Associate Dean and Director of Education, Research and Development, School of Intelligent Finance and Business, XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang campus)

Applications are invited for the position of Associate Dean and Director of Education, Research and Development to assist the Dean in establishing and developing the new School of Intelligent Finance and Business at the XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang campus), part of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). The position will be a key link in developing education and research programmes within the school and building links between business partners and the Entrepreneur College, and be a member of the School Management Team. The post holder will report to the Dean of the School of Intelligent Finance and Business. 

Background 

About the University 
XJTLU is China’s leading Joint Venture University and located in Suzhou, China. Founded in 2006, it now has more than 17,000 enrolled students in both Suzhou and Liverpool in the UK. It plans to grow to about 25,000 students by 2025. The strengths of the university are in Science and Technology, as well as some professional subjects like Architecture and Business. There are currently around 850 academic staff, with an even split between citizens of the People’s Republic of China and international passport holders. The language of instruction, committees, and administrative work at XJTLU is English.

XJTLU is located in the Higher Education Town of Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), well-connected via nearby airports to cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei, and via high-speed rails to other major cities in China, including nearby Shanghai. Greater Suzhou is now the fourth largest concentration of economic activity in China in terms of GDP, and the SIP has been on the receiving end of both private and public investments into innovation and R&D.

About the Taicang site 
XJTLU is building a new teaching site in Taicang, with the collaboration of the Taicang Municipal Government and industry partners, as part of its strategic priorities for the next ten years. Taicang is a county-level city in Greater Suzhou. The Taicang site will be a pioneer of, and an educational model for, the future campus in developing talents and leaders to meet local, national, and global challenges from the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The Taicang site programmes are adopting a new higher education model based on the concept of Syntegrative Education (SE). SE is a new model that has been developed by XJTLU to address future challenges from the 4th Industrial Revolution, and is a core part of the university’s strategy for the next ten year development that stresses innovation and entrepreneurship. SE aims at training syntegrative leaders with Management skills, International perspective, Discipline-specific knowledge, and adaptability in Industry (MIDI).

The XJTLU Taicang site is directed by a Leadership team comprised of the Taicang Principal, Taicang Associate Principal, Chief Operating Officer, School Deans and Director of the Learning Mall. The Taicang Leadership Team reports through its Principal to the Executive President, who heads the Senior Management Team of XJTLU.  

About the School
The School of Intelligent Finance and Business is one of the 6 – 10 industry-themed Schools in the Taicang site. Each School consists of an Education, Research and Development Institute (“ERDI”) for teaching and university-business research collaboration, a professional services centre supporting daily activities of students, staff, and business partners, and a School Affiliated Company jointly established by XJTLU and the School’s industry partner for practical on-the-job learning and teaching.  

The School of Intelligent Finance and Business has been jointly developed by the International Business School of XJTLU and an industry partner – AMT, to deliver industry-themed programme(s). The partnership between XJTLU and the industry partner is non-exclusive.  The first degree programme that the School has launched for the Academic Year 2019/2020 is BSc Intelligent Supply Chain.  

About the Industry Partner
The current major partner in collaboration with XJTLU to co-develop the School of Intelligent Finance and Business is AMT. 

AMT (Shanghai Qiyuan Technology Co., Ltd.) was established in 1998 and is currently a leading organisation for "Management + IT" consulting services in China. More information please see http://www.amt.com.cn/index_en.aspx .

Key Responsibilities of the Post
The main duties of the role include:

• Work collaboratively with the Dean of School in the design and implementation of the School’s Teaching and Learning, and Research, Enterprise and Innovation Strategies.
• Lead the School’s business engagement initiatives with a view to building an extensive portfolio of potential business/industry collaborative partnerships.
• Promote, manage and contribute to the delivery and development of appropriate undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes to the required standards expected by the university academic regulatory framework, and where necessary appropriate professional, statutory and regulatory bodies. 
• Promote, manage and contribute to the delivery of an effective programme of academic staff development to ensure academic staff are equipped to deliver high quality teaching. 
• Promote best practice in relation to innovative assessment design across the School, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of appropriate assessment and feedback to meet the needs of all stakeholders. 
• Ensure that the school and curriculum design delivers an inclusive learning experience, as evidenced through student satisfaction, personal development and positive degree outcomes, and to work with industry partners to achieve this. 
• Lead the development of the VLE and technology enhanced teaching to maximise academic staff engagement in approaches that promote student led learning and supports student success. 
• Work with relevant School, College and University staff to identify opportunities for the successful exploitation of research.
• Manage investment funds which have been agreed by the Dean of School, Associate Principal or XJTLU Dean for Research, for Research and Innovation.
• Create and support a healthy research environment, with agreed annual research outcomes and expectations, an emphasis on impact and funded quality research and innovation and/or knowledge exchange activities. 
• Identify and implement strategies to maximize grant capture and research income, from both external funding bodies and business/industry.
• Represent the Dean of School when necessary, within the College, University and externally as appropriate.
• Any other work-related tasks assigned by the Charter of School, the School Council, or the Dean of School.

Qualifications:

1. Candidates must be a Ph.D. holder in a relevant subject from a world renowned university, or be able to demonstrate an equivalent professional practice and engagement.
2. Candidates must be willing/able to actively engage with new educational models such as Syntegrative Education (SE).
3. Candidates shall become familiar with and observe Chinese and UK rules and regulations of higher education. 
4. Candidates shall have outstanding leadership and management experience, and ability to motivate and inspire teams with good people skills.
5. Candidates must have a national/international reputation and demonstrate impacts in any of the research and innovation fields relevant to the School. Candidates are expected to have a good sense of the technology trends and relevant research experience on industrial projects. Candidates should have the experience to cooperate with industrial partners to develop R&D projects.
6. Candidates must have rich experience in teaching, research, academic leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, strategic planning and financial management in a university and/or business environment.
7. First class networking skills and an ability to build and nurture external contacts and partnerships, working with business other organisations in the area of innovation and business support to the benefit of the school.
8. Excellent organisational, implementation and monitoring skills to deliver successful outcomes.
9. Candidates must demonstrate a good track record of engagement with students and industry. 
10. Candidates must have a high level of communicative competence in English; an equivalent knowledge of Chinese would be an advantage.
11. Candidates with administration and management experience in international universities or Sino-foreign joint universities are preferred. 
12. Some experience of working in a relevant industry would be an advantage.

Remuneration and Benefits:
Salary is by negotiation and will be internationally competitive. There is a generous benefit-package including subsidies towards the costs of housing, travel, and children’s education, as well as the provision of health insurance. There is also an allowance for relocation. 

Deadline:
The recruitment is effective immediately and open until filled; however, applications received by 20 March 2020 at 12 pm (GMT +8) will be given first consideration

Contact:
Informal enquiries may be addressed to the Associate Principal, Professor Stuart Perrin (Email: stuart.perrin@xjtlu.edu.cn). 

To apply: 
Please visit our website at https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/about/job-opportunity/ to submit an online application. Job ID: 996078

You will be asked to upload your CV and covering letter (in English) outlining your interest in the position, and complete an Applicant Information Form and Equal Opportunities Form.