Associate Professor in Sound and Music Technology 

School of Computing and Digital Technology
Location:  Birmingham, England
Salary:  £55,091 to £59,880 per annum 
Closing Date:  Sunday 12 April 2020
Interview Date:  To be confirmed 
Reference:  032020-129 

Located in a modern £300M campus in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, the School of Computing and Digital Technology is a thriving, vibrant, and inspiring learning community committed to excellence in research, high quality teaching and impactful industrial engagement. Building on continuous success in student growth and in sustained advancement of research activities, the School has embarked on a programme of extensive expansion funded by substantial long-term investments.

Our growing teams are teaching, exploring and practising in some of the most exciting areas in the field of audio engineering, computing and the processing of digital media.  Our research groups include, broadcast systems, data science and big data analytics; augmented and virtual reality systems; cybersecurity and digital forensics; future networks; audio and music information retrieval; enterprise systems; socio-technical systems modelling and serious games technology. 

We are a practice-based school, making our teaching and research relevant to the evolving market for technical skills by partnering with local and global enterprise in areas such as audio product development, smart cities, medical applications, the media production industry, and IoT applications. We work in a collaborative and cross disciplinary culture, where interacting freely across the school and with colleagues in other schools is encouraged to gain a unique insight into impactful problem domains.

We invite applications to join our integrated teaching and research teams in the DMT centre. For this role we are particularly seeking applicants who bring skills in Music Technology alongside expertise in course management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities a course leader include:

• Leadership of the sound and music technology course and research team, overseeing the research strategy alongside the team members the course curriculum and its continuing development
• Lead in course development to reflect fast-evolving industry practices 
• Ensuring student engagement, satisfaction and graduate employability 
• Ensuring high quality assurance to meet the academic standards 
• Efficient management of courses within the allotted resources and budget
• Lead in the creation of high quality research leading to publications in reputable journals and conference proceedings, and lead in developing bids and partnerships for research funding.

In addition to academic administration, the Course Leader also undertakes teaching on the BSc (Hons) Music Technology / BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering & Production programmes and will be expected to

• Lead on development of high-quality applied research leading to publications in reputable journals and conference proceedings, and to develop bids and partnerships for research funding in collaboration with colleagues in the Centre;
• Teach as a member of the Digital Media Technology team in a variety of settings from small group tutorials to large lectures
• Manage learner cohorts ensuring the efficient delivery of teaching programmes in accordance with the University’s strategy, policy and procedures.
• Set and mark assessments and provide constructive feedback to students.
• Seek ways of improving performance by reflecting on teaching design and delivery and obtaining and analysing feedback.
• Lead the enhancement of the Centre’s professional audio network. 
• Work closely with industry partners to ensure the continued currency of course content and to explore potential collaboration through research and knowledge transfer.

Skills and Experience, 

Essential

• Hold a PhD and significant research experience in an area related to music technology / audio engineering.
• A proven record of attracting research funding and/or knowledge transfer across key areas of practice
• Excellent working knowledge of music technology / audio engineering with a core expertise in one or more of the following: acoustics, live sound, audio software development, studio recording, embedded systems, game audio.
• Experience of course/programme management and the supervision and development of teaching staff
• Substantial knowledge and extensive experience of academic framework of higher education
• Knowledge of contextualising academic programme content and curriculum development to fulfill requirements of accreditation and for programme enhancement
• Proven ability in managing curriculum planning, programme budgets and programme delivery
• Strong pastoral care skills
• Applicants should have a track record of excellence in teaching in higher education and demonstrated the ability to engage students through a range of delivery modes
• Ability to work well as a member of a team and collaborate with colleagues at all levels
• Excellent team leadership, analytical and communication skills 

Desirable

• Display a thirst for knowledge and academic learning in the context of real-world challenges and a strong desire to see their theoretical work applied in solving impactful problems
• Experience of music technology / audio engineering in an industry context
• Eligible for Senior Fellow status under the Higher Education Academy’s Professional Standards Framework

For an informal discussion of the post, please contact Dr Ian Williams on +44 (0)1213315458. 

With around 24,000 students from 80 countries, Birmingham City University is a large and diverse place to study. We put students at the heart of everything we do, giving them the best opportunities for future success. The University has an enviable reputation for providing quality, student-focused education in a professional and friendly environment. Our superb courses, state-of-the-art facilities, first-rate staff, and focus on practical skills and professional relevance is producing some of the country’s most employable graduates. 

We put £270 million into the regional economy and support thousands of jobs in the area. We're investing £260 million in our estate, including a major expansion of our city centre campus at Eastside, providing students with an enviable range of facilities. The Complete University Guide ranked us as a top 30 UK university for spending on facilities in 2015.

Our staff and student community is defined by our core values, which outline who we are as a University and how we will work with each other. Our core values are Excellence, People focused, Partnership working and Fairness and integrity.

To apply for this role, complete the online application and upload a copy of your CV. Candidates are advised to remove personal information, including names to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process.
Closing date for advert and applications is Sunday 12 April 2020

Further details:

• Job Description
• Core Values

Applications from job seekers who require Tier 2 sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, non-EEA candidates may not be appointed to a post if a suitably qualified, experienced and skilled EU/EEA candidate is available to take up the post as the employing body is unlikely, in these circumstances, to satisfy the Resident Labour Market Test. The UK Visas and Immigration department requires employers to complete this test to show that no suitably qualified EEA or EU worker can fill the post. For further information please visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Birmingham City University are an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

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