Rob joined the University of Bristol back in 2017 after a career delivering solutions in the financial services industry. He was looking for a new challenge and change of sector to boost his career. Being Bristol based, Rob could see the affect the University had on the city as well as the wider UK & global population and an opportunity to empower and influence the capabilities of the University and directly affect the education of the next generation was too much to pass on. Stepping into a collaborative, friendly and inclusive culture was a change for Rob as his delivery career within financial services had been more siloed. Some of the main reasons he has stayed with the organisation for so long is the recognition he gets for his role, the autonomy and flexibility in how he can deliver change and the feel-good factor from supporting his team and helping them reach new heights in their careers.
Rob will work closely with the office of the chief information officer . He is looking for someone who can lead from the front and push forward the delivery of change across the University. Rob is looking for someone who he can build a trusting & communicative relationship, someone who will champion the delivery team and look out for their best interests as well as managing the senior leadership relationship with the hard questions and right answers.
Alan Frankcom
Head of Technical Delivery
Alan joined the University back in 2018 after 10 years in a commercial consultancy environment. He started his journey as a solutions architect and has stepped through the ranks to be Head of Technical Delivery as part of the new organisation structure. What really drew him into the University was the challenge of stepping into a new environment and industry paired with the complexity of the organisation and being able to directly affect the service the University provides to their students & academics. He is a big advocate for the collaborative culture that the university is developing and enjoys the social and professional network the university brings. However, Alan does believe that the traditional siloed / hierarchical nature of a University is still present in areas and the office of the chief information officer will have a huge impact in bringing those functions into the fold. Additional to this, the University brings a fantastic work-life balance through Hybrid-remote and flexible working practices.
In Alan’s view, the office of the chief information office role is going to be pivotal in driving successful delivery forwards as well as improving the efficiency of the delivery team as a whole. From his side, communication and trust is going to be a massive part of this
Sophie Colston
HR Business Partner
Sophie started her journey with the University back in 2008 as a finance secretary and has continued with them since. She has had various roles within the University. Before Settling into the HR function in 2011. During her time in HR, she has worked her way up to HR Business Partner. Sophie was attracted to the University due to the reputation it has in the local area, the outstanding research contributions, and the visible effect it has on thousands of students lives, locally, nationally, and globally. Adding this into the fantastic work-life balance through flexible and hybrid remote working as well as the development opportunities the University provides, it has made University of Bristol an employer of choice.
Sophie will work extremely closely with successful candidates whilst going through onboarding processes to ensure that they understand policies, procedures, and the environment they will be working in. Sophie will continue to regularly meet with the successful candidate to support them with people management and workforce planning. To support growth and change within the IT Division, Sophie believes candidates should have strong leadership skills and that they must be empathetic to the needs of their team and champion their wellbeing. This role will need to be clear and concise communicator when managing both up and down and build trust in the delivery community so that their collaborative working style can thrive.
Barney Craggs
Chief Information Security Officer
As the Chief Information Security Officer, Barney as responsibility for assuring the University’s digital assets whilst at the same time also maintaining an academic post, researching and teaching cyber security. As an academic the world-leading research reputation along with geographic proximity to numerous strategic research partners was a strong pull to work at the University. Barney is now a key part in ensuring the direction of transformation is compatible with delivering on the University’s strategic as well as rebuilding and reinforcing the two-way trust between the service delivery and academic community.
Security is a huge part of all IT & Digital services and the University embraces a collaborative working environment and his view is that inspiring people is key to success along with unverstanding, motivators, and aspirations of all stakeholders within the business including students, academics, service teams and senior leadership.
Victoria Jones Parry
Director of Strategic Programmes (Strategic Programmes and Projects Division)
Victoria joined the University of Bristol team in late 2021 from a management consultancy, where she worked mainly with the financial services sector. She immediately noticed a positive change in culture moving into a supportive, collaborative, and collegiate environment. Victoria was seeking greater purpose in her role and this was why she was drawn to the University, where she could actively affect the education and service the University provides both to its students and academics. The ambitious nature of the University’s strategy, and the continual shifts the University is making in support of transformation makes it a great time to join the University of Bristol.
While progress has been made in orienting the University towards its strategic goals, there is more to do. People who are active listeners and can navigate complex environments and quickly understand the motivations, needs and expectations of a wide range of stakeholders will be key to drive the transformation at the University.
Helen Featherstone
Programme Manager (Business Change)
Helen has been part of the University of Bristol’s delivery team coming up to 3 years, and programme manages IT and Business change. She was attracted to the university due to the ambitious change plans they have in place, and the opportunity to directly affect the lives of thousands of students and academics through the improvement of IT and business services. Outside of this, she also loves the collaborative and trusting culture that the university is building, with a continued drive for partnership throughout the different functions.
Helen believes that the University can be a complex environment to navigate due to the size and scale however those people who are able to communicate with a broad range of stakeholders and build trust through understanding the needs and drivers for change will be successful in the University. The University will bring variety along with competing requirements for change across the university so the ability to work in an agile, fast paced environment along with ability to prioritise will be key. The university require people who can listen, learn and build strong, trusting relationships; not only with Senior Leadership team but also with the delivery team, academics and students across the University.
