IT Business Partner

To develop and manage effective relationships with key senior stakeholders and coordinate the development of clear and supported plans for IT development and deployment that meet the University's strategic objectives

This role is permanent, based at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne campus, and offers a variety of attractive benefits including hybrid working.

Informal enquiries may be made to the Head of IT Business Partnering at john.moss@newcastle.ac.uk

About you

We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate the following essential capabilities:

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across the University, developing an understanding of their current and future needs to inform service.

Business Relationship Management

• Apply principles to ensure IT services are aligned with institutional priorities and stakeholder needs. Act as an interface between NUIT and the wider University, facilitating meaningful dialogue and mutual understanding.

Service Issue Resolution and Escalation

• Act as a point of focus for service users, resolving issues efficiently and escalating where necessary to maintain service integrity.

Customer Experience and Service Excellence

• Foster a culture of customer service excellence, ensuring service quality, responsiveness, and clear communication that meets or exceeds expectations.

Strategic Alignment and Governance

• Ensure IT services and initiatives align with university policies, plans and strategies, contributing to governance through participation in committees and working groups.

Value Realisation & Optimisation

• Identify opportunities to maximise business value through continuous improvement, service optimisation and innovation. Ensure that IT investments deliver measurable outcomes and contribute to institutional success.

Team Development

• Supervise, coach and mentor Assistant IT Business Relationship Managers, contributing to staffing strategy and recruitment to build a high-performing team.

IT Planning and Road mapping

• Support the development of short to medium-term business plans and technical capability roadmaps, to support the University's strategic objectives.

Technology Awareness and External Engagement

• Stay informed on emerging technologies and sector trends through research and external engagement, ensuring we benefit from innovation and best practice.

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development is expected.
• BRMP® certification is highly desirable.

Experience & Practice

• Proven ability to engage stakeholders and build strategic partnerships that deliver measurable business value.
• Experience translating business capabilities and needs into IT-enabled solutions that support organisational outcomes.
• Demonstrated success in service development, continuous improvement, and value optimisation within complex environments.
• Experience leading teams, mentoring colleagues, and coordinating cross-functional service delivery.

Knowledge & Insight

• Strong understanding of emerging technologies and their potential to enable business capabilities in Higher Education and enterprise contexts.
• Familiarity with strategic alignment, portfolio management, and value management principles.
• Knowledge of regulatory frameworks including GDPR and information security standards.

Communication & Influence

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts in business terms and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to communicate a compelling vision that aligns with organisational strategy and inspires collaboration and innovation.

Leadership & Relationship Building

• Demonstrates the ability to foster trust, collaboration, and shared ownership across teams and stakeholder groups.
• Skilled in developing high-performing teams and embedding a culture of customer-centricity and service excellence.

Additional Capabilities

• Proactive and resilient, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver under pressure.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• A customer-focused mindset with a commitment to delivering high-quality, value-driven outcomes.

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you., Our IT Service exists to deliver an excellent service for its users, enabling world-class teaching, learning and research at our university. We are committed to expanding our knowledge and expertise with a strong focus on the training and development needs of our people. Your contribution will help shape the future of education and contribute to ground-breaking projects through IT innovation., Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population. At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.