Location: Milton Keynes

Salary: £150,000

Be surprising and inspiring. Be so much more.

The Open University is innovative, responsive and inclusive. We deliver world-class, part-time education to people across the four nations of the UK, Ireland and worldwide. We make a significant contribution to employability and productivity, strengthening the UK economy.

Since 1969, we have promoted educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality education to all those who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential. More than two million people have experienced this life-changing learning through their study with us.

Our mission is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas and this means that a commitment to equality is embedded in all that we do. We celebrate diversity and the strengths that it brings and we challenge under-representation and differences in outcomes. The commitment to deliver ‘Greater Equity’ as a key part of our strategy.

We are now looking for a Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. This exciting new executive role is responsible for leading our efforts to achieve equity, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our work, across the four nations of the UK and with our 9,000 employees and 200,000 students. This is a very important pillar of our strategy.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will be a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive (VCE), which advises the Vice-Chancellor on all aspects of the University’s planning and operations, and of VCE Academic, which focuses on implementation of academic plans.

As the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion you will work collaboratively across all VCE portfolios, with particularly close working relationships with the PVC (Students) and Chief People Officer. You will have leadership and line management responsibilities for the Director of EDI and the EDI team in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. Together you will create and enhance an inclusive, equitable and accessible environment for all at the OU, leading on EDI strategy, planning, targets, implementation, evaluation and learning as well as provide expert advice on regulatory and legal requirements, including how our commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, appropriate behaviours and freedom of expression join up and work together effectively in our policies, processes and day-to-day work. You will also ensure that support is provided to each of our national teams.

The successful candidate will have a sustained record of achievement at both a senior academic and senior management level which demonstrates institutional impact from strategic equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. If you are not already at the professorial level, there will be an opportunity for the successful candidate to become a professor of one of the University’s four Faculties. You will be appointed to a Senior Lectureship or Professorship in one of the University’s four Faculties seconded full-time to the PVC role for five years with the opportunity for further renewal.

If you have vision, passion, creativity and determination to make a difference, we want to hear from you. This is a key appointment for us, and it will be for you – so we will invest time with candidates to get to know you and to give you the chance to get to know us.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates as they are currently under-represented at this level in the University.

If you need further clarifications, or an informal, confidential conversation about the role, please contact our advisors at GatenbySanderson: Maliha Ahmed, Jacqueline Lau, Hilda Gjika or Julia Roberts at PVCEDIOU@gatenbysanderson.com

Closing date: 6 September 2024