In accordance with the Financial Regulations - Signing Official Documents, the Vice-Chancellor, the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Finance and Director of Campus Infrastructure shall have implied authority to make contracts on behalf of the University and delegate such authority to members of their staff.
Information on the authority to incur non-pay expenditure is provided in the Regulations and the Schedule of Delegated Authority to sign contractual documents on behalf of the University is below.
It is the responsibility of those signing contractual documents to ensure that where appropriate (which will normally be in all cases unless a standard template is being followed) legal advice has been obtained and is in support of the documents being executed and that appropriate budget is available. Primary responsibility for retaining an original of all signed agreements rests with the originating department; for documents of particular importance to the University, the Legal Services Team should be given the original to hold in its safe.
Delegated authority to sign contractual documents on behalf of the University
| Department | Documents | Post |
| all academic departments | Student Placement Agreements | PVC (Student Experience)/PVC (Education & Global)/Head of Department, or as delegated by HoD |
| Non-disclosure agreements (commercial) | Head of Department, or as delegated by HoD | |
| Contracts to deliver education, e.g. bids for NHS contracts | Head of Department, or as delegated by HoD | |
| All professional services | Non-disclosure agreements (commercial) | Director/HoD of professional service, or as delegated by such |
| Education and Student Services | ESFA contracts | Director of Education & Student Services |
| Degree apprenticeship contracts | Degree Apprenticeship Compliance Manager | |
| Life Sciences | Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) in standard form | Head of Department or as delegated by HoD |
| Research & Innovation Services | Confidentiality/Non- disclosure agreements | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts |
| Patent prosecution documents | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Technology Transfer | |
| Externally Funded Postgraduate Research | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/ Head of Research Funding | |
| Academic Consultancy Contracts in standard terms, up to £10,000 pa per individual | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/ Head of Knowledge Exchange | |
| Academic Consultancy Contracts in standard terms, up to £50,000 pa per individual | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Knowledge Exchange | |
| Academic Continuous Professional Development Contracts in standard terms, up to £20,000 | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts | |
| Contracts/service agreements with external consultants | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Knowledge Exchange | |
| Commercialisation Agreements up to £50,000 | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Technology Transfer | |
| Commercialisation Agreements up to £250,000 | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Technology Transfer | |
| Patent Assignments | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Technology Transfer | |
| KTP Agreements | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts | |
| Research Contracts/Agreements | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Research Funding | |
| Material Transfer Agreements | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services /Head of Contracts/ Head or Technology Transfer | |
| Research Services to encompass CCAF, CAMERA and other services up to £20,000 | Director of Research & Innovation Services/Deputy Director of Research & Innovation Services/Head of Contracts/Head of Research Funding | |
| Digital, Data and Technology Group | Software Contracts | Chief Information & Digital Officer/Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Director (Technology) |
| Hardware procurement arrangements | Chief Information & Digital officer/Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Director (Technology) | |
| Information Security and Risk – statements of compliance | Chief Information & Digital officer/Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Director (Technology) | |
| Third Party Support | Chief Information & Digital officer/Chief Operating Officer | |
| Contracts | ||
| Campus Infrastructure | Capital projects and operational contracts | Director of HR/Routinely sub-delegated to HR Recruitment Co-ordinators |
| Contracts with external training suppliers and for provision of conference and meeting facilities/external venues | Director of HR/Deputy Director Workforce Development | |
| Secondment agreements | Director of HR/Deputy Directors/HR Business Partners | |
| Recruitment and Admissions | Contracts with overseas agents who recruit students | Director of Education & Student Services/Director of Student Recruitment & Admissions |
| MoUs and Progression Agreements | ||
| International Relations Office | Memoranda of Understanding | Deputy Vice-Chancellor/PVC (Education and Global) or (Research and Enterprise), according to nature of activity |
| Letter of Intent | Deans | |
| Memoranda of Agreement | PVC (Education and Global) and Dean (as appropriate) | |
| Library | Licences with publishers, Contracts for Library and Information Systems and Agreements with agencies such as the Copyright Licensing Agency | University Librarian (or delegated to Head of Library Academic/Operational/Research Services in their absence) |
| Licences with publishers, Contracts for Library and Information Systems and Agreements with agencies such as the Copyright Licensing Agency up to £50,000 | E-Resources and Serials Librarian/Bibliographic Services Librarian/Systems Librarian | |
| Department of Planning, Performance and Strategic Change | HEIDI Plus Agreement | Director of Planning, Performance & Strategic Change, or as delegated by the Director of Planning, Performance & Strategic Change |
| Vice-Chancellor’s Office | JISC (HESA) contracts | Vice-Chancellor |
| Finance | Letters of engagement with external accounting bodies | Director of Finance or as delegated by such |
| Statements of compliance on loan contracts and covenants for banks | Director of Finance or as delegated by such | |
| Procurement | Purchasing Orders for over £10,000 Contracts for purchase Consultancy Agreements | Head/Deputy Head of Procurement |
| Equipment lease agreements for over £10K | ||
| Supplier credit terms | ||
| Sports Development and Recreation | Equipment and Merchandising contracts up to £10,000 for less than 3 years. Standard contracts (approved by legal) for events, facilities hire, sponsorship and partnerships | Director of Sport or as delegated by such |
| School of Management | Contracts to deliver executive education | Dean of the School of Management/PVC(Education and Global) |
| (non credit-bearing provision only – see RIS entry for academic consultancy) |
If you have any questions please contact: Head of Legal Services/University Secretary
Last reviewed by University Executive Board: May 2022
Administrative Update: November 2024
Document to be reviewed as necessary to maintain up to date record of delegated authority