Appointment of the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law

University of Roehampton

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the role of Dean of our Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Roehampton.

Grounded in the foundation principles of our four colleges, we want to change lives by helping our students develop the confidence, knowledge and adaptability they need for a successful graduate career and fulfilling life. Our purpose guides our approach to delivering excellent teaching and world-class research, supported by an outstanding student experience.

Our Enabling Strategies 2019–2025 set out the University’s 2025 targets. The Enabling Strategies are organised under three themes:

  • Student Education
  • Research and Knowledge Exchange
  • Sustainability

Our Faculty of Business and Law is a thriving community of inspired and diverse students and staff who believe that businesses and legal professionals should act with a social conscience these are values embedded in our teaching and research. Since 2019 we have significantly expanded our course portfolio which has grown our student population from 1,800 to 6,500 With a firm focus on delivering positive change in student outcomes our next Dean will continue to manage our growth and portfolio diversification as well drive our partnership activity along with REF 2028 preparations.  

The successful applicant will be inclusive, committed and inspirational in their leadership style. With a flair for interaction, you will encourage others’ ideas, initiative and creativity while developing a sustainable, high-performance culture built on continuous improvement. Our University continues to change and evolve, driven by our exceptional and committed community of staff and students.  To realise our full potential, our new Dean will collaborate closely with these groups, forging strong and purposeful relationships aimed at driving excellence in our education provision.

We have a diverse and therefore high performing senior team and are especially keen to hear from candidates who can contribute to this diversity.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Professor Anna Gough-Yates
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost

Our university and heritage

Roehampton has a history in education through our four Colleges dating back over 183 years. Our Colleges were founded in the 19th Century and were pioneers in teacher training. Through our oldest College, Whitelands, we have provided higher education to women for longer than any other university in the country.

Our four Colleges are:

Southlands College was founded in 1872 by the Methodist Church. This College is the home of the Faculty of Business and Law and the two Schools within it, namely Roehampton Business School and Roehampton Law School.

Whitelands College, established in 1841 by the Church of England, is the home of the School of Life and Health Sciences and the School of Psychology.

Digby Stuart College, founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, in 1874, is the home of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Sustainable Engineering and Technical Education Centre.

Froebel College has secular foundations and was established in 1892. The College takes its name from Friedrich Froebel, the German educational pioneer and is the home of the School of Education and the School of Continuing Education.

The values of social progress inspire the educational missions of all our four colleges. These values, in turn, inform the academic life of Roehampton, including our teaching, research and engagement with communities and organisations locally, nationally and internationally.

Today, our Colleges help us provide the friendly, welcoming community that makes Roehampton so distinctive, supporting student wellbeing, social life and the wider student experience. They also help engage our thriving global community of graduates to engage in socially responsible behaviours and reflective practice.

Our Purpose

  • Change lives by helping our students to develop the confidence, knowledge and adaptability they need for a successful graduate career and fulfilling life.
  • Understand and help to improve our world through a spirit of curiosity and discovery.
  • Support, encourage and challenge each other in a friendly and inclusive community that values people as individuals.

Our Commitment

  • Community of learning based on partnership that encourages and supports all of our students and staff to achieve their aspirations.
  • An excellent education that enables our students to prepare themselves for a successful and fulfilling career in a rapidly changing world.
  • A curriculum that meets the needs and expectations of both students and employers, and that reflects the diversity of our economy and society.
  • An excellent research environment that makes a positive contribution to our understanding of the world and helps to improve lives.
  • A community that is characterised by friendliness, openness, inclusion and freedom of thought, religion and expression.
  • A wide range of opportunities for our students to develop interests beyond their course of study, encouraging them to grow as individuals.
  • A network for communities and partners who share our values to work together for a common purpose towards social responsibility and public good.

Our Campus

Our beautiful parkland campus is in southwest London, close to Putney, Hammersmith and Wimbledon, and within easy reach of central London. In addition to stunning gardens and heritage buildings, including a conference centre, it has state-of-the-art specialist teaching facilities, a world-class library and a media centre with its own teaching cinema. The campus continues to undergo transformation to accommodate new curriculum areas and saw the opening of our Mary Seacole Health Innovation Centre in 2022. This year we will start on the construction of new Engineering teaching facilities.

Studying and working with us gives our students and staff the best of both worlds: the friendly community feel of a traditional university campus, and the energy, culture and connections of one of the greatest cities in the world.

Enabling strategies

To meet our goals and shape who we become over the years to come, the University has developed Enabling Strategies. These strategies are built on three themes, each essential to our future success and underpinned by our existing strengths.

The three themes are:

Student Education

The experience of studying at Roehampton should be distinctive and transformational across all levels of study. The quality of the Roehampton experience and the sense of community must apply to all of our students, whether they are studying on campus, online or with one of our partners.

Research and Knowledge Exchange

Our excellent reputation for research reflects a distinctive culture that has been built throughout our long history. During this time we have grown a research environment that fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and inspiring community.

Our research profile is well-balanced, well-managed and recognised for its quality, reach and significance to the world. Research is also fundamental to our teaching, it shapes our curricula and enriches the experience of our students.

Sustainability

This theme is focused on how we will grow in an environmentally sustainable way and create the financial headroom to invest for the future, developing the infrastructure we need to deliver on our strategic aims.

Climate change is one of the most urgent and significant issues of our time. We will respond by ensuring we are as environmentally sustainable as we can be ourselves, but also by driving change and awareness through the education we provide, the research our staff undertake, and in how we manage our estate and procure and deliver our services.

For full details on our enabling strategies click here.

Faculty of Business & Law

“I feel like Roehampton has changed my life by helping me develop the confidence, knowledge and skills needed to have a successful career.”  Anis Haoua, BSc Accounting, Year 3

The Faculty of Business and Law at Roehampton combines both the Business School and Law School.  Together they form a friendly, inspired and diverse community of students and staff who believe that businesses and legal professionals should act with a social conscience – values embedded in our teaching and research.

With multiple intakes of students in September, November, January and April, the Faculty offers 40 under and post-graduate courses. Student numbers have grown from 1807 in 2019 to 6505 in 2022. The current leadership structure in the school sees the Head of the Law School and three Deputy Deans (Academic Partnerships and Development; Research and KE; Education) report to the Dean. Underneath this layer there are a number of ‘Head of’ posts with portfolios, including Head of Collaborative Partnerships, Head of Apprenticeships and Head of Learning and Teaching.

The role

Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law (AQ2319)

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Job title: Dean of the Faculty of Business & Law
Reports to: Provost & Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Reports: Head of the Law School, 3 Deputy Deans – Academic Partnerships and Development; Research and KE; Education.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law will report to the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and will be responsible for aligning the activities of the Faculty with the University’s enabling strategies while ensuring the delivery of excellent teaching, research, and knowledge exchange.

Overseeing a diverse and growing portfolio of programmes, the Dean will be responsible for balancing a variety of needs, including a deep focus on student outcomes, staff development, developing innovative new programmes, fostering collaborative working between distinct areas of the Faculty, and diversifying university income through Faculty related activities.

The Dean is one of five Deans of School at the University and a member of the University’s senior team. The Dean will have an external as well as internal facing remit with the goal of achieving our academic objectives.

Key responsibilities

  • To implement comprehensive strategies that support University strategy, goals and vision for education, research and knowledge exchange and sustainability and to enhance academic reputation and quality.
  • To deliver an excellent inclusive student experience for all students in the Faculty both at UG, PG, and PGR level to support the University’s desire for students to have confidence, knowledge and the adaptability for a successful graduate career and fulfilling life.
  • To ensure the curriculum development contributes to a portfolio which is innovative, attractive and supports students from induction to employment and that encompasses employer and skills-led experiential learning and professional development.
  • Oversee the development and delivery of new pathways for student learning, e.g., apprenticeship degrees, accelerated degrees, credit accumulation and top-ups, multiple entry points.
  • To deliver improvements in student outcomes, the National Student Survey, and other student surveys line with university strategy.
  • To advise the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost on the financial priorities for the Faculty and ensure the delegated budget is correctly allocated, monitored and operates within approved limits.
  • To develop and maintain a high-performance culture within the Faculty.
  • To ensure that academic staff resources are effectively and fairly deployed within the Faculty.
  • To contribute to, and where appropriate represent the University on, university committees, professional associations, national and international bodies, and other stakeholders, to further the interests of the wider academic community and encourage others to do so.
  • To oversee the increase and diversification of our income through successful grant capture from external sources, industry investment, research and IP consultancy, CPD, short course provision and new qualifications.

Organisational & other responsibilities

  • To be accountable for the proper implementation and compliance with, legal, ethical and health and safety policies and procedures in line with University policies.
  • To maintain an academic/professional profile and to develop external networks commensurate with the seniority and responsibilities of the post.
  • To work as a team with other Deans and Pro-Vice-Chancellors in order to advise the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and to continue to enhance the academic reputation of the University.

 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Education and qualifications

  • Educated to Doctorate level in a relevant discipline.

Experience and knowledge

  • A track record of significant achievement in a business school context and able to demonstrate credible academic leadership.
  • A track record of successfully initiating and implementing significant change in a complex organisation, delivering a performance led culture through inspirational leadership;
  • A track record of success in driving a strategy and landing firm achievements in positive student outcomes and key education metrics including continuation, completion and progression.
  • A track record of increasing and diversifying income through successful grant capture from external sources, industry investment, research and IP consultancy, CPD and/or short course provision.
  • Experience in developing a vision for academic disciplines with the goal of supporting university strategy.
  • A deep commitment to, and experience of, delivering plans that have made a material difference around ED&I.

Attributes and skills

  • Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
  • A flair for interaction with a wide university community which inspires and motivates.
  • Ambassadorial skills with an ability to represent the University at formal events.
  • A strategic thinker with the ability to inspire diverse groups to deliver institution wide plans.

Terms of appointment

Location
The post is located in Roehampton. We expect the post-holder to spend a majority of the working week on campus and live within commuting distance of campus during the week. The post-holder should also be  to attend campus events at the weekend when required, for instance for open days.

Salary
Competitive salary dependent on relevant skills and experience.

Pension
The University support membership of the Teachers Pension Scheme and a defined contribution scheme provided by Royal London. There might be an option to transfer a USS pension.

Private health insurance
Private health insurance will be offered as a taxable benefit

Annual leave
31.5 days per annum.

Family friendly
Excellent provisions in relation to family friendly leave and pay. Employee Assistance Programme 24/7 Confidential Support Staff and family members in their household have access to a free, external confidential support service for work, financial, legal, family and personal problems 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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 Monday 8 January 2024.

AQ Reference: AQ2319

Applications should consist of:

  • A full CV.
  • A covering letter outlining how you broadly meet the experience criteria of the person specification.
  • Your letter should also specifically address (with evidence and metrics):
    • Your track record of success in driving a strategy and landing firm achievements in positive student outcomes and key education metrics including continuation, completion and progression;
  • Please include details of three referees (one of which should be senior to you in your current employment) 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
Alicja Janowska on alicja.janowska@andersonquigley.com +44 (0)7743 927 783 or Ed Pritchard on ed.pritchard@andersonquigley.com, +44(0)7980 817 927.

Timetable

Longlisting 17 January 2024
Preliminary Interviews with Anderson Quigley w/c 22 January 2024
Shortlisting 2 February 2024
Final Panel Interviews 14 February 2024