JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Head of School

DEPARTMENT: School of Pharmacy, College of Science

LOCATION: Brayford Campus

POST NUMBER: LS1055

GRADE: SMG2

DATE: April 2012

Context

The newly-founded School of Pharmacy will form an important part of the College of Science and have an important working relationship with the College of Social Sciences. It will have a particularly close relationship with the School of Life Sciences, whose portfolio covers complementary areas in Biology, Forensic Science, Biotechnology, Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Bioveterinary, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science.The new School is established as part of a major strategic development of the Sciences at Lincoln, designed to establish a ‘top 50’ profile. The University has submitted for MPharm accreditation by the General Pharmaceutical Council, which should lead to the first intake in 2014, and the first graduates in 2019. The Founding Head of School will need to establish a coherent, efficient and attractive MPharm programme, successfully achieve accreditation, achieve the business plan targets for student recruitment, build up the School’s academic and support staff, grow links with external partners and establish the research profile. The School of Pharmacy will play a key role in the University’s strategic aim to establish a “top 50” profile within the next few years.

Job Purpose

The Head of School will lead the development of the new School of Pharmacy, providing the vision and leadership to compete nationally with other high quality providers.

Key Responsibilities

  • Provide strategic leadership of the School, taking responsibility for setting and advancing its strategic direction, in collaboration with the Head of the College ofScience and senior academic colleagues. Develop and regularly review strategic plans.
  • Line Manage the senior staff of the School;
  • Serve as a member of the College Executive Board and other key College committees.
  • Develop international and taught postgraduate student recruitment to degree programmes offered by the School,develop international partnerships and maximize the recruitment opportunities provided by these.
  • Lead on the development of the new curriculum model, secure accreditation from the General Pharmaceutical Council.
  • Recruit students to meet the targets laid out in the School of Pharmacy Business Plan.
  • Ensure that the newly-developed facilities of the School are fit for purpose and within budget.
  • Establish strong working relationships with external partners in support of the School, including local community and hospital pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies and other HE providers of education of Health professionals.
  • Lead on the development of external income generation, including: external research income, consultancy and other “third stream” activity, and non-HEFCE funded educational activities.
  • Develop the research culture of the School. Attain a strong performance in REF (at least 90% of academic staff publishing at GPA 2.5 or above), grow external research income including from prestigious sources, establish PhD registrations.
  • Establish effective practices for staff management and development, including: appraisal schemes, research sabbaticals and mentoring. In particular, staff development to achieve the highest standards in research and teaching should be supported.
  • Ensure optimum performance of academic staff in the School, including: the effectiveallocation of duties, performance management, and the optimum deployment of academic staff including the appropriate balance between permanent and temporary academic staff.
  • Develop and maintain an effective approach to staffing. This includes: the provision of flexible and effective technical support for both teaching and research; the effective deployment of academic staff including balancing of academic duties; the role of researchers and graduate teaching assistants in the life of the School.
  • Manage the School budget.
  • Contribute to research in an appropriate subject area, including research publications and external research income generation.
  • Contribute to teaching in an appropriate subject area.

Key Outcomes

  • Operational efficiency and efficacy of the School
  • Performance against agreed Research Excellence Framework targets
  • Continued and sustained development of internationally-competitive research activity in the School
  • Achievement of external income targets
  • High morale of School staff
  • High quality performance of School staff
  • High quality student experience
  • High level of graduate employability
  • Student recruitment to target, including increased international student recruitment
  • Programme portfolio development facilitating increased and high quality student recruitment
  • Effective mentoring of new academic staff
  • Efficient management of externally funded research projects
  • Development of research students’ performance and outcomes, including joint publications with members of the School’s academic staff, and the efficient supervision of these students

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

INTERNAL

Head of the College of Science

Senior Staff in the School (Professors, Readers and PLs)

Members of the College of Science Executive

College Administrators, including marketing, finance, programmes.

AcademicCollege

Director of the International Office

Dean of Teaching and Learning

University Research Office

Enterprise@Lincoln

EXTERNAL

External examiners

Research Councils and other research-funding bodies

Overseas partner institutions

Accrediting bodies

Local research and teaching partners and stakeholders

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Job Title:Head of School Post Number: LS1055

Date: September 2011

Selection Criteria

/ Essential (E) or Desirable (D) / Where Evidenced
Application (A), Interview (I), Presentation (P); References (R)
Qualifications:
  • First degree or equivalent
  • PhD or the equivalent in published outputs
/ E
E / A
A & I
Experience:
  • Leadership and management experience in higher education
  • Experience of publishing high quality research
  • Broad teaching experience at undergraduate and taught postgraduate level
  • Experience of programme portfolio development
  • Experience of international student recruitment and international partnership development
  • Experience of PhD supervision
  • Experience of obtaining funding for research projects and of managing them effectively
  • Experience of working in internationally competitive research environments
/ E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E / A
A
A
A & I
A & I
A
A & I
A & I
Skills and Knowledge:
  • Knowledge of the higher education sector
  • Ability to lead and motivate others effectively
  • Well-developed communication skills (written and oral)
  • Budget management skills
  • Organizational ability
  • Ability to think strategically, and to formulate and communicate effective strategies for developing the School
  • Knowledge of the Research Excellence Framework
  • Ability to develop appropriate research strategies
  • Ability and willingness to contribute to teaching at an appropriate level
  • Ability and willingness to supervise PhD students
  • Ability and willingness to mentor School colleagues on the development of their research, on publication strategy and on applying for external funding for their research projects
  • Good time management skills
/ E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
D
E
E / A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
A & I
Competencies and Personal Attributes:
  • Ability to build good working relationships with key colleagues in the School, Faculty and elsewhere in the University
  • Enthusiasm for teaching and research within the range of subjects found in the School
  • Commitment to encouraging an optimum commitment from School colleagues
  • High level of motivation
  • Leadership qualities
  • Team-working ability
  • High level organizational ability
  • Conceptual and strategic thinking
/ E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E / I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Business Requirements:
  • Ability and willingness to travel on School, Faculty and University business, including overseas
/ E / A & I

Essential Requirements are those, without which, a candidate would not be able to do the job.

Desirable Requirements are those which would be useful for the postholder to possess and will be considered when more than one applicant meets the essential requirements.