Ref.: 501737
Work type: Full-time
Department: President's Office (60100)
Categories: Professional & Management

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) seeks a dynamic academic leader to fill the position of Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Academic Development (VP (AD)).

The University

Founded in 1911, HKU is the first and foremost institution of higher learning in Hong Kong. It has attained its pre-eminence as a research-led comprehensive university through upholding the highest standards of excellence in its research pursuits, scholarship, teaching and learning, and service to the community. The University is consistently ranked amongst the world’s top universities: 22^nd in the world (QS 2021), 9th in the world for Graduate Employability (QS 2020), and was identified as the most international university by Times Higher Education (World's Most International Universities 2019). As Asia's Global University, HKU has a strategic vision firmly anchored by the '3+1 Is' of Internationalisation, Innovation and Interdisciplinarity, all converging on Impact.

There are ten Faculties at the University: Architecture, Arts, Business & Economics, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Sciences. The University’s students and staff – including over 2,500 professoriate and other academic staff, about 17,000 undergraduates and over 12,000 graduate students – come from Hong Kong and over 100 countries, generating a unique breadth of experience and perspective. According to Clarivate Analytics, 114 of HKU's Professors are ranked among the world’s top 1% of scientists.

The Position

The VP(AD) is responsible to the President and the Provost for the University's strategies in recruiting, rewarding, developing and sustaining a world-class and diverse professoriate and academic staff force, facilitating a culture of faculty excellence in all areas of research, teaching and service, and enabling faculty success at every stage of their career.  A key member of the Senior Management Team, the VP(AD) will work collaboratively with other vice-presidents, deans and heads of academic departments.  This is a special opportunity for a visionary and inspiring academic leader to help advance HKU as the University embarks on a phase of development and transformation.

Major responsibilities include

• Provide University-wide leadership in strategies, policies, programs and processes in all matters relating to academic staffing, including faculty recruitment and retention, promotion and tenure, rewards and benefits, professional and leadership development, and faculty diversity.
• Lead strategic faculty recruitment plans and initiatives in collaboration with deans and academic heads, integrating the University's strategic priorities in academic development, and maximizing recruiting opportunities through proactive and creative recruitment strategies and programs.
• Work with the Provost on policies and allocations relating to financial and physical resources for academic staffing with a view to integrating and advancing University’s strategic priorities in academic development.
• Provide university-wide leadership in the area of faculty development, including but not limited to: mentoring; new faculty orientation; support for pre-tenure and mid-career faculty; orientation of new department heads; leadership development and succession planning.
• Lead and promote a culture of faculty excellence through, among others, programs and initiatives on rewards and incentives; performance review and development; promotion of professional networking and collaboration locally, regionally and internationally; facilitation of internal, local, national and international awards, etc.
• Cultivate an environment that is equitable, accepting, and inclusive.

The Person

The successful candidate should be an outstanding scholar at full Professor level or above, with distinguished international standing.  He/She will have the ability to develop and communicate with broad University constituencies a strategic vision for faculty excellence befitting a leading global research university and provide leadership to pursue the vision.  Significant experience in the development and administration of academic personnel, strategic planning and resource management in a university setting, and experience in motivating and working effectively with sizable groups of academics and professionals in a multicultural, diverse, and complex university environment will be highly desirable. The ideal candidate will be a respectable leader with high integrity and tact, with a commitment to excellence.  He/she will also be a consensus builder with strong influencing skills and ability to cope with diverse interests.

Nomination, Expression of Interest and Application

Nominations, expression of interest and applications should be directed to the email address below in confidence. Review of nominations and applications will begin in July 2020, and will continue until the post is filled. The University is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to equality, ethics, inclusivity, diversity and transparency.