School/Department MKU
Based at Cranfield and Milton Keynes
Hours of work 37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered
Contract type Fixed term contract
Fixed Term Period 12 months
Salary Lecturer: £43,351 to £48,323 per annum. Exceptionally, an appointment may be made on a salary up to £60,403 per annum. Senior Lecturer: £53,205 to £59,302 per annum. Exceptionally, an appointment may be made on a salary up to £74,126 per annum
Apply by 24/01/2021

We are inviting applications from passionate, motivated people to join the MK:U education team, leading one of our four new undergraduate courses. You will be joining a project team with a unique opportunity to shape the creation of a brand new model for higher education in the region.

Your Core Values

You will see your educational role as one where the students help themselves to learn and you co-create knowledge with them.  You will be interested in the innovations within your subject area and enabling the students to engage with them.  You will be interested in how education works to the benefit of the student and how the in-education learnings actively contribute to their in-work experiences.

You will prize teamwork and value your colleagues’ skills and knowledge. You will enjoy being challenged and thinking broadly about modern education. You will be willing to experiment and learn quickly from your experiments.

About MK:U

MK:U is part of the Cranfield educational family and will operate under the Cranfield brand and degrees will be awarded by Cranfield University. The vision for a new, ground breaking undergraduate university is one that is hands-on, focused on a curriculum for the digital economy, and specifically addressing the employment needs of organisations in the 21st century.  MK:U will be different by design and will completely transform how we think about higher education. Find out more here

The degrees have a focus on the student’s application of learning. They have been developed with industry from inception and for the future employment of the student participants. The education focuses on real-world application of problems utilising a problem based learning approach.

With funding from SEMLEP, we are pilot testing four Level 6 (L6) Degree Apprenticeship courses in Milton Keynes from 2021 (the ‘MK:U Accelerator’).  The four Degree Apprenticeships are based on the following Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Standards:

• Cyber security technical professional (integrated degree)
• Data scientist (integrated degree)
• Digital and technology solutions professional (integrated degree)
• Chartered manager (degree)

About the opportunity

Reporting to the Education Lead, you will lead one of the courses, depending on your area of expertise. In the role of course lead you will manage the academic elements of the student’s journey from admission to graduation for your course.

The role will also include end to end design and delivery of some modules.  Other modules will see you co-leading and co-creating in collaboration with colleagues and industry partners, or managing the design and delivery by colleagues in our network. A full list of modules can be provided upon application.  We will be launching the MK:U Accelerator to around 150 students in 2021, rising to 1000 students in five years’ time.

Why you’ll like working for us

• MK:U is a new type of educational experience for tertiary students focusing on requirements for the digital era.
• We have designed the undergraduate education with the students’ long term careers as the focal point.
• We actively work with industry to keep us accountable for the quality and relevance of the degree contents.
• We prize teamwork and collaboration.
• We prize innovation and experimentation.

About you

We are open to ideas and think creatively about our resourcing needs.   We are seeking people to join the team who are as a passionate as we are about the educational needs of our current and future workforce.  You will, most likely, have undergraduate education experience in a subject matter related to Business and Management / Cyber / Data Science / Digital. Alternatively, you may have postgraduate education experience with evidence of innovation in your educational approach.  

You will have an advanced degree in your subject area (Masters or above) and/or a qualification in education (e.g. a Postgraduate certificate in Academic Practice)

Experience or knowledge of problem-based learning and/or industry experience will also be required for Senior Lecturer.

To be successful in this role you will be well organised and willing to work to tight, flexible, deadlines. Importantly, you will be able confidently to collaborate with and influence a network of stakeholders and build relationships quickly, and you will be eager to play a full role in the fast-moving and exciting MK:U project.

Flexible working and diversity and inclusion

We value Diversity and Inclusion, and aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together harmoniously with dignity and respect and realise their full potential.  Our equal opportunities and diversity monitoring has shown that minority ethnic groups are currently underrepresented and so we actively encourage applications from eligible candidates from these groups.

We actively consider flexible working options such as part-time, compressed or flexible hours and/or an element of homeworking, and whether a position can be carried out at any of our locations.  We commit to exploring the possibilities for each role. Find out more here.

For an informal discussion, please contact Dr Ruth Massie, Associate Professor in Andragogy and MK:U Education Lead:  r.massie@cranfield.ac.uk

How to apply

Apply online now at https://jobs.cranfield.ac.uk or contact us for further details on E: hr@cranfield.ac.uk. Please quote reference number 3477.

In addition to your application, please submit answers to the following questions: What is your personal philosophy in relation to your educational approach? How does this manifest itself in the classroom, your structuring, and your relationship towards students? This written submission should be no more than 500 words.

Closing date for receipt of applications:   24 January 2021

Assessment centre to be held 3 February 2021

Interviews to be held: 8 or 9 February 2021 (to be confirmed)