Higher Education Academy - Job Description
Job Title
UK LEAD ARTS & HUMANITIES
Salary band:
Grade G
York based. The appointee will be expected in York 2-3 days a week with the
remainder of the week travelling to appointments. There will be extensive UK-wide
travel, including overnight stays, and significant international travel.
The Head will provide academic and strategic leadership and management for the
disciplines in the area of Arts and Humanities. This includes leadership for thematic
work relating to the four HEA enhancement work-streams, ensuring these are
delivered successfully against the operating plan, to time and budget and meeting
outcome targets.
Location:
Job purpose
The four current work-streams are: curriculum design; innovative pedagogies; student
transitions; staff transitions. Enhancement services include: expert advice and
guidance; facilitation of sharing of best practice; enhancement resources and products;
support for strategic leadership and change in HEIs; face-to-face and online CPD
events; high quality research to inform learning and teaching policy and practice. The
HEA’s enhancement work is multi-level, informing sector-wide HE learning and
teaching policy and providing leadership and support to institutions, discipline
communities teams and individual academics and professional services staff.
Maintain and further develop the HEA’s profile, impact and reputation as a focus of
expertise in the pedagogy of specific disciplines.
To provide leadership and delivery of HEA consultancy and other business services
and income-generating activity. This includes ensuring the Consultants in Academic
Practice devote 0.2 FTE per week to business development activities.
The Heads will work in close collaboration to ensure coherence of development and
provision across all of the HEA’s enhancement work-streams.
The Head of Arts and Humanities also will work closely with other senior managers
across the HEA to deliver the HEA’s mission and strategic plan.
Principal
Responsibilities
Providing strategic leadership and team management for the successful delivery of the
HEA Academic Practice enhancement services, including support for specific academic
disciplines and discipline areas and for inter-disciplinary learning and teaching themes.
Leading and managing a range of enhancement services (as outlined above) designed
for an increasingly diversified UK sector that includes college based and private HE
and across international contexts as required.
Providing specialist academic input and leadership for the HEA’s support to academic
disciplines.
Promoting the HEA and its reputation through key representational roles at a senior
level across the UK sector.
Managing individual and team performance and financial and physical resources, to
maximise the quality, reach and impact of HEA enhancement services across the HE
sector while demonstrating value for money.
Leading entrepreneurial developments and income-generation activity in support of
the diversification of HEA income streams to achieve ambitious goals in this area.
Ensuring that HEA enhancement provision meets identified needs across key
stakeholder communities.
Promoting institutional collaboration and partnerships, as appropriate, with a focus on
the enhancement of HE learning and teaching at all levels and the development of the
educational evidence base.
Developing and maintaining strong partnership working with HEIs and other agencies
including, as appropriate, BIS, QAA, LFHE, Jisc, NUS and academic discipline
associations and professional bodies.
Providing assistance and support to the Director (Academic Practice) and the wider
HEA Executive as required, including strategic and operational feedback on workstream and discipline-related issues and opportunities.
Engage with HEA core systems and processes and take responsibility for own
administrative processes.
Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
Responsible to:
Director (Academic Practice)
Responsible
for:
The responsibilities of the Head will change with the developing offer of the HEA, but
will include:
 Direct line management of staff in Academic Practice.
 Managing contracted HEA Associates in the delivery enhancement services.
 Responsibility for a portfolio of enhancement services (such as Strategic
Enhancement Programmes and Enhancement Events).
 Ensuring business development activities are actively supported.
Working
Relationships
Internally: With colleagues across the HEA
Externally: With leaders and practitioners in learning and teaching and relevant
professional services in HEIs, disciplinary communities and bodies, and staff in sector
HE-related agencies and funding bodies
Person Specification
Essential
Experience
Desirable
Established national and international academic
profile in an Arts and Humanities discipline.
Experience of working in/with a
range of HEIs.
Track record of engagement in relevant
discipline networks and bodies.
Experience of leadership in
discipline networks and
professional bodies.
Substantial and significant teaching experience in
HE.
Track record of high quality
research outputs in discipline
Designing and delivering highly effective, creative research and/or teaching and
and innovative discipline-based and/or
learning.
interdisciplinary learning, teaching and
assessment in HE.
Working in partnership with
students and/or student bodies in
Significant experience of line management of
strategic learning and teaching
academic staff within higher education.
enhancement.
Exploiting academic enterprise opportunities,
e.g. consultancy, grant capture, for HE
teaching/learning development.
Substantial experience of successful budgeting
and general financial management.
Designing and delivering highly
effective, creative and innovative
academic practice development
support in HE (e.g. continuing
professional development events,
creation of resources).
Communicating and presenting information in a
range of formats for a variety of academic
audiences including senior audiences.
Knowledge
Team-leadership, team-building and
collaborative working.
Fellowship of the HEA, or clear potential to gain
Fellowship within an agreed time period.
A postgraduate qualification in a relevant
discipline.
Excellent knowledge and understanding of
learning and teaching quality enhancement
practices that support excellent teaching,
learning support, and student learning
experiences.
Principal or Senior Fellowship of
the HEA or a National Teaching
Fellowship.
Doctorate in a relevant discipline.
Expert knowledge of disciplinary
pedagogy in an area relevant to the
role.
Specialist knowledge and
understanding of one or more of
Excellent knowledge and understanding of broad the following thematic
trends in UK and international HE policy.
enhancement areas: students as
partners; engagement student
learning; assessment and feedback;
education for sustainable
development; internationalisation;
technology-enhanced learning;
employability; retention and
success; flexible learning.
Skills
Ability to engage effectively and credibly across
discipline areas and at all levels of seniority in
academic environments.
Ability to lead both discipline-focused and
thematically-focused enhancement work.
Ability to lead and manage flexibly and
collaboratively within and across multidisciplinary teams. High level team leadership
and team building skills.
Effective strategic and creative thinking.
A results-oriented approach to professional and
academic responsibilities including delivering
results through partnership working.
Ability to work independently with a high level
of responsibility and initiative.
High level skills in verbal and written
communication.
High level organisational and time management
skills, including the capacity to work under
pressure.
High level interpersonal, networking and
representational skills, including effective
influencing and negotiating skills.
An enterprising approach able to identify and
lead exploitation of academic enterprise
opportunities that align with the HEA’s mission.
Willingness and ability to represent the HEA
and lead delivery of enhancement services in
international contexts.
Excellent computer skills, including use of
Microsoft Office packages (Excel, Word,
Powerpoint) web and social media.
Proven project management skills.