Keith Portman

Business School
Director of Business School Operations

Contact details

Telephone: 0121 414 3465
Email: K.Portman@bham.ac.uk

Work experience:
I have been at the University of Birmingham since April 2016. Prior to that I was employed by OCR, one of the largest Examination Boards in the UK. My responsibilities included recruiting and deploying around 14,000 temporary staff to mark GCSE and A level papers within non-negotiable timescales. I was also responsible for year round examinations and assessment in vocational qualifications throughout the UK. 

Much of my working life has been spent as a Police Officer serving in various roles across the Birmingham conurbation. I retired from Policing in 2015 at the rank of Inspector where I was responsible for providing policing in the constituency of Meriden in Solihull. I have been an accredited peer reviewer for a Home Office Peer Support Programme where I led quality assurance assessments of statutory community safety partnerships within the Midlands region. I also spent time seconded to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council where I led the Community Safety Partnership. During my Police Service I was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

I have spent the last 20 years in leadership positions and have a particular interest in people management and was awarded a MA with distinction in Leadership and Management from Coventry University in 2014. I have recently joined the University’s Coaching Academy having successfully passed the ILM Level 5 Coaching and Mentoring course in 2017.

What I like about the University of Birmingham:
I joined the University because of the sense of energy you get when you are on Campus. I have had a long held interest in education, having been a Vice Chair of Governors in a primary school. The College of Social Sciences feels like a natural fit for me, particularly because of its focus on people.

If I were stranded on a desert island:
Three things I would take with me on a desert island are; a sun hat because I don’t have any natural protection on top, the phone number for Deliveroo (you never know they might deliver!) and a wide selection of jigsaws to pass the time.

Back to our list of key staff in the College of Social Sciences