Birmingham City University is looking to cut more than 340 jobs from its professional services team but hopes to offer affected staff the chance to apply for one of hundreds of new roles.

The West Midlands-based university has put 342 roles at risk of redundancy, on top of cuts of 36 academic posts that had already been announced.

But it said impacted staff will ¡°have the opportunity to apply¡± for one of the 320 new positions that the university will be creating as part of its transformation plans.

Birmingham City previously announced that its? will see it move towards having a greater focus on teaching, rather than research.

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The new roles will align to the ¡°responsibilities of the proposed new structure, better reflecting the university¡¯s new strategic priorities and providing additional focus on the student experience¡±, a spokesperson said.

The announcement marks the start of a 46-day consultation period about the professional services cuts, to ensure that ¡°our professional service teams are set up to meet the needs of our students, and wider staff community¡±.

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The spokesperson said: ¡°This follows a comprehensive four-month review, which found that many of our services and roles have developed organically over time and have led, in some areas, to a lack of clarity for students and some duplication of effort.

¡°We understand that the higher education sector has seen a number of examples of universities needing to cut costs, but at BCU this review is about making sure we are set up to achieve our significant ambitions for 2030 and beyond.¡±

Any staff member whose role is at risk but who successfully secures a position in the proposed new structure ¡°will retain their current terms of employment, including pension rights¡±, they added.?

However, any external hires will be recruited through BCU Support Services, a university subsidiary firm which was established in 2022,?. ¡°This has been the standard employment route for all new professional staff since its implementation in 2023,¡± the spokesperson said.

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Most major UK universities have announced staff cuts?in recent years?owing to the sector¡¯s financial crisis, with predictions that job losses could hit 10,000 by the end of the year.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com