Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences

Birmingham City University

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS) at Birmingham City University.

With almost 28,000 students from c.100 countries, 3,200 staff, and an annual income of c.£246m, Birmingham City University is an ambitious, exciting, 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. Located in the heart of a vibrant Birmingham, we are proud of how we represent and positively impact this wonderful city, and with Sir Lenny Henry as our Chancellor, we are truly the University for Birmingham.

HELS has 10,000 full-time students enrolled on courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and foundation level in education, social work, nursing and midwifery, health sciences and defence and health. We are one of the biggest Faculties of our kind in the UK.

Following retirements and promotions we are currently recruiting two senior leadership roles to the Faculty Executive; our Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and Enterprise and the Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery. The latter role will be advertised in early 2023.

These are wonderful high-profile leadership opportunities. They will be challenging, the sector is changing rapidly, yet Birmingham City and HELS is growing, investing and ideally placed to respond to those challenges.  If you would like to contribute your expertise, creativity and energy to this wonderful institution, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Professor Ian Blair
Pro Vice-Chancellor & Executive Dean - Faculty of Health, Education & Life Sciences

About

With almost 28,000 students from c.100 countries and over 3,200 members of staff, Birmingham City University is a large, diverse and increasingly popular 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’ve invested £340 million in our estate, including a major expansion of our city centre campus at Eastside, providing students with an enviable range of facilities.

We have an exciting 2025 strategy which is clear that through our education and research, and the roles our graduates go on to play in the world, we not only support individuals to transform their lives, but we also play a part in transforming society.

Our values

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. 

Our mission
“To transform the prospects of individuals, employers and society through excellence in practice-based education, research and knowledge exchange.” 

Our vision
“To be the leading university for creative and professional practice inspired by innovation and enquiry.” 

We define our role and place in higher education through three characteristics which underpin what we do and how we do it: 

Practice
We focus on practice so all students have Practice Intelligence (the capability to learn from experience and apply it to all future practice). 

All courses include practice, practical experience and learning through practice; we command credibility and respect from the professions and our curriculum anticipates their changing needs. 

Our research and knowledge development are applied to practice. 

Creativity and enterprise
We promote the value and application of creativity and enterprise skills in all areas of our staff and students’ work. 

Creativity and enterprise skills and capabilities will be distinguishing features of all Birmingham City University graduates. 

Student Engagement
We seek high levels of student engagement so our students have a sense of ‘ownership’ in their University. 

Our focus is student success and we believe they have a major role to play in shaping what the University does to ensure this. 

Click here to view our Core Values Framework. 

The Faculty

City South Campus in Edgbaston, to the south of the City Centre, is home to our Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences where we have invested £41m in our facilities. We have a wide range of courses in health and social care, education (teacher training and non-teacher training), life sciences, and sport, and our students benefit from practical learning facilities – from a mock operating theatre and hospital wards, laboratories and sports clinics, and specialised education facilities. Our City South Campus consists of four buildings, Seacole Building, Bevan House, Ravensbury House and Harborne Road.

The School of Nursing and Midwifery has an outstanding record for graduate employability. We provide a dynamic and forward-thinking learning environment, supported by more than 100 academic staff who are qualified nurses and experts in their fields. Our departments cover Adult Nursing, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, Midwifery and Child Nursing.

  • The largest trainer of undergraduate nurses in the UK (based on number of students enrolled; HESA Student Record 2019/20; © Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited), and have the UK’s only contract to train and educate the Armed Forces’ nurses, radiographers and operating department practitioners.
  • Recognised as Nursing Associate Training Programme Provider of the Year (pre-registration), and finalists for the Pre-Registration Education Provider of the Year, at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2021. Previously Post-Registration Education Provider of the Year (2017).
  • 97% of Nursing and Midwifery graduates were in graduate-level jobs or further study after 15 months (Graduate Outcomes survey 2018/19)
  • Strong links with some of the largest NHS Trusts in the country, including University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, Forward Thinking Birmingham.
  • Four members of staff in our Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences have attained the title of ‘Queen’s Nurse’, which recognises a high level of commitment to patient care and community nursing practice.
  • Our Midwifery course has been awarded the Unicef Stage 1 Baby Friendly Initiative, which is highly unusual for a university and shows how deep our best practice is around this vital area

The School of Education and Social Work dates back to 1897, we have a long and established history when it comes to delivering initial teacher training, education, childhood and youth courses in Birmingham. We offer high-quality courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate degree level that are tailored to meet the needs of the professions. Our graduates are very successful in finding employment and many take jobs in the West Midlands. Courses are taught by a range of experienced practitioners, many of whom have been exceptional teachers or have worked as senior managers in education.

  • We enjoy strong partnerships with over 1,000 schools, colleges and training organisations across the region.
  • We are Top 15 for graduate outcomes for Education courses (Complete University Guide 2022)
  • UK top 25 for our undergraduate education courses (Guardian League Tables 2022)
  • The Social Work course is 6th in the UK for Career Prospects (Guardian League Tables 2022)
  • We have been training social workers for over 50 years.
  • Since 2014, HELS has invested in the Graduate Research Teaching Assistant scheme and 18 Education GRTAs have been recruited. A third have, on completion, progressed onto academic posts in the Faculty.

School of Health Sciences is one of the largest and most diverse providers of health and social care education in the country and our departments comprise of Operating Department Practice, Paramedics, Public and Community Health, Radiography, Speech and Language Therapy, Sport and Life Sciences.

Defence School of Healthcare Education provides post-registration education for nurses and other allied healthcare professionals within the Defence Medical Services. Our flexible programme is tailored to meet the specific needs of the Defence Medical Services. It can be studied as stand-alone modules, to complement existing areas of expertise, or as a unique BSc (Hons) degree, which develops a full range of skills specific to defence healthcare. Other qualification options include Graduate Certificate and a BSc.

Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery (AQ1629)

Apply now

Associate Dean (Research, Innovation and Enterprise) Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (AQ1631)

Apply now

Terms of appointment

The post is offered on a full time, permanent basis, with the salary agreed with the successful candidate.

In addition, the you will be entitled to the following terms and conditions:

  • Pension Scheme Membership  
  • ‘Paid for’ benefits such as childcare vouchers, season travel ticket loans, cycle to work scheme  
  • Relocation in line with HMRC guidelines

How to apply

Anderson Quigley is acting as an employment advisor to the University. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisements.

Should you wish to discuss the roles in strict confidence, please contact Carolyn Coates on +44(0)7825 871 944 or carolyn@andersonquigley.com, Kiersten Avery on +44(0)7510 384 735 or kiersten@andersonquigley.com

This role is now CLOSED.

AQ Reference:

AQ1631 (Associate Dean Research, Innovation and Enterprise)
AQ1629 (Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery)

Your application should consist of:

  • A full CV.
  • A covering letter (maximum of 3 pages) outlining how you meet the points under the person specification above.
  • Please include details of two referees, though please note that we will not approach referees without your prior consent and only should you be shortlisted.
  • Please complete an online Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form.