Head of Digital Academic Practice

Head of Digital Academic Practice
Education Development Service
Location:     Birmingham, City Centre Campus
Salary:     £51,855 to £56,364 per annum 
Closing Date:     Thursday 15 April 2021
Interview Date:     Thursday 29 April 2021
Reference:     032021-112

Birmingham City University offers quality, student-focused education in a professional and friendly environment. Our superb courses, multi-million pounds' investment in state-of-the-art facilities, first-rate staff, and with a focus on practical skills and professional relevance is producing some of the country's most employable graduates. Coupled with our growing reputation for applied research, the University has a proud reputation as the University for Birmingham. 

Our campus environments are distributed around the vibrant city centre and include the central campus at Curzon Street, the modern Seacole health and education campus, the arts and design site at Margaret Street, the award-winning School of Jewellery, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. 

The Head of Digital Academic Practice is a member of the senior leadership team of the Education Development Service and manages a team of Educational Developers who support staff development and technology-enhanced learning. Reporting to the Director of Education Development Service, the post holder will play a key role in bringing vision, creativity and experience to the implementation of the Teaching & Learning Strategy thus aligning with the mission, values and strategic objectives of the University. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities 

• Manage a team of education development professionals to deliver a comprehensive service in support of the University's Teaching and Learning Strategy and Faculties' locally identified development needs.
• Be the lead for institutional knowledge of learning technology and its ability to enhance academic practice and the student experience. Liaise with IT on the design, development and implementation of institutional activity.
• Oversee the provision and development of credit-bearing, accredited and non -accredited provision.
• Provide professional leadership to the Academic Practice team, manage the staff and be responsible for their personal and professional development, to ensure the delivery of high quality services to the University.
• Ensure that Academic Practice colleagues act as a cohesive, integrated team which has a positive impact on academic staff development, education and the student experience. 
• Ensure a positive and productive working relationship with faculties, other professional service departments and the Students' Union in pursuit of the provision of well-aligned education development services.
• Ensure a first-class academic staff development service is delivered including the provision of specialist, professional advice to Executive and Associate Deans, Heads of School/Department and Course Leads. 

Skills and Experience Required

• A good honours degree or equivalent professional qualification
• A PhD/EdD and a learning and teaching qualification is desirable.
• Senior or Principal Fellowship of the HEA
• Experience of managing teams.
• Experience of successful communications to support major change projects
• Significant experience of building effective networks across organisation boundaries  
• Significant experience of using learning technologies to enhance academic practice and student experience.
• Experience of developing and delivering comprehensive approaches to staff development including in the area of digitally-enhanced learning
• Experience of financial planning.
• Strong and effective IT skills with confidence in the use and application of IT solutions to reduce bureaucracy and promote effective working.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to persuade influence and negotiate with others.

Able to demonstrate:

• Ability to lead multifarious teams, and to ensure they work together to meet the varied needs of academic staff development.
• Knowledge of blended, flipped and other technology based approaches to learning & teaching.
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Ability to manage large projects and/or complex operations successfully.
• Ability to manage budgets
• Understanding of the Higher Education sector.

With around 24,000 students from 100 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 have £260 million in our estate, including a major expansion of our city centre campus at Eastside, and the new STEAMHouse building, providing students with an enviable range of facilities. 

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, please complete the online application and upload a copy of your CV.  Applicants are advised to remove personal information to ensure a fair and transparent process.

Core Values

The University is committed to internationalism and diversity and welcomes applications from all countries, faiths and backgrounds.

It is each individual successful applicants responsibility to ensure that they have permission to work in the UK. Some applicants may require sponsorship from the University and a visa from UKVI to take up the role if successful. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa 

Some roles are not capable of sponsorship because they do not meet the UKVI criteria relating to skill and salary level. If you are unsure as to whether you would require sponsorship if successful, or whether the role is capable of sponsorship, please contact us: RTinbox@bcu.ac.uk

Please note on occasions where we receive a large number of applications, we may close the advert ahead of the publicised closing date. If this does happen, we will contact all candidates via email who have started but not yet completed their application, giving 48 hours' notice.  We would therefore advise that you submit your completed application as soon as possible.

At Birmingham City University we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.  All staff are expected to understand and enact the University's commitment to ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion in our employment practice and in all that we do . This commitment is enshrined in our Core Values and is detailed in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Employment Policy. The University values and celebrates the diversity of our staff and students; we welcome people from the many  different backgrounds and life experiences that reflect the students and the citizens we serve.  We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and actively encourage unique contributions, in particular from under-represented groups in respect of age, disability, sex, gender or gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status

Birmingham City University ('BCU') is committed to protecting your personal data and being transparent about what we do with your personal data. One of the ways we do this is through our privacy notices. For further information please click here.