People and culture

Our Birmingham 2030 People and Culture goals are to:

Empower every staff member to thrive through an inclusive culture, clear opportunities, and the right support.
Build a workplace where people feel recognised, inspired, and proud to belong.
Foster a culture of excellence where we set high expectations for ourselves and each other.

To deliver these goals our key priorities will be:

Attracting, developing and retaining great people

We will provide our staff with the pathways, tools and opportunities to flourish in their roles. The Birmingham Academic Career Framework will offer structured, transparent routes for progression in research, education, engagement, and impact. For professional services staff, the Birmingham Professional programme will deliver tailored development opportunities, skills training, and leadership support. Together, these frameworks will foster a culture of continuous growth, integrated working, and shared ambition — ensuring all staff are equipped to support the University’s mission through innovative, efficient, and collaborative practice.

Building a supportive and high-performing culture to enable our staff to flourish

We are committed to building a values-driven culture where staff are empowered to thrive, take initiative, and pursue excellence. By setting high expectations for ourselves and one another, we cultivate an environment of trust, ambition and accountability. Our culture is both supportive and challenging — encouraging creativity, professional growth, and personal wellbeing, while recognising and rewarding high standards of performance. Supported by world-class facilities, expert professional services, and dedicated technical teams, our staff are inspired to lead, innovate, and continually raise the bar.

Developing leaders at every level

We will invest in leadership at every level, equipping current and aspiring leaders with the skills, confidence, and mindset to inspire others, drive excellence, and lead through change. Through targeted training, mentoring, and support, we will build a collaborative, high-performing culture ready to meet future challenges.

Delivering the aims of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

We will focus on reducing our staff gender and ethnicity pay gaps and increasing the diversity of staff who hold senior leadership positions. We will recruit, retain and promote a more diverse range of staff and improve the consistency of the everyday experience of our staff. We will do this by challenging barriers to equality, creating an inclusive workplace culture, embedding accessibility across our campuses and mainstreaming EDI into our organisational structures and processes.

Embedding a culture that supports smarter working and stronger wellbeing

We will foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation, valuing diverse perspectives to create a supportive and inclusive environment. By promoting flexibility in how we work, we will help colleagues balance professional and personal commitments while working smarter, not harder. Through thoughtful use of space and digital tools (including automation and AI), we will streamline workloads and make work more efficient and effective. Together, we will build a workplace where everyone feels empowered to enhance their own wellbeing and support those around them.

Embedding our values across the University

Our culture is based on our shared values, which we seek to embody throughout the organisation.

We believe that by investing in our staff, we empower them to achieve extraordinary things, propelling us towards our global ambitions. We aspire to be a University where every member – staff, students, and alumni – feels strong pride in belonging.

We are fortunate to have highly talented and engaged colleagues who are passionate about what they do and believe in our core purposes of research and education. We will continue to attract, develop and retain great people and we will work together to cultivate a respectful, inclusive, and supportive culture where our staff can thrive. We will hold ourselves, and each other, to high standards, and expect delivery to those standards, to drive us towards our collective goals.

Our vibrant campuses provide an environment which promotes collaboration, creativity, and shared learning. These qualities contribute to a vibrant culture for research and education, stimulating interdisciplinary thinking, and supporting collaboration within the University and beyond.