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Executive Dean, Life and Health Sciences

Candidate pack Spring 2014

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Message from the Vice-Chancellor April 2014 Dear Candidate I am delighted that you are considering applying for the post of Executive Dean, Life and Health Sciences, at what is a particularly exciting and challenging time for the Higher Education Sector, against a turbulent economic situation and increased competition at home and internationally. Aston’s strategy, Forward 2020, has the mission of Aston being the UK’s leading University for business, enterprise and the professions, where original research has a positive impact on the world around us. Our intention is to be ranked within the top 1% of Universities in the world, and consistently in the top 20 in the UK. The key role of the Executive Dean is quite simply to help ensure that Aston University is a success. We define success in terms of the quality and reputation of our research and teaching, the quality of our staff and of our students’ educational experience, their employability and contribution to society, and the financial health of the University. The Executive Dean will work closely with me, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, other Executive Deans and senior academics to provide strategic leadership for the School and to contribute to the achievement of the University’s strategic goals and growth. Within this pack you will find the following:

background information on the University job description and person specification details of how to apply

I very much look forward to receiving your application, and learning more about how you could contribute to our continuing success. Yours sincerely

Professor Dame Julia King DBE FREng Vice-Chancellor

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About the Vice-Chancellor After sixteen years as an academic researcher and lecturer at Cambridge and Nottingham Universities, Julia King joined Rolls-Royce plc in 1994. At Rolls-Royce she held a number of senior executive appointments, including Director of Advanced Engineering for the Industrial Power Group, Managing Director of the Fan Systems Business, and Engineering Director for the Marine Business. In 2002 Julia became Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics, and in 2004 she returned to academia as Principal of the Engineering Faculty at Imperial College, London. In December 2006 she became Vice-Chancellor of Aston University. Julia is a member of the Board of Universities UK and Chair of its Innovation & Growth Policy Network, a Council member of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, and member of the Board of Directors of the National Centre for Universities and Business. Julia is regularly called upon to advise Government on education and technology issues. She is a member of the Committee on Climate Change, the Airports Commission and the Science & Technology Honours Committee, and was appointed by the Prime Minister in November 2010 as the UK’s Low Carbon Business Ambassador. She served as a non-executive director of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (and its predecessor DIUS) for six years, was a member of the independent review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, led by Lord Browne, which reported in October 2010, has advised the Ministry of Defence as Chair of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council and the Cabinet Office as a member of the National Security Forum, and was a non-executive member of the Technology Strategy Board for five years. Julia served a four-year term as an inaugural member on the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and is a former member of the World Economic Forum Automotive Council. She led a Royal Academy of Engineering Working Party on ‘Educating Engineers for the 21st Century’ which published its final report in June 2007, and plays an active role in encouraging women and young people to enter science and engineering-based careers. Julia was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2007 to lead the ‘King Review’ to examine the vehicle and fuel technologies that, over the next 25 years, could help to reduce carbon emissions from road transport. The interim analytical report was published in October 2007, and the final recommendations in March 2008. Julia is a non-executive Director of Angel Trains and the Green Investment Bank, and a member of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Julia’s academic work includes over 160 papers on fatigue and fracture in structural materials and developments in aerospace and marine propulsion technology. Her research has been recognised through the award of the Grunfeld, Bengough, Kelvin, John Collier, Lunar Society and Constance Tipper medals, the Erna Hamburger Prize, and the 2012 President’s Prize of the Engineering Professors’ Council. In 1997 she was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering; she was made a CBE for ‘Services to Materials Engineering’ in 1999 and a DBE for ‘Services to Higher Education and Technology’ in 2012. She is a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company, an Honorary Graduate of Queen Mary, University of London, an Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, Cardiff University, the Society for the Environment, the British Science Association and the Polymer Processing Academy India, and a visiting Professor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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The University

Founded in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, and a University since 1966, Aston University has remained true to its core purpose and distinct mission of advancing and applying learning for the benefit of industry and commerce. In our Forward 2020 Strategy, we articulate our mission as to be the UK’s leading University for business and the professions, where original research, enterprise and inspiring teaching deliver global impact. In 2020 Aston will have an international reputation as the source of the people and the ideas that will shape the businesses and the communities of tomorrow. We will be Ranked within the top 1% of universities in the world

Exceptional in terms of our worldwide reputation for graduate employability – as a result of

innovative teaching and placement opportunities

Recognised for excellence in research that delivers real solutions for local and global

challenges, develops research leaders and provides the foundations for new businesses

Focussed on the needs of business and the professions, with courses and research that build on

our strengths

Transforming lives: developing sought-after, entrepreneurial graduates - from a wide range of

backgrounds – with global citizenship skills

Delivering our research and teaching in collaboration with international partners and

innovative businesses

A University with sustainability at the core of all we do, meeting world-class standards for

environmental performance

A welcoming community that is a great place to work and study

Aston is responsive to the needs of the changing world whilst remaining true to its distinctive and original purpose. Our focus brings real benefits – delivering social mobility by helping students acquire the skills, confidence and knowledge they need to make a successful career in business, industry and the professions, enabling them to explore and fulfil individual potential; fostering their initiative and creativity as responsible citizens, imaginative thinkers and successful entrepreneurs. We thrive on close collaboration and partnership with businesses, large and small at local, national and global levels. In line with its 2020 strategy, Aston University is currently in the process of planning and building Aston Medical School, as the fifth School for the University. The mission of the new School will be to produce doctors with a strong culture of citizenship, combined with leadership skills and business acumen, who will contribute to the local community. Aston is located in an area of the City which suffers from poor social mobility combined with significant health inequalities.

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We are dedicated to developing the leaders and ideas of tomorrow, summarising this aspiration in the statement “Employable Graduates; Exploitable Research”. Aston is based in the centre of Birmingham, home to over 65,000 students, and one of Europe’s liveliest and most welcoming cities. Our friendly and safe 40 acre campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our 9,500 students. One of Aston’s strengths is its multi-cultural campus community. Our students come from over 120 countries with above 78% of our students coming from the UK and the EU, and 22% from Overseas. Over 30 languages are spoken on Campus. The diversity of our community is key to our ability to develop our students into tomorrow’s global citizens. We are consistently ranked in the UK’s top 20-30 universities confirming our place amongst the elite. We also have a consistently outstanding reputation for graduate employability. In 2010-2011, over 87% of Aston graduates found graduate level employment within six months of graduation, compared to a national average of around 70%. This success placed Aston 5th out of 120 UK universities for this key variable in the 2012 Sunday Times University Guide. Aston is a great place to work, study and collaborate. We are friendly, informal and open; a multi-culturally diverse community in which staff and students continue to learn from, and celebrate, individual differences. Aston’s Culture is built on six key values – trust, empowerment, engagement, innovation, inspiration and ambition, and our people strategy - Aston People 2020 – is focused on delivering a consistently high performance culture across the University. Further information Annual Accounts - http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/facts-figures/accounts/ Strategy – Forward 2020 - http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/strategy/ Campus Redevelopment - http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/campus-redevelopment/ League Table Rankings - http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/rankings/ Management & Structure - http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/management/ The University’s website can be found at www.aston.ac.uk

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Introduction to the Role

Aston University is a focused and distinctive research-led institution with a superb reputation for conducting highly applied research and offering world-class teaching across a range of vocationally relevant programmes. Its mission is to be the UK’s leading University for business, enterprise and the professions. It was ranked 5th in the UK and 1st outside London for Graduate Employability in 2013. The University has bold plans for its future; it has invested heavily in a new Student Villages development and library refurbishment project, and the Aston Medical School is due to open within the next couple of years.

Reporting to the Vice-Chancellor, the new Dean of Life and Health Sciences will be tasked with taking a high-performing school to new heights. With over 2000 students, 230 staff and £27m income, the school spans the academic disciplines of Audiology, Biology, Optometry, Pharmacy and Psychology, and is home to a number of research centres, including the cutting-edge Aston Brain Centre. The post holder will be expected to develop a vision to grow the school and raise its ambitions. He/she will lead curriculum review, grow research income, drive international collaborations and facilitate innovative interdisciplinary activity. A key member of the University’s Executive team, the new dean will be influential in developing and delivering the University’s 2020 vision. Candidates will have an exemplary research track-record in a relevant discipline as well as broad knowledge across Life and Health Sciences. They must have gained significant management experience within a complex organisation and in a competitive environment. The ability to develop an ambitious strategic vision for the school - and unite a variety of stakeholders behind it - will be critical. Candidates must be skilled at partnership-working, have links with the NHS and/or industry, and be able to engage with professional bodies. The successful candidate will bring energy, unwavering dedication and team spirit to the role. This is an opportunity for a driven and visionary leader to contribute to the future of an ambitious institution.

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Aston School of Life and Health Sciences The School of Life and Health Sciences was formed in 1998, bringing together the established academic disciplines of Biology, Optometry, Pharmacy and Psychology. Our history of successful education is evidenced by the uninterrupted delivery of pharmacy education for over 100 years, following the establishment of Pharmacy at Aston in 1898. The quality of these programmes is exemplified by the external professional accreditation of all of our eligible programmes and our league table rankings, particularly in Optometry and Pharmacy. The principal goal of LHS lies in inspiring students, researchers, partners and the wider community for success through increasing knowledge in the life and health sciences. Therefore our strategy balances the importance of quality and innovation in research, learning and teaching, and global partnerships within a framework of high performing staff, state of the art infrastructure and financial sustainability. Each of these platforms is considered in turn. Our aim is to be an International centre of excellence for the delivery of research and education in the scientific basis of health and disease.

Global Research, Learning and Teaching Partnerships Our successful history in educating health professionals and undertaking excellent research which has application in industry, the health sector and in the public policy arena has been supported by strong partnerships with a variety of organisations at home and overseas. In the last three years, industrial research income worth £5m has been awarded to LHS from an ever growing variety of funding sources (including fully funded research contracts, BBSRC CASE Studentships, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and BBSRC Industry Interchange awards). In 2011/12, nearly one third of the School’s total research income has been generated by such projects. In learning and teaching, we have successfully established a number of distance learning programmes that are delivered at home and in the international market leading to graduates from diploma, bachelor and doctorate programmes. Institutional collaboration has begun to make its mark in shaping the delivery of programmes overseas. In partnering with local Trusts and high street clinical practices we offer our students first-hand learning and inter-professional experiences of the environment in which they will work. We appoint staff to an inter-cultural framework of professionals from different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and sectors, ranging from part-time clinical academic staff through to researchers participating in industry interchange programmes. By 2020, we will have further strengthened our reputation, growth and development through international collaboration and partnerships for undergraduate and postgraduate study, research and business which underpin increased financial sustainability.

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Research

The School of Life and Health Sciences has an outstanding reputation for cutting edge research and focuses on extending our understanding of the processes of health and disease at the molecular, cell and whole body level – and understanding the personal and social context in which they occur. Our goal is to further develop our translational framework that supports the gain of new knowledge and its application to clinical products, policy and practise across the age-span. To underpin this goal, we have invested significantly in research centres; Aston Brain Centre, Aston Centre for Vision and Hearing; Research in Child Health at Aston; and Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing. From our well-established academic foundations, we will focus on research excellence in the health and disease of the eye, metabolism and brain across the age-span and exploit our unique interdisciplinary expertise. By 2020, we will be ranked as an elite research partner of choice for fundamental research findings and technological advances in health, policy and industry by virtue of our capability and impact. We will have delivered a paediatric MEG system and developed MEG as a primary clinical tool. Through integrated, cross-disciplinary research we will have increased understanding of visual and auditory perception and measurements in health and disease. We will have informed the management of chronic diseases in childhood through pharmaceutical and behavioural interventions, to mitigate their impact in adulthood and we will have deepened knowledge that underpins intervention to mitigate the effects of the ageing eye, metabolism and brain. We will be recognised internationally for our research centres of excellence.

Learning and Teaching

The professional focus and quality of the academic programmes in LHS is attested by accreditations which have been awarded by The General Pharmaceutical Council, the General Optical Council, the Institute of Biomedical Scientists, the Health Professions Council, the British Psychological Society, the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists, and the Hearing Aid Council. By 2020, we aim to be the School of choice for undergraduates in life and health sciences seeking employability, adding value by a strong emphasis on placements and international exchange. We will have developed independent, life-long learners through a first class student experience and education, constructive feedback and practical experience.

Infrastructure and Sustainability Our financial investment in laboratories, office spaces and purpose-built facilities for our staff and students has exceeded £15m in the past 10 years. Funding has been won from Advantage West Midlands and University strategic funds to modernise our physical infrastructure, increase efficiency of space utilisation and improve team working. New research programme and curriculum developments will continue to demand that we invest in upgrading our space strategically.

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Aston Medical School In line with its 2020 strategy, Aston University is currently in the process of developing a private School of Medical Sciences as the fifth School for the University, under the leadership of Professor Asif Ahmed, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health). The mission of the new School will be to produce doctors with a strong culture of citizenship, combined with leadership skills and business acumen, who will contribute to the local community. Aston is located in an area of the City which suffers from poor social mobility combined with significant health inequalities. A medical school located at Aston can act as a catalyst to improve both the health and the wealth of this community. The vision for the new School is to become an exemplar - as a driver for healthy living for the local community and beyond. This will be achieved through innovative teaching, informed by world-class research, and both integrated with patient care. The ethos of the School will be one of accessible excellence: accessible to local students to encourage wider participation in medical education, and access for local hospitals and patients to breakthrough inventions and relevant research developments. The Medical School aims to open for a small first cohort of students in 2016/17 with the first full cohort in 2017/18. The Dean of LHS will be required to work closely with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health) to enable the development of this new School at Aston and to develop the significant teaching and research synergies that will exist between the two Schools.

Aston School of LHS Management Structure

The School operates a single management structure but incorporates five strong and distinct subject groups: Audiology, Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Optometry, Pharmacy and Psychology. The Executive Dean is supported by a Deputy and a School Management Team which also comprises: five appointed Associate Deans for Research and Enterprise, Taught Programmes, Learning and Teaching, International Development, Taught Programme Development and Recruitment; Heads of Subject Groups; the Head of Administration and Quality Assurance; Head of External Relations; School Technical Manager. The School has over 2000 students on a range of high quality undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research programmes. It also has around 227 staff made up of 110 academic and teaching, 12 clinical, 36 administrative and managerial, 28 technical and 44 research.

Financial Performance Total income for the School has grown from £21 million to £25 million in the period 2009/2010 – 2011/2012 and achieved some £27 million in 2012/2013 and is forecast to achieve £31 million in 2013/14. While funding council grants have declined, this has been more than overcome by increases in academic fees and other income

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Position Profile Position: Executive Dean of Life and Health Sciences (LHS) Location: Aston University, Birmingham, England Reports to: The Vice-Chancellor Works with: The University’s Executive Team, the University’s Council, the

University’s Senate, and academics throughout the University and LHS.

The Role

The new executive dean will be required to:

Provide visionary leadership for the continued growth and transformation of the Life and Health Sciences School in delivering Aston University’s 2020 vision;

Provide innovative academic leadership and management, to enhance further the School’s reputation for the quality of its teaching, research and integration with business globally;

Ensure the capability (teaching, research resource and organisation) required to deliver the vision and the strategy;

Develop a culture that is cohesive, and outcome and outward-focused to meet the needs of the highly competitive global market place;

Play a key part in the Executive team, leading the University to fulfil its aspirations.

Specific Responsibilities The appointee will be expected to:

Vision

Craft a proposition to lead and enable Life and Health Sciences to become a world class School integrated with research leaders and professionals globally and recognised as the best in Europe for impactful research, employability and global mobility.

Inspire the confidence to embrace the “new” and “different”, through inspiration, communication and leadership.

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Strategy

Lead, support and monitor the development and implementation of the School’s strategic plan for realising this vision in terms of raising the profile, teaching quality, research, business development and financial ambitions.

Establish the targets and performance indicators and the mechanisms to monitor that these are being achieved.

Promote the involvement and collaboration and ownership by all staff, students and alumni

in the delivery of the School’s vision and strategy.

External Focus

Actively promote and act as an ambassador for the School and the University and communicate its vision and ambitious development plans to a diverse range of audiences (business, industry, government, academia, and the public sector) nationally, regionally and internationally, thereby raising the profile of the School and facilitating partnerships required to achieve maximum leverage.

Establish a culture within the School to support working effectively on a global basis, be it with other academic institutions, research bodies or other types of organisations or individuals.

Capability Development

Continue to attract leading academics and key thinkers from across the world to create a forward looking School that keeps pace with the ever changing environment.

Ensure that all members of the School own and are capable of contributing to the delivery of the strategic plan, understand their individual and collective role in the delivery of this and are signed up to the delivery of outcomes in line with an agreed timetable.

Encourage interdisciplinary research within and between the Schools to identify key

linkages and propositions which will be attractive to the outside world.

Ensure that the appropriate recruitment, reward and development processes are in place, to meet the needs of the strategic plan.

Lead with the executive team, the recruitment and career development of the academic

staff of the School.

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Internal School Leadership and Management

Provide supportive and inspiring leadership, ensuring that all colleagues are confident in being outward focused.

Ensure effective financial management of the School and to develop an entrepreneurial approach to funding and income generation.

Wider University Management

Contribute to the senior leadership team of the University to identify and actively encourage innovative collaboration and integration across Schools.

Act not only as an Ambassador for the School, but for the wider University.

Contribution to Research, Teaching and New Development Programmes

Champion research excellence and relevance and help identify areas for growth, particularly around raising the profile of the School with regard to leading ideas that are highly relevant to the Life and Health Sciences and the business world in both current and future environment.

Recruit new talent or develop existing talent in these high profile areas. Alongside this to focus on excellence in teaching and learning thus guaranteeing the best possible student experience.

Identify and actively pursue new opportunities in the provision of undergraduate,

postgraduate and other development programmes which are valued and in demand in the highly competitive global market place. Also through this to ensure that the School improves its rankings in all major relevant league tables.

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Person Specification Experience

Strong candidates will have:

A track record of awareness of developments, trends and forecasts and positioning a response to effect the maximum opportunity for the School.

Developed an inspirational vision and strategy and gained “buy in” and engagement of a diverse range of highly intellectual key stakeholders.

Developed an organisation and its people to be outward/outcome focused and to be

accountable for their “part” in this as well as the “whole”. This includes building effective teams across and between natural working silos.

Built leadership teams capable of both leading own teams inside the organisation and collaborations with other internal and external bodies. He/she will have developed motivated individuals who will take up a challenge and make it happen, and who will want to contribute and develop their ideas on a national and international stage.

Created and maintained an environment of curiosity and then creativity in relation to outcomes and how these might be achieved.

Led a group of very talented individuals and supported them to develop and make connections and meaningful partnerships globally.

Academic credibility in a research focussed environment, and will be recognised for his/her achievements in their particular business field.

A track record in crafting and delivering a new/enhanced model from an existing capability.

Built and run a successful business that has delivered on its key outcome targets.

Led a portfolio of activities and opportunities where they have assessed both value and risk in relation to growth opportunities and led investment decisions.

A track record of writing successful funding proposals and bringing in significant funding – in academia or other bid writing and winning environments.

Ensured research is of high quality with value and of relevance i.e. has impact.

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Knowledge Strong candidates will bring:

Broad and/or deep knowledge of the Life and Health Sciences spectrum.

A broad interest across the spectrum and an eye for innovative cross-disciplinary collaboration opportunities.

Skills in leading cultural and organisational change.

Sufficient understanding of cultural differences, organisational and global, to enable the development of a global vision coupled with huge sensitivity to cultural differences, academia-business.

“Academic credibility”, without necessarily being an academic.

Established personal and professional network of stakeholders who can add to the strategy of the School.

Skills

Strong candidates will bring:

An ability to scan the global horizon to identify key issues and themes and then craft a value proposition which picks up innovative cross disciplinary opportunities from these.

Inspirational vision and strategy development skills.

An ability to engage - and achieve “buy in” from - a range of internal and external stakeholders even when outside their comfort zone.

An ability to develop collaborative leadership capability in relation to internal and external parties and in complex organisations. He/she must be able to develop effective and inspiring mixed disciplinary teams.

Skills in embedding that combination of curiosity, experimentation, innovation and creativity around continually finding optimal solutions/approaches.

An ability to instil the confidence and courage for constructive and challenging debate and delivering outcomes, as well as dealing with complex multi-disciplinary issues.

The ability to tap into the huge reservoir of knowledge of key stakeholders, value this and demonstrate respect.

The ability to maintain a balance between potentially conflicting priorities.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills for capturing and maintaining an effective rapport with a broad range of individuals/audiences.

An ability to gain critical mass, beyond the resource constraints of one’s own organisation.

The ability to create champions for the next generation and execute exciting ideas.

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Behaviours/Personal Characteristics The appointee should be:

A committed, passionate, engaged leader, able to create a positive impact through style and presence

Bright, strategic, capable analytically and yet essentially flexible and pragmatic.

An innovator and shaper.

Infectious in their energy, enthusiasm and belief in the future.

Highly intellectually capable; someone who enjoys intellectual challenges.

Driven and restless to go beyond good and very good; Focused on high outcomes and delivery; A risk taker but measured.

Curious, always open to learn and to deliver new approaches.

Ambitious to craft a future and yet with sound self-knowledge.

Genuinely interested in people and the issues around their individual and collective success, Interested to give others the freedom to develop and grow

Clear in their leadership imperatives and naturally engaging and collaborative, yet decisive.

A natural and reassuring magnet for people, for their ideas, for support and re-assurance.

Someone who likes to ‘walk/talk/engage’.

Committed to a corporate approach to the success of the School and the University.

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Terms and Conditions

Salary

The salary for the successful candidate will be determined on the basis of previous qualifications, skills and experience, but will be an excellent six figure basic salary. There is scope to increase the remuneration package on offer for a truly exceptional candidate.

The type of contract, term, and other terms and conditions will be negotiated individually with the successful candidate. Offers of appointment are subject to satisfactory references and medical clearance.

Pension

A defined benefit pension with the University Superannuation Scheme

Annual Leave Annual leave is 31 working days. Aston University also closes for an additional 13 days (Bank Holidays and special ‘University days’).

Hours of Work The working week is 36.5 hours but the post-holder will be required to work such hours as are necessary to perform his/her duties and to undertake a working pattern for the proper performance of his/her duties.

As a member of the Executive Team, the post-holder will be required to be contactable outside normal working hours in the event of unforeseen problems relating to the work of the University.

Location

Aston, Birmingham

References

The appointment will be subject to receipt of a minimum of three satisfactory references.

Relocation Support Relocation support is available, where applicable.

Expenses

Travelling expenses will be reimbursed to candidates who travel a significant distance to attend for interview.

Aston University Policies The post-holder will be expected to actively follow Aston University’s policies, including Aston’s Equality and Diversity policy and associated codes of practice and guidance. The post-holder must maintain an awareness and observation of Fire and Health and Safety regulations.

Information on Aston’s employment policies can be found at:

http://www1.aston.ac.uk/staff/equalops/

http://www1.aston.ac.uk/staff/hr

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Structure, Governance and Finances

Academic Schools As indicated above, Aston's academic activity is divided into four Schools, each of which is managed by an Executive Dean: Executive Dean, Aston Business School Professor George Feiger

Executive Dean, Engineering and Applied Science Professor Bjorn Birgisson Executive Dean, Life and Health Sciences Professor Helen Griffiths Executive Dean, Languages and Social Sciences Professor Simon Green Honorary positions and governance Aston’s governing body, the University Council, comprises 10 staff members from within the Executive and Schools leadership, 2 student members, and 14 appointed lay members who are business and community leaders from the Midlands and beyond – 20% are Aston alumni. The University Senate is Aston's supreme academic authority. Aston's Chancellor, Sir John Sunderland, is the honorary and ceremonial head of the University.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame

Julia King

Executive Director of Marketing Strategy &

Communications

David Farrow

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Professor Helen Higson

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Professor Martin Griffin

Executive Dean ABS

Professor George Feiger

Executive Dean LHS

Professor Helen Griffiths

Chief Financial Officer

Executive Director of Campaigns

Andrew Harris

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Dr Phil Extance

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Professor Alison Halstead

Executive Dean EAS

Professor Björn Birgisson

Executive Dean LSS

Professor Simon Green

Chief Operating Officer (University

Secretary-Registrar)

Judith Whitaker

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How to apply The university has engaged the services of Minerva, to whom applications should be sent by the closing date of 2 May 2014 at close of business.

In order to apply, please submit a comprehensive curriculum vitae along with a covering letter setting out your interest in the role and details of how you match the criteria.

Please include the names and addresses of three referees. Referees will not be approached until the final stages and not without prior permission from candidates.

Please email your application to aston@minervasearch.com

Recruitment Timetable Short listed candidates will be invited to attend informal stakeholder meetings at the university on the 13 and 16 June.

This will be followed by a formal, final stage interview on 23 June.

Please diarise these dates accordingly.

Further Information For more information or a conversation about the role, please contact Kerry Shepherd at kerry@minervasearch.com or on 07990 645159.

Equality and Diversity All candidates are also requested to complete an online Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. This can be found online at www.minervasearch.com/aston

This will assist the university in monitoring selection decisions to assess whether equality of opportunity is being achieved. Any information collated from the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Forms will not be used as part of the selection process and will be treated as strictly confidential.

The University welcomes applications from disabled people and is a Positive about Disabled People Symbol User.

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This means that we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities. If you are a disabled person and would like to be considered under our guaranteed interview scheme, please indicate this in your covering letter. It will not be identified from your monitoring form which is kept separate from the selection process. In addition, you may wish to give details of any adjustments or specific requirements you may have for the interview and selection process. Please get in touch if you have any questions about this process.

Aston University is committed to creating a culture in which diversity and equality of opportunity are promoted actively and in which unlawful discrimination is not tolerated. The University recognises the real educational and business benefits of having a diverse community of staff and students and, to this end, is working towards building and maintaining an environment which values diversity.

Monitoring the recruitment and selection procedures is one way of helping to ensure that there is no unfair discrimination in the way we recruit people.

The University is an Athena Swan Award holder.