Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning, Teaching and Digital)

Salary: Competitive
Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time
Closing Date: 04-04-2023 12 Midday
Support/Academic/Management: Management

Based in the heart of Birmingham city centre, University College Birmingham (UCB) is a specialist, aspirational and globally connected institution offering vocational education and training within a supportive learning community. Our vision is to unlock the talent of our learners to help them achieve their ambitions, maximising opportunities for career progression and personal fulfilment. We have invested over £160m in our teaching and other facilities over the last ten years to ensure an outstanding learning environment.

The University started its life as a Further Education (FE) College which gained independence through incorporation in 1993 and full university status in 2012. We are immensely proud of our roots in FE and our ability to offer progression routes and career pathways into Higher Education (HE). Approximately 30% of our current student body are FE students and the other 70% are HE students. We have exciting ambitions to grow and diversify further our HE strategic portfolio and align a unique offer to provide career ready graduates of the future who are highly employable.

It is an incredibly exciting time at the University, with an accreditation agreement in place with the University of Warwick since January 2022, this is the first step in a wider strategic partnership between the two institutions, one which we hope will build on our existing relationship and give us new opportunities to harness the distinctive and collective strengths of our two universities. With 1600 students already on UoW programmes, we are now working together closely on a range of projects designed to enhance opportunities for students and address regional needs in the West Midlands.

We have ambitious plans for the development of our future graduates who we aspire to be digitally enabled, independent, disruptive, and highly employable leaders of the future. To realise this ambition, we are now seeking a Pro-Vice-Chancellor Learning, Teaching and Digital to provide institutional strategic leadership, vision, and innovation to new generation curricular and to deliver on leading edge applied research and informed real world learning in a global context. With an approach to interdisciplinary learning and in response to major advances in technology, we aim to future proof courses for the next generation to be flexible, built for industry 4.0, digitally led, data driven, and employer focused.

You will have a strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and will strategically drive an inclusive culture of high-quality learning and teaching that embraces the importance of an excellent student experience whilst ensuring our students have core transferable and practical skills that are required to support employability and portfolio careers. In addition you will have a visionary approach towards technology enhanced active learning and teaching, embedding digital literacy and data analytics as core components of courses. The candidate should have knowledge and experience in articulating how digital skills, simulation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other immersive technology can be utilised and embedded within the curricular and into employability.

Working with the Deputy Deans for Learning, Teaching and Digital and the E-learning team (DICE) you will further embed the excellent facilities and resources we already have in cyber, esports, trading suites, simulation and VR and AR technology, whilst developing the strategy for further development and growth and consistency across all provision. You will be responsible for the cross institutional and industry approach to co-production of curriculum working in partnership with academic teams and key stakeholders to support career ready graduates who are highly employable and confident in the workplace.

As a member of the Executive Management Team, you will report directly to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer and contribute to wider University priorities. You will have responsibility for the Quality Enhancement Team and Executive Deans and will be required to work in partnership with the PVC Access, Participation and Student Experience and the PVC External Affairs.

We are seeking an outstanding academic leader, with a proven track record of delivering stretching research informed curriculum and quality improvement targets and who can deliver an attractive academic portfolio whilst ensuring that all key student outcome metrics are met and that this makes a positive contribution to the University’s key performance indicators, including TEF, the National Student Survey, graduate employability, student retention and minimising attainment gaps. You will have collective responsibility for the OFS B3 regulations and monitoring this across the University, working with the Quality team and wider EMT.

You will have excellent communication skills for working in meaningful partnerships with academic teams, professional services, industry partners, service users and stakeholders with have demonstrable experience of leading change and empowering others.

You will be required to meet financial expectations, developing income, and managing costs effectively and efficiently to support the financial sustainability of the schools and wider University.You will bring a demonstrable ability to work innovatively and at pace, and be adept at collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally and possess in-depth experience of Higher Education policy, and the regulatory and funding landscape.

You may also be required to undertake duties as assigned by the Vice Chancellor and deputise or cover for the Deputy Vice Chancellor.

How to Apply: 

Interested candidates are invited in confidence to initially send a CV and maximum two-page letter/expression of interest, very clearly setting out their most relevant experience and how they specifically address the key components of the role as set out in the advertisement to recruitment@ucb.ac.uk.

Following that, a telephone appointment can be made to discuss the role with the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief academic Officer.

A candidate pack will follow

Benefits: 

• 50 days’ paid leave per year
• Teacher’s pension scheme 
• Private healthcare 
• Excellent staff development opportunities 
• Salary sacrifice car leasing, tech and cycle schemes 
• Heavily-subsidised on-site car parking
• Hybrid Working Opportunities
• Free Gym Membership 
• Employee Assistance Programme 

Closing date - Tuesday 4 April 2023 at midday  

Standard Information:

UCB is an equal opportunities employer.

University College Birmingham is proud to have been voted UK University of the Year in the prestigious 2022 Whatuni Student Choice Awards. We are also the best university for Student Support. The awards are voted for by students showcasing the incredible relationships we foster here at University College Birmingham between Staff and Students.

University College Birmingham works in partnership with the University of Warwick - Ranked eighth in the 2023 Guardian League Tables and 10th in the UK in the QS World University rankings 2023.

The University of Warwick are committed to partnering with us on a full range of projects which will enhance student opportunity, experience and outcomes. Among these joint pieces of work are aspirations to enhance student employability across the West Midlands region, widen participation in Further and Higher Education and to support regional ‘levelling up’ and key regional skills priorities.

All applicants for employment at the University will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of Safeguarding and the PREVENT agenda in the context of further and higher education.