events, or external client work.
Personal attributes that will help you thrive
- A genuine pride in craft and care deeply about doing things properly, not just quickly.
- Calm under pressure – the busiest weeks involve simultaneous demands from staff, students, and external partners, and the role rewards people who can prioritise without getting flustered.
- Generous with knowledge – you’ll be teaching, demonstrating, and mentoring constantly, and the best technicians enjoy that part of the work rather than seeing it as a distraction.
- Practical problem‑solver comfortable diagnosing faults, improvising fixes, and knowing when to escalatie versus when to roll your sleeves up.
- Safety‑conscious by instinct, not just by training.
- Adaptable and flexible – the work pattern can flex around teaching timetables, open days, exhibitions, and project deadlines.
Further Information
We would love to hear from you if you are excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of the School of Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering.
- Work‑life balance – Generous leave and hybrid working (role dependent).
- Career development – Opportunities to grow, develop and progress your career.
- Reward and wellbeing – Competitive pay, pension, wellbeing support and staff benefits.
- Inclusive culture – A supportive, diverse environment where everyone belongs.
This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route, subject to meeting the relevant criteria. For further information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to an environment that supports lawful free speech and academic freedom. We will continuously review and improve our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.
Disability Confident Employer
Birmingham City University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.
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