Dear Candidate
Thank you for expressing an interest in joining ARU as Head of the School of Management, within the Faculty of Business and Law.
The School of Management provides first-class teaching, research and consultancy relevant to professional activity in business management, entrepreneurship, marketing and human resource management. It is committed to the mutual reinforcement of theory and practice, where technology blends with teaching and research to create a dynamic, innovative learning environment for our current and future students.
We have significant ambitions for further growth in the Faculty of Business and Law and a key part of this ambition will be the recruitment of a new Head of School for Management who can translate our vision and aspirations into reality.
Reporting to the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Faculty, Professor Mohammad Ali, who joins ARU in early 2023, the Head of School will hold strategic responsibility for the leadership of the School, working collaboratively as a member of the Faculty Leadership Team to steer an integrated approach to the development and delivery of the School’s vision and strategy. The new Head of School will work with the School’s existing leadership team to develop academic and professional direction including the development and delivery of the School’s strategic and operational plans. Evidence of previous successful collaborative working will underpin your ability to optimise performance by working with colleagues, delivering in line with School, Faculty and University priorities, ensuring innovative and high quality, sustainable provision.
We are seeking to appoint a well-connected, transformative and entrepreneurial leader with an excellent knowledge of at least one of the key disciplines delivered by the School both in the UK and internationally. The successful candidate will work in an agile way across our multi-campus environment and will bring experience of developing and delivering strategy and leading academics and professional service colleagues. The new Head will bring creativity and innovation to our existing learning and teaching environment and will support the School to deliver an engaging student experience and support a vibrant research and innovation agenda. Candidates will hold a PhD and have a relevant research record, will have managed budgets and delivered against key teaching, research and knowledge exchange metrics.
Candidates will also ideally have an expert knowledge of relevant external bodies, including PSRB and QAA requirements alongside a demonstrable understanding of relevant REF UoAs.
This is an exciting time to join ARU and to lead this School. The University is committed to the School’s growth and will continue to invest to support the School’s growing profile.
You can find out more about the University and the role on this site. Our advising consultants at Anderson Quigley would be pleased to discuss the role with you – their details can also be found on this site.
I do hope that you will express an interest in joining us.
Yours faithfully
ARU’s story starts in 1858, with the opening of Cambridge School of Art. Over the years a number of colleges and higher education institutes – including the art school – have come together to form Anglia Ruskin University.
Our focus has always been on transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research – and this still underpins our vision and values today. Our over-arching vision is supported by our ten-year strategy, Designing our future 2017-26.
As a University, we’re managed by a Board of Governors and a Senate. Our Vice Chancellor, Professor Roderick Watkins, is responsible for the day-to-day leadership of ARU. Roderick is supported by the Vice Chancellor’s Group (VCG) which consists of two Deputy Vice Chancellors, each with specific areas of responsibility, plus the Chief Operating Officer, Director of Finance and the Secretary and Clerk to the Governors.
We have four faculties at ARU, each providing students, industry and the academic community with professionally focused and world-leading courses and research.
The four Pro Vice-Chancellors/Deans of Faculties all report directly to the Vice Chancellor and are members of the University Executive Team (UET), the University’s executive decision-making body. The Heads of Schools report into the Pro Vice-Chancellors/Deans.
We are ranked in the world’s top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.
About the Chelmsford campus
We have invested in the Chelmsford campus which is now home to outstanding facilities including:
You can find out more about the Chelmsford campus here.
About the Cambridge Campus
The Cambridge School of Art first opened its doors in 1858. The art school grew to become Anglia Ruskin University and it is still at the heart of our modern-day campus on East Road. Surrounding the red-brick Victorian building, with its vaulted ceilings and light-filled studios, is a host of new facilities including:
Just around the corner from campus, there’s our dedicated healthcare site on Young Street, which houses state-of-the-art clinical skills labs including mock hospital wards, and a child nursing and midwifery ward.
Meanwhile Compass House – a short walk along East Road – features audio and music technology recording studios, sport and exercise science labs, and computer science/gaming labs.
We’ve invested £100 million in our facilities in the past five years, and plan to invest a further £91 million over the next five years.
You can read more about our world-class facilities and the Peterborough campus here.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to valuing and celebrating our diversity and promoting equality and inclusion.
We seek to develop our people and equip our students for life in a multicultural and diverse society. Our aim is to provide a supportive environment in which to work and study, where treating others with dignity, courtesy and respect is standard. This ethos is reflected in our vision and values and our strategy, Designing our future 2017-2026.
To track our progress and to fulfil our Public Sector Equality Duty, we publicly report on our pay gap figures as well as our staff profile and recruitment data annually. You can find these reports on our staff data page.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group (EDIG), Student Success Steering Group (SSSG) and Access and Participation Steering Group (APSG) promote inclusion and respect for diversity among Anglia Ruskin staff and students respectively.
You can read more here.
ARU has a single‑minded direction: realising ambitions together. Our culture is characterised by people with a positive, can-do attitude which helps realise our ambitions. For our students, staff, the businesses and communities we support, and our many education and commercial partners, we collaborate to deliver tangible results.
We seek colleagues who share our values as well as appreciate our goals and direction, these are outlined below:
Our vision: Transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research.
Our values:
Ambition: We are determined to achieve our goals and continually strive to enhance our University for the benefit of all.
Innovation: We will apply our collective and individual creativity to conceive and develop new ideas, implementing them for the benefit of the communities we serve.
Courage: We are bold in taking the decisions we feel are right, even when it is difficult to do so.
Community: We greatly value working collaboratively, supporting each other and helping everyone to achieve their potential.
Integrity: We do what we say we will do and are fair and transparent in our decision-making and actions.
Responsibility: We take decisions and act in a way which respects environmental, societal and economic considerations, and which best supports those who study and work with us.
The School of Management offers programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with programmes accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). Our multi-disciplinary courses and modules deliver a wide depth of knowledge and our students have the opportunity to undertake work placements and study abroad experiences.
About our courses
The School offers a wide range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. You can view School’s portfolio of programmes here.
About our people
You can read staff profiles in the School of Management here.
About the Faculty of Business and Law
The Faculty of Business and Law is a destination of choice for those determined to help build a better, smarter and more equal society. We strive to provide our students, from a wide range of backgrounds, with the confidence to make things happen and challenge traditional ways of thinking and doing, to prepare them for a bright and exciting future.
As an inclusive community, we engage with debates which address major societal and economic challenges faced by the communities we serve with a particular focus on social innovation and justice. We are committed to ensuring our teaching and research makes a real impact, shaping and influencing policy and developing the next generation of responsible leaders and organisations capable of transforming business and society. A significant proportion of our research was judged to be world-leading in the most recent REF (2021) and the impact of our research was judged to be in the top 20 in the UK for business.
We are formed of two Schools, namely the School of Economics, Finance and Law (SEFL) and the School of Management (SoM). SEFL provides first-class teaching, research and consultancy relevant to professional activity in economics, finance, law and international business management and SoM relevant to marketing, entrepreneurship, tourism, HRM, organizational behaviour and leadership. Research and education in both Schools deliver on ARU’s civic priorities, working with stakeholders in business, the professions, government, and the third sector. The Schools are committed to the mutual reinforcement of theory and practice, where technology blends with teaching and research to create a research-led, active, collaborative learning environment for our current and future students.
Research in the Faculty
Our research has real social impact and is produced by experts who are committed to creating innovative and world-class research. We ensure our research is relevant to everyday life by working closely with small businesses, corporations, public sector and voluntary organisations and government departments.
Research in our Faculty of Business and Law is focused around four research centres and an innovation centre, which encompass the very best of our academic expertise:
As well as contributing to our vibrant research culture, these centres anchor our funded research projects, most of which are delivered in collaboration with industry, and a large doctoral community, including a large and growing body of DBA students.
With diverse staff expertise which informs our students’ teaching, practice and research, our award-winning practitioners and researchers are also active figures within their industries, with connections at local, national and international level.
Our dynamic approach ensures that our students receive a high quality, industry-focussed and research led educational experience, embedding live briefs into our assessment strategy and accrediting co-curricular activities through our unique and innovative Anglia Ruskin Certificate for Professional Development.
We are focused on investing in people and infrastructure, looking at key areas of international excellence and regional need and we deliver multidisciplinary research and innovation of outstanding quality and impact.
Job Title: Head of School of Management
Grade: SMG
Work Base: Chelmsford or Cambridge (with travel to other sites as required)
Hours of Work: Full time
Responsible to: PVC & Dean of Faculty
Responsible for: Deputy Head(s) of School
Relationships & Contacts: Vice Chancellors Group, Senior Management Team of the Faculty, Internal management and employees, University Executive Team (UET), External/regulatory bodies as appropriate
Job Purpose: Strategic leadership of the School with overall responsibility for each discipline/cluster.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
Strategy and Implementation
Leadership and Management
Education and Student Engagement
Research and Innovation
This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted. It is normal practice to review periodically job descriptions to ensure that they are relevant to the job currently being performed, and to incorporate any changes which have occurred or are being proposed. The review process is carried out jointly by manager and employee and you are therefore expected to participate fully in such discussions. In all cases, it is our aim to reach agreement to reasonable changes, but where it is not possible to reach agreement we reserve the right to make reasonable changes to your job description which are commensurate with your grade after consultation with you.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Academic/Professional Qualifications
Essential
Desirable
Experience
Essential
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
Personal Qualities
Essential
Other
Essential
Find out more about working with us.
We have an agile working culture and offer an extensive range of benefits including generous holiday entitlement, occupational pension schemes, training and development opportunities, travel to work scheme and a competitive relocation package.
Visit our benefits page for full details.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.
We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Committed to being inclusive and open to discuss flexible working.
We have a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
You can read about our professorial appointments criteria here.
Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to Anglia Ruskin University. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.
Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, please contact our advising consultants at Anderson Quigley: Kiersten Avery on +44 (0)7510 384 735 or Sophie Rees on +44(0)7719 313 982.
The closing date for applications is noon on 10th February 2023.
AQ Reference: AQ1635
Applications should consist of:
Timetable
| Closing date: | Noon, on Friday 10th February |
| Longlisting: | 16th February |
| Preliminary interviews with AQ: | Mid-late February |
| Shortlisting: | 2nd March |
| Final Panel Interviews: | 16th and 17th March (in person) |
aru.ac.uk 
Cambridge, England 