Job title: Dean of Education, Theology and the Arts
Faculty: Education, Theology and the Arts
Reports to: Provost
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Hours: Full-time
(At this level of post it is expected that the post holder will work additional hours if required as part of the contractual hours)
Term: Permanent

JOB DESCRIPTION

St Mary’s University has been serving the common good and the Church since 1850 when we were founded to train teachers for the children of poor Catholic families. We have a strongly student-focused mission aimed at preparing them for flourishing lives, successful careers and social commitment through excellent, research-enriched teaching in a strong community of mutual respect based on our Catholic ethos and identity. St Mary’s has excellent relationships with the Catholic dioceses of the UK and expanding links with Catholic institutions around the world. We are committed to providing increasingly high levels of teaching, learning, student experience and employability.

Our strong community is characterised by trust and respect among staff and students, inclusive values that are built on our Catholic ethos. The University is an inclusive community, where everybody is welcomed. We are developing a strong focus on research and knowledge transfer/exchange as well as, enhancing partnerships with other University’s at home and abroad. With over 6000 students and 700 staff, the University makes significant contributions to our local community and wider society, empowering our community to have a positive global impact.

Student satisfaction remains high with St Mary’s ranking 5th in Teaching Quality and 7th in Student Experience. The University climbed to our highest-ever positions in all the major University rankings this year, all of which rate St Mary’s in the top group in the country for course or overall satisfaction. The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023 showed that overall, St Mary’s University ranks 51 out of 132 institutions, a rise of 16 places on the 2022 edition and 35 places on the 2021 edition. The University featured in 13 of the 70 subject tables in The Good University Guide 2023, with Theology and Religious Studies, the highest ranking of St Mary’s subjects. Our value-added score in the Guardian League Table was one of the highest in the sector and higher than the average amongst the Top 10 universities, showing how successful St Mary’s is in supporting our students’ learning journey.

The role of the Dean of Education, Theology and the Arts is essential in helping us achieve our goals and enabling every student to achieve their full potential, through outstanding support for their learning and giving them a broad and rich experience. We look forward to welcoming applications for this exciting Senior Leadership role from candidates who shares our values, and supports the ambition for what St Mary’s University can be and is committed to achieving those benefits for our students, our staff, our partners and our community.

Service Information

Since 1850, St Mary’s mission has been to provide a high quality academic and professional environment, inspired by its distinctive ethos and values. The University provides an inspiring and welcoming environment and has a strong, supportive community. Our students and staff are at the heart of everything we do. The University is proud of the support given to students, and is underpinned by the provision of teaching that is student-focused with a strong emphasis on skills and character development.

At St Mary’s, you will be encouraged to nurture and educate our students, preparing them to be ready for graduate employment to meet the challenges of today and anticipate those of tomorrow. The Faculty consists of three Schools; the School of Education, the School of Theology and the School of Liberal and Creative Arts with established expertise and resources in these fields. We are committed to offering a vocationally relevant portfolio of programmes to the highest academic standards.

The School of Education welcomes everyone with a passion for education and offers a wide range of programmes including primary and secondary teacher training routes. Additionally, the Institute offers professional development opportunities for teachers and we are in partnership with 500+ schools and other organisations. Particular interests include Catholic education, teachers wellbeing, social justice and pedagogy.

The School of Theology study Theology and Religion in service of the common good of society and the Church. We entered into a collaborative partnership with the Mater Ecclesiae College in 2019 and, in addition to preparing for the ordained ministry, the College creates a career pathway for anyone, not only Catholics, who might be interested in teaching in Catholic universities and colleges around the world.

The School of Liberal and Creative Arts includes our existing suite of Drama, Film and Liberal Arts programmes. Our undergraduate Drama degrees combine the best of Drama School (conservatoire) training with the best of university education and our postgraduate courses are vocational programmes that aim to equip our students with advanced industry skills, as well as provide the opportunity for artistic experiment and research. Liberal Arts aims to explore the Arts and Humanities with an interdisciplinary approach, studying a broad range of subjects. This includes aspects of History, English, Film and Creative Writing and enables students to discover creative methods of engagement and leadership that will help shape the future of our cultural, heritage and creative arts industries.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, the Dean of Education, Theology and the Arts will have strong leadership and management credentials, with demonstrable experience in academic leadership. You will be responsible for effective Faculty Leadership, efficient Faculty operations and enhanced and inclusive educational experience through co-ordinated Faculty activities aligned to University Strategy.

The Dean of Education, Theology and the Arts will take the lead, working collegially with colleagues across the University to actively contribute to wider University Management and Initiatives. You will provide vision and leadership for the Faculty to ensure efficient and effective operation of its work, as well as play a crucial role in delivery of the five pillars of our refreshed Vision 2030 to include achieving student success, developing our people, extending our impact through growth, expanding our reach through partnership and enhancing our sense of place.

The Dean of Education, Theology and the Arts will be responsible for providing strong academic leadership and innovation for the School, driven by a commitment to teaching and learning, the student experience, partnerships, research and knowledge exchange.

Main duties and responsibilities

Represent and contributing to the University’s mission and ethos in the Faculty, the main responsibilities of the role are as follows. Please note that this is, however, not a complete list.

Achieving student success

• Lead, develop and co-ordinate teaching and learning in the Faculty across all the disciplines covered.
• Working with Heads of School, take overall responsibility for student lifecycle processes from student recruitment through retention, progression and graduate outcomes. This includes associated activities in relation to enrolment, assessments and examinations, module selections, timetabling and technology enhanced learning.

Developing our people

• Lead, manage, develop and motivate staff in the Faculty to create a culture of academic excellence, collegial working, inclusiveness and respect.
• Managing and developing the staff in the Faculty, including recruiting and selecting staff within policy guidelines, and career development in accordance with institutional and Faculty policies and procedures.
• Supporting Heads of Schools in the Faculty, increasing accountability for discharge of their relevant areas of responsibility.
• Manage the Faculty’s core budget and further non-core income-generating activities.
• Working with colleagues across the University to develop and manage the efficient allocation of resource for the Faculty in line with the University wide framework, leading to policies which will include recruitment, training and development and career development of staff.

Extending our impact through growth

• Providing strategic leadership in the development and operation of the Faculty, working with other members of the Senior Leadership Team to promote the University’s Strategic Vision.
• Promoting the Faculty externally.
• Acting as an advocate for the Faculty and ensuring its views are represented at relevant Committees in the University.
• Ensure systems and processes are in place to successfully meet the Ofsted Inspection and ongoing delivery framework, to ensure ongoing accreditation
• Actively foster and develop new international relationships.
• Develop initiatives and new agendas to recruit students to agreed target numbers to current and new programmes.
• Actively promote by personal example a research culture in the Faculty, including in relation to interdisciplinary research, among the disciplines within the Faculty and others outside it.
• Ensure compliance with quality assurance and enhancement procedures for all taught and research student programmes within the Faculty.

Expanding our reach through partnership

• Fostering and facilitating the development of an innovative portfolio of programmes ensuring that the Faculty explore new markets and responds to them. This includes working with other faculties at St Mary’s to promote an ethos of cross-disciplinary developments.
• Develop a range of strategic partnerships and relationships with schools and consortia of schools, professional organisations and the range of stakeholders involved in teacher education, including policy makers, regulators and relevant funding bodies.
• Build effective working relationships with leading academics, practitioners, employers and industries relevant to the Faculty’s activities in order to promote and enhance the work of the Faculty in teaching, research and knowledge exchange.
• Facilitating Faculty-level enterprise activities, including the development of commercial opportunities to develop both research programmes and exploitation of intellectual property, as well as externally funded projects in conjunction with the Director of Research.
• Work with alumni to further the interests of the Faculty.
• Facilitating Faculty-level alumni and development activities in conjunction with the Director of the Alumni and Development Office

Enhancing our sense of place

• Take responsibility for the Health and Safety aspects of all Staff and Students in the Faculty.

Other responsibilities

• Charing Faculty and University level Committees as required.
• To deputise for the Provost as required.
• Other ad-hoc duties as required.
  Deans will be expected to pursue actively their own personal and professional development, in consultation with the Provost and Chief Academic Officer.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

All of the following criteria are essential unless otherwise stated.

Knowledge and Qualifications

• Graduate with Doctoral level academic qualifications in an area covered by the Faculty. (Desirable)
• Specialist subject expertise and working knowledge in a relevant discipline.
• A proven competency in teaching in a relevant discipline and strong teaching record in Higher Education.
• Knowledge and experience of learning and teaching initiatives nationally. (Desirable)
• Leadership and management skills.
• Personal research record.
• Record of involvement in partnership working with non-academic organisations to produce demonstrable economic, public policy or quality of life benefits. (Desirable)
• Experience in policy writing and strategic thinking.

Skills and Abilities

• Leadership: ability to establish principles and set direction and motivate colleagues.
• Interpersonal skills: ability to relate to others with tact and diplomacy.
• Analytical and creative thinking: ability to conceptualise and analyse problems and to synthesise complex sets of information and ideas.
• Collaboration: ability to work with senior colleagues within agreed framework.
• Communication: ability to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.
• Planning and organisation: workload and financial planning and monitoring, and ability to assess and implement priorities.
• Highly developed negotiating and influencing skills.
• Facilitate change and achieve conflict resolution (in collaboration with relevant Senior Staff as appropriate).

University Policies and Procedures

All staff are expected to undertake their work in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful manner, particular consideration should be given to the University values.

St Mary’s University reserves the right to change and amend this Job description/Person Specification in accordance with the changing requirements of the organisation.