Leadership Appointments

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Welcome

I am delighted that you have expressed interest in Cardiff Metropolitan University, where we are committed to making the world a better place through teaching and learning, research and innovation, and working with communities locally and internationally.

A leading modern university with a distinctive offer across a wide range of creative, sports, health, education, technology, social and life sciences, and business disciplines, we draw our inspiration from over 150 years of commitment to education as a force for good in the Cardiff Capital Region and beyond.

Our students and staff work alongside our partners to lead the way in making a positive difference to Wales and the wider world, contributing to a fairer and greener economy that benefits all. This includes a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, which extends from our on-campus community repair cafes and student education initiatives to sector-leading research and curriculum innovation.

Key among our ambitions is to prioritise our focus on supporting student success. This past year has seen us make big strides forward in improving our student satisfaction in the National Student Survey and we were proud to be first in Wales in the 2024 Graduate Outcomes survey. There’s more on our awards and achievements later on this site.

We are, of course, about much more than metrics at Cardiff Met. With students and staff from 130 countries on our Cardiff campuses and our partners, fostering a culture of belonging and dignity and respect for all in work and study is hugely important to us. We are also strongly committed to playing our key role in promoting Welsh language and culture through our teaching, learning, training and research.

With buoyant student recruitment, a firm focus on growing our research and innovation base, and a refreshed strategic direction to 2030, now is a truly exciting time to join our ambitious, modern university.

As a key senior leader, you will work closely with the University Executive Group to shape and drive forward our programme of significant transformation, which will centre student success, environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion and financial stewardship across all of our staff, student and partnership activities.

In this site,  you will find details of our successes, ambitions and challenges so that you can consider if Cardiff Met is right for you; it is designed to assist you in determining whether your experience, skills, aspirations and values are a fit both with the role you are applying for and with those of our community.

Thank you again for your interest in joining the leadership team at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Professor Rachael Langford
BA MA PhD FRSA

President and Vice-Chancellor

About us

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Cardiff Metropolitan University is a vibrant learning and research community of 30,000 students and 16,000 staff. 12,500 students are enrolled on programmes at our Cardiff campuses and 18,000 students follow programmes through our 12 collaborative global partner institutions across the world. Some 45% of our students are the first in their immediate family to go to university.

The University has five Academic Schools: Cardiff School of Art and Design; Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences; Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy; Cardiff School of Management, and Cardiff School of Technologies.

Wales’ Sporting University

Cardiff Met has an outstanding reputation for sport.

The University is the largest provider of full-time undergraduate sport education in the UK and was ranked as a top 10 UK University for research power in Sport in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

More than 1,000 of our staff and students are instrumental in delivering and designing our hugely successful Open Campus programme. This is a powerful collaboration between University and community, delivering sustainable change in sport, physical activity, outdoor play, and health and wellbeing, engaging more than 9,000 members of the community annually.

We are proud of its impact, just as we celebrate the many students and staff who achieve incredible sporting success and provide performance support to elite level athletes and teams.

Performance Sport continues to thrive at our University. We have recently partnered with Tennis Wales to establish a new National Training Programme, and our Football Club Academy has been upgraded to a Category A Academy, deemed to offer outstanding level of quality provision, for the 2024-25 season.

Focused on impact

Our purpose is to deliver high quality and high impact practice-focused and professionally recognised education, research and innovation in partnership with our students and industry. The University’s research and innovation work carries out pioneering investigation into some of the biggest challenges affecting us locally, nationally and internationally.

Cardiff School of Art and Design – the largest School of Art & Design in Wales – achieved a top three ranking in REF 2021 for the impact of staff research. It recently completed a three-year Royal Academy of Engineering funded research project to embed sustainability and carbon literacy across all the school’s programmes, translating into a natural dye garden, sustainable photography darkroom, and material pigment libraries. This has led to the development of a Future Generations curriculum, focusing on the future, the planet, our communities, and making sustainable choices.

The School is also home to a multi-award winning International Centre for Design and Research. Our School of Technologies boasts innovative teaching and research into robotics for health and social care; biotechnology; blockchain; cybersecurity and creative computing.

In January 2024, Eluned Morgan MS, First Minister for Wales, opened the groundbreaking Allied Clinical Health Hub – part of our School of Sport and Health Sciences – on our Llandaff Campus.

The hub is a sector-leading facility that is enabling health and social care students to engage in authentic learning experiences whilst also offering a range of valuable clinics for the local community, from podiatry to dietetics, improving health and wellbeing outcomes in our region. It includes the Exercise for Health Hub, which is providing follow-up care to cardiac patients, helping to keep people active and reduce readmissions to hospital.

Our School of Education and Social Policy is home to the largest teacher education and training centre in Wales and is a centre of research excellence for all aspects of education theory and practice.

Our Food Industry Centre is a world-leading hub providing comprehensive support to food businesses, drawing on Cardiff Metropolitan University’s expertise in food science, nutrition, dietetics, food legislation, and more. It received a royal stamp of approval in June 2024 when His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, visited to celebrate the flourishing seaweed industry and food innovation in Wales.

Pioneers

Cardiff Met was the first university in Wales to be designated as a University of Sanctuary, providing ‘Sanctuary Scholarships’ for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and academic staff who are at risk in their countries.

We were also the first university in Wales to be awarded both the prestigious Small Business Charter and the Social Enterprise mark in recognition of our work with business, and our commitment to supporting students in enterprise and entrepreneurship activities.

In April 2024, our Cardiff School of Management celebrated becoming the first university in Wales and just the third in the UK to receive the Business School Impact System (BSIS) label from the European Foundation for Management Development for our positive economic impact on the Cardiff Capital Region.

We have a rich, embedded culture of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the University. Our holistic approach to start-up support has placed Cardiff Met in the top 20% of UK universities for student start-ups for the last five years, currently having the sixth highest number of students start-ups which have survived beyond three years.

Our key areas of research focus

  • Cardiff School of Art & Design
    Architecture and architectural design technology | Art history, theory and philosophy | Art-science collaboration | Ceramics | Creative digital technology | Design history, theory and philosophy | Ecological building practices | Embodied interaction | Fine art | Engineering building services | Environmental energy | Sensory design | Sustainable built environment | User-centred design
  • Cardiff School of Management
    Creative leadership and enterprise | Events management | Lean thinking | Public sector management | Renewable energy and systems | Sustainability | Tourism | Value flow | Wine industry
  • Cardiff School of Technologies
    AI & robotics | Applied engineering and management | Computing and informatics | Data Science | Industry 4.0 and software engineering | Machine learning | Multimedia and games, AR and VR | Networking: sensors, wireless, security | Visualisation and graphics
  • Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy
    Adult and continuing education | Contemporary media | Creative writing | Drama | Education policy | Educational technology | English | Higher education | Language in education | Music education | Outdoor learning | Primary
  • Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences
    Cardiovascular health and ageing | Food, nutrition and health | Health and risk management | Performance analysis | Physiology | Sociology and philosophy of sport | Sport, exercise and health psychology | Sport biomechanics | Sport coaching and pedagogy | Sport development and management | Sports injury and rehabilitation

Awards and achievements

 

Strategy 2030

We have recently refreshed our Cardiff Met Strategy 2030 with the aim of refining our goals to enhance student experience, maximise inclusivity, increase research impact, foster innovation, and deepen community engagement

Our Strategic Ambitions

  • Our ambition is to be renowned as a leading modern university that is distinctive and progressive.
  • We will build and maintain a strong reputation for excellent student experience and outcomes, innovative professional partnerships, and significant local, national and global reach and impact.
  • Our high-quality teaching and learning experiences will be informed by excellent applied research and innovation, transforming lives and communities in Wales and the wider world.
  • Cultural change will be a significant part of the transformation programme. We will embed a culture of dignity and respect at work and study, and be as transparent as possible in our decision making.

Our Strategic Pillars

Learning, Teaching and Student Success:
We will deliver an outstanding student experience, widening access and inclusion by extending learning opportunities beyond our traditional undergraduate and postgraduate offers through short courses, degree apprenticeships and micro-credentials, including through the medium of Welsh and via transnational education. We will design our learning and teaching experiences, including learning spaces, to develop a sense of belonging that supports learners to reach their academic potential and maximise their graduate outcomes.

Research and Innovation:
We will enhance our research and innovation profile through a strengthened research environment and improved quality, intensity, reach and impact in our research and innovation outputs. We will work within Wales and the UK to support initiatives that benefit social, economic, physical and mental wellbeing, contributing to a fairer and greener economy that benefits all.

International:
We will shape our high-quality, strategic, off-campus transnational educational partnerships to extend our impact, reach and reputation, and to support the development of skills and capacity overseas and contribute to the wellbeing of individuals, economies and societies globally. We will proactively support our international on-campus students to increase success, improving retention, engagement and progression, and promote the benefits of engaging as graduate members of active global alumni networks.

Civic Mission:
We will extend our civic mission activity to enrich economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing. Through partnerships and collaboration, we will support communities, businesses and industries to prosper by expanding access to our facilities, talents and resources.

The Strategy 2030 Refresh also outlines four cross-cutting missions, enabling a joined-up approach to multi-dimensional challenges that will ensure that diverse perspectives and capabilities are brought together to achieve our shared strategic ambitions. They are:

  • Putting our commitment to excellent student experience and outcomes at the heart of everything we do;
  • Placing our commitment to equality and environmental sustainability at the forefront of decision making;
  • Defining and delivering Wales’ Sporting University, with an outstanding experience for student athletes and demonstrable contributions to a healthy, active Wales;
  • Becoming a ‘thinking organisation’ through the use of data, research insights and innovation to support highly effective governance and self-reflection for continuous improvement.

Our campuses

Cardiff Met has two teaching campuses, Cyncoed Campus in the north east of the city and Llandaff Campus on Western Avenue in the north west of the city. Both main campuses offer excellent environments in which to work, study and relax and each is surrounded by extensive green space and woodland supporting the University’s emphasis on health and wellbeing.

Cyncoed Campus is the main home to Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy and Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences. The campus offers outstanding sporting facilities reflecting the University’s long-standing reputation as Wales’ leading university for both elite performance sport and widening participation in sport. It has an outdoor centre, large refectory, student halls of residence, on-site shop and coffee bars and acts as the head office for the Students’ and Athletics Union.

Cyncoed is also home to NIAC, the National Indoor Athletics Centre. The facility is fully equipped to international standard and has a seating capacity for 690 spectators. NIAC is utilised by students on sports courses, student clubs and the wider public. Governing bodies of sport, including Welsh Athletics and Welsh Netball, also use this facility on a regular basis. Sports medicine services are located within NIAC and include physiotherapy and sports massage. NIAC is used to host major events and, outside the sporting calendar, it has the flexibility to be transformed into a Conference Centre.

Llandaff Campus is the home of Cardiff School of Management, Cardiff School of Art & Design – the only Art & Design School in Wales – and Cardiff School of Technologies. This is a busy and bustling campus offering state-of-the art learning facilities for our students.

The campus offers excellent sporting facilities, the students’ union, coffee bars, including Costa and Starbucks, and refectory.

The campus is located approximately two miles from the city centre, surrounded by numerous parks, woodlands playing fields and the historic village of Llandaff, including its stunning cathedral.

Cardiff benefits from a network of cycle routes, including many traffic-free cycle paths. The Llandaff campus is situated right next to the Taff Trail, a popular national cycle route leading from the city centre as far north as Merthyr Tydfil.

About Cardiff

 

Cardiff is the vibrant capital city of Wales, one of the four nations of the United Kingdom. The capital city of Wales has changed beyond recognition over the past two decades with very significant development in its environment and infrastructure supporting a growing population, increasing business development and investment in world-leading sporting and cultural facilities. The former docks have been regenerated to form the superb Cardiff Bay waterfront which, in addition to providing outdoor recreation opportunities, is home to the Wales Millennium Centre and the BBC Orchestra and Welsh National Opera alongside the devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament) next to Roald Dahl Plass. Cardiff is, today, an exciting European destination and a very ‘liveable’ capital city.

Cardiff is the closest European capital city to London, soon to be accessible in under 100 minutes by train. The city is projected to be the UK’s fastest growing city over the next 20 years; it is a young and talented city, primed for economic growth and where the role of higher education has never been more important. Cardiff is also home to the National Museum of Wales, the Museum of Welsh Life at nearby St Fagans and stunning civic buildings surrounded by many acres of parkland which form the ‘green lungs’ of the city stretching all the way from Cardiff Bay to the University’s Llandaff Campus four miles to the north. Despite the recent rapid growth, Cardiff remains a famously friendly city. It is a vibrant city full of character and atmosphere with a range of first-class facilities for sport, nightlife, shopping and sightseeing along with a year-round calendar of cultural and sporting events.

Barcelona may be a famous city by the sea, but it is Cardiff that boasts Europe’s largest waterfront development, Cardiff Bay. The harbour area has always been important to the city and in the late 19th century Cardiff was the world’s busiest coal port. In 1999, the Cardiff Bay barrage created a huge freshwater lake which is now surrounded by waterfront bars, restaurants and cafes. The Roald Dahl Plass, named after the famous Cardiff-born author, is a stunning public plaza next to the Senedd, the modern Welsh Parliament Building, and the Wales Millennium Centre where our graduation ceremonies are held each July. The bowl-shaped area of Roald Dahl Plass, with its amphitheatre-style seating, acts as a venue for open-air concerts and festivals throughout the summer. Lazy Sundays can easily be spent in Cardiff Bay which is also accessible by boat from both the city centre and the nearby seaside town of Penarth.

Cardiff is without doubt a sporting capital. The Principality Stadium dominates the skyline and has seen sporting history played out under its retractable roof since 1999. A legendary destination for rugby fans on an international match day, Cardiff is often awash with people from across the world. Many say there isn’t anywhere better to watch a major sporting event than in this world class stadium, unusually situated at the very heart of a city centre. In addition to rugby, the Principality Stadium is also home to the British Speedway Grand Prix and has hosted international boxing clashes and concerts by world-leading bands and artists such as Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.

Cricket enthusiasts will enjoy an afternoon at Sophia Gardens, home to Glamorgan County Cricket Club and very near the Llandaff Campus, while ice hockey fans can see the Cardiff Devils team in action at the city’s ice-rink. Cardiff Met itself has some of the best sporting facilities in Wales, but beyond the University there is plenty of opportunity for recreational sport. The River Taff runs past the Llandaff Campus and right though the city centre and the beautiful surroundings of Roath Park Lake, near the Cyncoed Campus, are worth a visit. Sport Wales at Sophia Gardens, a short walk from the Llandaff Campus, has world class facilities, including badminton, tennis and netball courts.

Cardiff’s surroundings are beautiful and include coast and countryside with the Gower and the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park and ample opportunities for outdoor recreation and sport including mountain biking, sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, cycling, walking and running in what is a relatively flat city. Cardiff itself has excellent transport links. Situated just off the M4 motorway, the city is served by Central Station in the heart of the city and is only two hours from London by train. Cardiff Airport is located just to the west of the City and offers easy access to many domestic and international destinations by air. Bristol Airport, 50 miles to the east, also offers extensive options for domestic and international flights.

The roles

Chief Financial Officer/Brif Swyddog Ariannol (AQ2979)

Apply now

Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost/Dirprwy Is-Ganghellor a Phrofost (AQ2977)

Apply now

How to apply

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 17 January, 2025.

Applications should consist of:

  • A full CV.
  • A covering letter (maximum of two pages) outlining how you meet the essential experience criteria of the person specification.
  • Please include details of two referees in either your CV or covering letter, though please note that we will not approach your referees without your prior consent and only should you be shortlisted.

Should you wish to discuss the role  in strict confidence, please contact Elliott Rae at +44 (0)7584 078 534, elliott.rae@andersonquigley.com or Carolyn Coates at +44 (0)7825 871 944, carolyn.coates@andersonquigley.com.