Aston University
Thank you for your interest in becoming Dean of Medical Education at Aston University. As a recent arrival myself to this wonderful institution I am aware how exciting embarking on a senior job application can be.
Aston University is a mid-sized dual intensive university ranked in the top 25 universities in the United Kingdom. We are an agile and innovative organisation that thrives on collaboration and partnerships with businesses and the community. Our integrated placement year, our applied high-impact research, and our commitment to enhancing employability and social mobility of our students, all help to make Aston University distinct both nationally and internationally.
Our College of Health and Life Sciences holds an established position as a leading provider of health and life sciences education and research. We are currently in the top 10 in the UK for Health Professions (Guardian University Guide, 2024) and top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects for subjects allied to Medicine (Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2023). We opened our Medical School in 2018 and we already have a very strong reputation for having developed a patient-centred curriculum enabling students to develop the core competencies in medicine in a more innovative and dynamic environment.
Helen Cameron was the founding Dean of Medical Education when the school formed with John Alcolado currently providing interim cover in the role and we are now seeking to appoint to the permanent role at a time of real opportunity and to build on the successful launch of the school. As our new Dean of Medical Education and Deputy Dean of Aston Medical School you will have a unique opportunity to provide leadership for the strategic development and operation of all undergraduate and postgraduate education in the school.
You will lead a review of the vision, direction and strategy of education in order to enhance and grow programme offerings beyond the current three programmes: MBChB, BSc (Adult Nursing) and MSc (Physician Associate Practice). Much of this development and expansion requires innovative thinking in partnership with our NHS Local Education Providers and taking account of the University and College priorities, the professional regulatory framework, and national political and financial opportunities.
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate inspiring and empathetic leadership with profound pedagogical understanding to support and further develop the team to meet the challenges of expanding our programmes in innovative ways. This is an exciting time to join the school and university and I look forward to seeing your application.
Built on strong and diverse foundations, Aston University was set up by Birmingham’s employers in 1895 as a technical college to support the needs of the City. From its establishment as a university in 1966 to the present day, Aston University has maintained its focus on meeting the commercial and technical needs of the region.
We are renowned for improving the lifelong prospects, social capital and progression of hard-working students who aspire to develop professional careers and contribute to their communities.
By most measures we are one of the most diverse universities in the UK, with over 70% of our home undergraduate students from BAME communities, compared with 24% average for UK universities, and we welcome international students from over 120 countries each year. A recent study by HEPI ranked Aston University 2nd in England for transforming lives through social mobility at scale. This is embedded across the DNA of Aston University – the results demonstrate our commitment.
We were the first university to include integrated placement years as standard in their degree programmes. Placements, pre-registration years, and work and study abroad opportunities now feature across our undergraduate programmes.
Our alumni community is extensive with over 100,000 engaged alumni from over 170 countries around the world, contributing to the success of their organisations and communities.
Our mission is to be the UK’s leading university for students aspiring to succeed in business and the professions, where original research, enterprise and inspiring teaching deliver local and global impact by:
All staff are expected to demonstrate and promote the University’s values and behaviours, , which are an integral part of our strategy and underpin the culture of the University.
OUR VALUES
Aston is professional and ambitious
The University believes this is a prerequisite to realise our mission and vision, and will be recognised by businesses and external organisations as shared values which make Aston an attractive partner for research and education.
Aston is innovative and collaborative
The University works across disciplines, institutions and partners to be proactive in creating and implementing new ideas, to be a leader in modern educational techniques and to undertake research which inspires staff, students and external partners.
Aston is ethical and inclusive
The University recognises its responsibility to be an exemplar of behaviour and conduct in all that it does. It will leverage the diversity of its staff and student body to achieve outcomes for its beneficiaries and provide opportunities for education and professional development to all.
Our behaviours
The behaviour framework outlines the behaviours we demonstrate when working towards our priorities. The focus is not just on what you achieved but how you have achieved it.
Aston’s behaviours are split into five key areas:
In addition, our leaders are expected to be accountable, help to execute strategic visions of the University and share and set clear expectations that inspire those around them. All staff are expected to demonstrate the expected standards in Our Commitment to You, which you will find on the Aston University website ‘About’ section, to deliver a good service experience.
For further details see https://www.aston.ac.uk/about
The College of Health and Life Sciences combines excellence in research and teaching across the health and life sciences. We deliver high quality undergraduate, postgraduate taught, postgraduate research and professional development programmes that equip students with the skills and knowledge for successful careers in a range of professions.
We see the diversity of our staff and student communities as one of our biggest strengths. Fostering an environment of social inclusivity for our students with participation in several widening participation programmes in the local area, and championing interdisciplinary research to take on some of the biggest challenges facing health and life sciences today.
The College comprises of five distinct schools of study each led by a Head of School.
Organisation
There are over 300 staff in support, teaching and research roles within the College. Led by Pro-Vice Chancellor (PVC) and Executive Dean, Professor Anthony Hilton, supported by two Deputy Deans, five Heads of Schools, Directors of Operations and seven Associate Deans, the College management structure is further supported by a number of key committees including: Senior Management Committee, Learning and Teaching Committee and Research Committee.
Learning and teaching
Our aim is to produce graduates that go on to make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve and the college has an excellent record of graduate employability.
Over 68% of teaching staff have a teaching qualification and/or Advance HE fellowship or above whilst 22% are Advance HE Senior Fellows or Principal Fellows. There are currently around 3400 undergraduate and 550 postgraduate (taught and research)/ continuing professional development students enrolled with the College.
Our courses, which align to our five schools of study, are regularly highly placed in leading rankings and we achieve strong levels of satisfaction in student surveys. Many of our programmes are accredited, regulated, or approved by the leading accreditation/professional bodies in the fields of health, life and medical sciences including: British Psychological Society; Health and Care Professions Council; Institute of Biomedical Science; General Medical Council ;General Optical Council; General Pharmaceutical Council; National School of Healthcare Science; Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists; and the Royal Society of Biology.
Research
As a College, we pursue interdisciplinary research at the interface between laboratory and clinic. Our work spans across an institute, three centres of excellence and five research groups.
Institute
Centres of Excellence
Research groups
Research conducted here ranges from the molecular and cellular levels, through neural systems and human behaviour, to the restoration of health and the study of individuals in health care and societal settings. Further national and international collaborations augment this research mission.
With funding from research councils, prestigious research foundations, charities, the European Union and industry, our world-class research is supported in an excellent research environment housing state-of-the-art infrastructure for analysis from the molecular to organismal level.
Aston Medical School opened in 2018 and has a strong reputation for having developed a patient-centred curriculum enabling students to develop the core competencies in medicine in a more innovative and dynamic school. We have successfully completed the rigorous General Medical Council (GMC) approval process and are able to award a primary medical qualification. Medical students graduating from 2023 will be awarded Aston University degrees and be added to the medical register
The Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse, Adult Nursing) BSc (Hons) programme is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and has been approved for undergraduate recruitment starting from 2023.
We are partnered with a number of carefully selected NHS trusts and primary care providers who serve an exceptionally diverse range of communities and settings such as inner city areas, towns and rural locations. This means our students encounter a wide range of patients and experiences, giving them an excellent foundation for their future medical or nursing careers.
We are a School focussed on growth and driving quality and we are keen to grow our programme offerings beyond the current three programmes: MBChB, BSc (Adult Nursing) and MSc (Physician Associate Practice).
Aston University is in a great, central location. Ideally positioned in the centre of Birmingham – one of the youngest cities in Europe – our campus is only a 10 minute walk to the city centre.
Culture and heritage
Home to some of the greatest creators and inventors, culture and heritage makes Birmingham a great city.
The ultimate shopping experience
With over 200 shops across the Bullring and Grand Central, Birmingham is a shopper’s paradise.
Wonderful performing arts
Birmingham hosts the best British musicals, pantomimes, operas and ballet.
Fantastic food and drink
Michelin-starred restaurants, the Chinese quarter, street dining, farmers’ markets, high street chains to independents, Birmingham has some wonderful places to drink.
Sporting Action
Birmingham has a long history of football, cricket, rugby and athletics. Aston University is the Official UK University Partner of Aston Villa Football Club in the Premier League and was the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Open spaces
Birmingham has acres of green spaces, parks, historical canals and scenic routes for walking, running or cycling.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this role is to ensure Aston Medical School continues to offer outstanding healthcare programmes, that are consistent with the stated educational objectives of the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. By agreement with the Dean of AMS and the relevant Trust, and appropriate to the agreed job plan which most suits the candidate’s strengths, the successful candidate may be able to undertake an appropriate Honorary Contract with a local NHS Trust or General Practice to deliver clinical duties as will be agreed through joint job planning. You will hold the substantive position of Dean of Medical Education and, subject to relevant qualifications and experience, Professor of Medical Education. The Deputy Dean of Aston Medical School is an appointed office for initially a period of three years.
Main duties and responsibilities
As Dean of Medical Education:
As Deputy Dean of Aston Medical School:
Additional responsibilities
PERSON SPECIFICATION
All of the following criteria are essential unless otherwise noted.
Education and qualifications – method of assessment: application form
Experience – method of assessment: application form and interview
Aptitude and skills – method of assessment: application form and interview
Other
A competitive salary will be negotiated with the successful candidate with the option for a joint clinical contract with an NHS partner.
The size and scope of the university means that the opportunities on offer are as diverse as the people who work here. From a generous annual leave scheme, gym membership, on-site nursery and flexible working to opportunities to volunteer in the community, there is something for everyone. For more information please visit the benefit pages on our website: https://www.aston.ac.uk/staff-public/hr/Benefits-and-Rewards
Cycle-to-work scheme
Cycle-to-Work is open to all employees. Through our salary conversion scheme, we’ll make a bicycle available to you for commuting – alongside safety equipment, free of income tax and national insurance.
Employee travel pass scheme
The University has an affiliation to Company Travelwise in Birmingham and an on-going commitment to green transport. As a result, annual travel passes purchased under the Employee Travel Pass Scheme will be available at a discounted price.
Car park scheme
Under the Flexible Benefits Scheme, instead of the car park charges being collected from your net pay, you can exchange an amount of gross salary that is equivalent to the charge. As a result, you will pay less National Insurance, thereby reducing the cost of car park charges.
Low emission car lease scheme
The new Low Emission Car Lease Scheme offers you the opportunity of a new car, benefiting from corporate discounts and savings on Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. The car scheme will only offer cars with low CO2 emissions (120g/km or less).
Aston University nursery scheme
Aston University Nursery was founded in 1973 with a commitment to provide the highest standard of care and education. The Salary Conversion Scheme for the Aston University Nursery has been set up to provide Tax and National Insurance savings.
Computer share childcare vouchers
The University recognises that employees with children often require flexible pre-school and out-of school childcare in a convenient location. Childcare vouchers allow you to choose your own childcare provider, reduce your childcare costs and help you achieve the work/life balance you need.
Aston gym memberships
The Sir Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre is a fantastic onsite staff facility. Permanent members of staff can choose to pay their membership fee via their monthly/weekly salary or in a one-off lump sum payment. Non-permanent staff can still get Aston staff prices but must pay for the membership in one lump sum.
Charitable giving
We have been looking at ways of promoting charitable giving through the payroll and of providing the most effective way of making tax savings on donations.
There are two ways you can do it:
Citysave Credit Union
Having a regular savings plan means building up a fund of money towards Christmas, a holiday or just for a rainy day. Having it come directly out of your salary means saving has never been easier. In addition, surplus profits the credit union makes are returned to our members in the form of a yearly dividend. Citysave is covered by the FSCS, so your savings up to £75,000 are secure.
Cinema Society Club
You can register with the Cinema Society Club to receive up to 40% off tickets.
Will Writing Service
Aston University has teamed up with Dunham McCarthy, Estate Planning & Will Specialists, to offer Aston employees and their families a free will writing service.
Conference Aston
All staff receive a 15% discount when dining at Conference Aston.
Annual Leave
The annual bookable leave entitlement for staff working on a full-time basis is 25 days for staff in Grades 1 to 6, 30 days for staff in Grades 7 to 10 and 31 days for Professorial and equivalent staff. In addition to the above bookable leave entitlement, a minimum of 13 additional days holiday per year is given as specified Bank and University holidays, the dates of which are circulated annually and are published on the University’s website. Part-time staff are entitled to the same amount of annual leave, including Bank and University Holidays, as full-time staff, on a pro-rata basis to the hours that they work.
Pension
If you are a regularly employed member of staff, you will be enrolled into a pension scheme, the exact scheme will depend upon the grade of the post. Further information is available on our website: Here is the link to the Benefits and Reward page https://www.aston.ac.uk/staff-public/hr/Benefits-and-Rewards
Recognition Vouchers
We designed this scheme to provide managers with the flexibility and autonomy to recognise individuals or whole teams ‘in the moment’ by awarding them with e-vouchers. Typically e-vouchers are given for going above and beyond normal expectations of a job or role: completion of a project, innovative idea or process/product improvement that has had a positive impact for the university, students, staff or the wider community; excellent customer feedback; citizenship where an individual has gone out of their way to help others.
Personal/Professional Development
To equip you with all the skills you need, we offer a comprehensive range of learning and development programmes. Whatever your role and ambitions, we will support you to build your skills set and be your best at work. As well as training, we offer an induction programme for all our new starters. This induction will give you a basic overview of our organisation, along with the chance to meet colleagues from across the University.
Employee Assistance Programme
Open to all staff, the service offers confidential support for a variety of issues such as managing money; having a family; moving house; personal life; retirement; work life; returning to work after a break; family crises; personal crises; healthy choices; illness. Services are available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Relocation Support
Subject to the conditions of the University’s relocation policy, we provide assistance to new employees who have to relocate to take up a position. This policy applies to staff appointed to a position at grade 7 (salary point 25) or above on an open-ended contract or to a fixed term position of two years or more, and who have to relocate their place of residence in order to take up the appointment. Positions which are externally funded fall outside of this policy.
Employment of Ex-Offenders
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a person with a criminal record is not required to disclose any spent convictions unless the positions they applying for is listed an exception under the act.
Eligibility to work in the UK
Post-Brexit transition period / EU Settlement Scheme
The post-Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. If you are an EU/EEA citizen and you were a resident in the UK before 31 December 2020, you and your family members (including non-EU citizens need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue to live, work and study in the UK beyond 30 June 2021. The deadline for applying to the EU settlement scheme is 30 June 2021. You can apply via the Government webpage: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
Irish Nationals do not need to apply for settlement as they retain the right to work in the UK.
New immigration system for EU/EEA and Swiss Nationals who were not resident in the UK before 31 December 2020.
A new immigration system has been introduced for people arriving in the UK from EEA countries with effect from 1 January 2021. In addition to those who have always required a visa, EU citizens moving to the UK to work will need to get a visa in advance. You can find more information on the following website. Candidates should check their eligibility to enter or remain in the UK in advance of making any job application via the UKVI website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas.
Before applying you should ensure that you meet the requirements, including meeting the English Language requirements. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, any application for a work visa would be unsuccessful.
If you require a visa to work in the UK the most common types of visa are
Skilled Worker Visa: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa and Global Talent Visa. If you are a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields you may be eligible to apply for a Global Talent Visa:
Please click the following link for further information and to check your eligibility for this visa: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent.
Equal Opportunities
Aston University promotes equality and diversity in all aspects of its work. We aim to ensure, through our admissions policies for students, and our staff recruitment and selection processes that we encourage applications from all groups represented in the wider community at a local, national and international level.
The University will endeavour not to discriminate unfairly or illegally, directly or indirectly, against student or potential students, staff or potential staff. This commitment applies to all functions of the University and to any stage of an individual’s career.
An Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form is included within the application form. Data you provide on the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form will be included in a general database, for statistical monitoring purposes, enabling the University to monitor the effectiveness of its Policy, Codes of Practice and Guidelines on Equal Opportunities in Employment. Individuals will not be identified by name.
Data Protection
Your personal data will be processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”). The University’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notices, including the Job Applicant Privacy Notice can be found at https://www2.aston.ac.uk/data-protection.
Your application will only be used to inform the selection process, unless you are successful, in which case it will form the basis of your personal record with the University which will be stored in manual and/or electronic files. Information in statistical form on present and former employees is given to appropriate outside bodies.
Full details of our terms and conditions of service and associated policies and procedures are available online: https://www2.aston.ac.uk/staff-public/hr/policies.
Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to the University, an executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.
The closing date for applications is noon on Monday, 12 February 2024
Applications should consist of:
Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, please contact Alicja Janowska at alicja.janowska@andersonquigley.com, or +44 (0)7743 927 783 or Ed Pritchard at ed.pritchard@andersonquigley.com or 44(0)7980 817 927.
| Closing date for applications | Noon, 12 February |
| Longlist interviews conducted by Anderson Quigley | w/c 26 February |
| Shortlist meeting | Wednesday 6 March |
| Final panel interviews | Friday 22 March |
www.aston.ac.uk 