Appointment of a School Administrative
Assistant
The school
The university is committed to transforming the lives and experiences of
people and their environments through research that drives positive
change and economic and social benefits. Based in the College of Life,
Health and Physical Sciences, The School of Environment and
Technology is focussed on producing applied, multi-disciplinary research
that informs policy, practice and benefits the student experience.
Based in the Cockcroft Building on the Moulsecoomb site, there are
49.25 academic, 6.1 research, 7.9 technical and 12.2 administrative staff
within the school covering a wide range of activities within the two
divisions of Geography & Geology and the Built Environment & Civil
Engineering.
Members of staff are active in their professional fields, acting as external
examiners, validation panel members and HEFCE assessors.
Research
The School specialises in multi/interdisciplinary applied research which is
grouped around 5 broad themes:
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Applied geosciences
Ecology,landscape and pollution management
Society, space and environment
Ground, water and structural engineering
Sustainable construction and environmental planning
Staff within each of these themes also contribute to the Aquatic Research
Centre which is an interdisciplinary centre focusing on resolving key
issues associated with marine and freshwater systems in both the natural
and built environment.
In the 2014 REF 40% of the staff from the School were submitted via 4
Units of Assessment ( B7 – Earth Systems & Environmental Sciences 12.25 fte, C22 – Social Work and Social Policy – 2.0 fte; C26 – Sport &
Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism – 2.0 fte, D34 – Art & Design:
History, practice and theory – 3.0 fte) and the following quality profile was
generated:4* = 11.2%
3* = 50.9%
2* = 34.0%
1* = 3.6%
U/C = 0.3%
The School attracts around £1 million of external funding each year from
UK Research Councils (EPSRC, NERC, AHRC), the European Union,
local and national government (DEFRA, Environment Agency, SDNPA)
and industry. In many cases staff within the School are leading large
multi-partner European projects and they play a key role in the peer
review process (e.g.RCUK Review College) and in academic societies
hosting national and international conferences.
The school provides an excellent environment to support the
development of early career researchers with pump priming funds being
made available to develop research activities. The School also supports
in excess of 60 postgraduate research students.
Courses
The school offers a wide range of research led courses to over 1200
students at Masters and Undergraduate Degree level which cover the
subject areas of architectural technology, building surveying, construction
management, civil engineering, environmental sciences, geography,
geology and environmental management.
The undergraduate programmes are modular in structure and split
into two semesters of 15 weeks’ duration. All of the courses make
use of fieldwork and industrial placements and these are integrated
into the teaching programme. Many of the courses are accredited by
professional bodies (ICE, RICS, IEMA, Geol Soc) and have key
transferable skills integrated into the programme. As a
consequence the graduating students have an excellent record in
securing appropriate employment.
Staff within the school also have close links with industry, the local
community and the relevant professions, with highly qualified staff
offering consultancy, short courses and CPD opportunities to the South
East region.
Consultancy Opportunities
Staff may also work on consultancy activities, which may be undertaken
in consultation with their Head of School.
Facilities
The school is strongly supported by the university and as a consequence
has seen significant investment (£8.3 million) in new laboratories and
capital equipment over the last five years. Key facilities include:
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Geochemical suite (XRD, XRF, XPS, AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS)
Geology Laboratory
Environmental Sciences Laboratory
Public Health Laboratory
Research Laboratory
Hydraulics laboratory with 6 flumes
Experimental River basin
Heavy Structures Laboratory
Geotechnicial laboratory including a centrifuge
Concrete laboratory
Drawing Studio
Computer Laboratories including Autocad and GIS
Surveying Equipment (Total Stations, dGPS)
Field based monitoring equipment including a 4 wheel drive
vehicle and coring equipment
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Instrumented monitoring sites for hydrogeology, wetlands and
estuarine environments.
The refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building (£29 million) has provided
new offices, laboratories and social learning spaces as well as providing
a building with a low carbon footprint.
Support Staff
The academic activities are supported by a range of administrative and
technical staff. The laboratories and computer systems are supported by
highly qualified technical instructors who support teaching and research
activities. Similarly the teaching and research administrative activities are
supported by the School Office together with two Student Support Tutors.
In addition the school can call upon support from the Centre for
Collaboration and Partnership which focuses on working with industry
(KTPs) and student placements.
<Insert appropriate details depending on division>
The Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division
The mission of the Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division is to
be a centre of excellence for teaching and research in construction with
particular emphasis on the interaction between the society and the
natural environment. The division also has a strong professional focus
which guides and informs both teaching and research activities.
The Division consists of 24.4academic staff who are supported by 4
dedicated technical staff and it is also able to draw upon the wider
technical support available in the School and the School Administrative
team.
Research
Research within the division is focused around two themes:Sustainable Construction and Environmental Planning with particular
expertise in building & energy modelling; life-cycle assessment;
information & communication systems for built environment applications;
access to food in the urban environment; coastal planning and
regeneration; evaluation of infrastructure procurement & contracts in
emerging economies; construction methods, processes and technologies;
and sustainable refurbishment and modernisation. The staff have
attracted grants from the EPSRC, DEFRA and the EU as well as being
involved in a number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with
companies in the South-east.
Ground, Water and Structural Engineering with particular interests in
geotechnics (Soil-structure interaction, foundation engineering, soil and
rock mechanics, laboratory study for rock stability in permafrost areas);
hydraulics (wave processes and interactions, cohesive and non-cohesive
sediment transport on beaches, tidal and density currents, modelling of
waves via Finite Elements and Boundary Elements methods, physical
modelling of sediment movement and waves); materials (cyclic
behaviour of plane and confined concrete, hysteretic behaviour of
materials, usage of natural fibres for concrete and soil reinforcement);
and structures (identifying mechanical parameters and presence of
damage via non-destructive tests, seismic action modelling , proposing
and testing new mechanical jointing systems for timber, glued-laminated
timber and engineered wood products and numerical modelling of timber
structures, analysis of structures under stochastic loads, redesign of
structures under seismic action, validation of numerical models via
dynamic testing of small-scale prototypes of structures). The group has
attracted funding from the EPSRC, EU, DEFRA, and from industry.
Courses
The University of Brighton has a long history of providing professional,
higher education courses directly related to the construction industry.
The courses achieved high scores in the HEFCE Teaching Quality
Assessment and are accredited by a variety of professional bodies
including the RICS, ICE, IStructE, APM and the CIOB. The courses have
also attracted excellent National Student Survey, with overall student
satisfaction placing of 85.4%, the third highest within Built Environment
courses. The Division supports around 530 students, on the following
courses:
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MSc Civil Engineering
MSc Construction Management
MSc Highway Engineering
MSc Project Management for Construction
MSc Town Planning
BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology
BSc (Hons) Building Surveying
MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering
MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil with Environmental Engineering
MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with Construction
Management
BSc (Hons) Construction Management
BSc (Hons) Project Management for Construction
Members of staff are active in their professional groups including
Chartered Institute of Building, Institution of Civil Engineers, Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Building
Services Engineers and Royal Town Planning Institute. They also
undertake external examining; validation panel membership and HEFCE
assessment. Staff in this division, play an active role in local community
activities and organisations.
The Civil Engineering courses have been developed around a common
first year which greater depth in the core disciplines being developed at
Level 5. Option modules are introduced at Level 6 and for those students
who undertake the flagship MEng course there is further emphasis upon
leadership and construction management skills. The Civil Engineering
courses are distinctive in terms of their inclusion of construction
management and environmental material (e.g. Water quality, engineering
geology) which is strongly supported by staff from other areas of the
School.
The built environment undergraduate courses share a common first year
and this allows the students to get a better understanding of the subject
material before they start to specialise at honours level. This approach
has allowed us to move to a position where we have an array of semiindependent, inter-linked modules from which it is possible to offer new
options and ensure that the students develop key skills appropriate to
their degree but can still select from a broad range of options. A
particular focus for these courses is an emphasis upon Sustainable
Development in Construction and the broader issues associated with
development and regeneration.
Graduate employment is very high and the courses now attract
considerable involvement from regional and national employers as
evidenced via our Industrial Liaison Panel.
Postgraduate teaching is offered via the MSc programmes in both the
built environment and civil engineering areas. Recruitment is primarily
full-time though a few part-time students enrich the courses through
current knowledge and experience. The MSc’s are custom designed
courses where students bring both skills and experiences from their
previous professional and other activities and integrate them with the
academic content provided by the study programmes.
The Division of Geography and Geology
Staff in the Division of Geography and Geology integrate research and
teaching across the full spectrum of geography, earth and environmental
sciences. There is also growing expertise in archaeology.
Research
The 32.3 staff within the Division are all research active and 60% were
submitted in the 2014 REF. The research is applied in nature and it has
been judged to have outstanding impact with considerable societal reach.
Our staffing policy was viewed positively in terms of its commitment to
equality and diversity and the specialist support it provides for early
career staff. There are currently 35 MPhil/PhD students directly
supervised by staff within the Division.
More details on research themes and successes are provided on the
School website http://www.brighton.ac.uk/set/research/ and within the
University of Brighton publication Transforming Research
http://www.brighton.ac.uk/research/.
Courses
The Division operates nine highly successful integrated undergraduate
degree programmes which collectively recruit around 170 students in
each academic year. These include honours degrees in BA Geography,
BSc Earth & Ocean Science, BSc Environmental Sciences, BSc
Geography, BSc Geography with Archaeology, BSc Geography with
Geoinformatics, BSc Geology and BSc Physical Geography and
Geology. Each degree is managed by a Course Leader, with academic
staff contributing to the modules which comprise the individual degree
programmes.
The Division also runs four Masters programmes which attract a total of
30-45 full-time students per year: MSc Environmental Assessment &
Management, MSc Environmental Geology, MSc GIS & Environmental
Management and MSc Water & Environmental Management.
Full details of all of these courses are available at
http://www.brighton.ac.uk/set/courses/.
Academic staff
The successful candidate will be joining a dynamic team of 32 academic
staff supported by 3 postdoctoral research fellows and 3 research
assistants. The research foci of the current full time academic staff within
the Division are summarised below, with further details available via the
individual staff web pages at http://www.brighton.ac.uk/set/contact/.
Professor Philip Ashworth
Research focuses upon river dynamics, hydraulics and depositional style.
He currently works on large sand-bed braided rivers in Argentina and
Canada with NERC and oil industry support.
Dr Graeme Awcock
Research focuses on the analysis and utilisation of satellite remote
sensing imagery. He is particularly interested in engaging in collaborative
research with industry using mechanisms such as Knowledge Transfer
Partnerships.
Dr Gary Bilotta
Research focuses upon the interactions between hydrology,
geomorphology and ecology. He is particularly interested in the effects of
particulate matter on freshwater ecosystems.
Dr Matthew Brolly
Research focuses on the use of active remote sensing techniques to infer
forest parameters and inform on the dynamics of vegetated surfaces.
Dr Kath Browne (Reader, Assistant Head Publicity and Recruitment)
Research focuses upon social and cultural geographies and geographies
of difference. She is particularly interested in geographies of genders,
sexes and sexualities, sport and leisure.
Dr Niall Burnside
Research focuses upon the development of Geographical Information
Systems for landscape evaluation and the wider use of GIS in habitat
suitability mapping.
Dr Jon Caplin
Research focuses upon the microbiological quality of recreational waters
and on developing methods to rapidly identify and quantify aquatic
pollution incidents.
Dr Chris Carey
A geo-archaeologist with research interests in archaeometallurgy,
geoprospection and the preservation of archaeological sites in fluvial
systems.
Dr James Cole
An archaeologist with research interests in hominin behaviour through the
material culture/fossil record and Palaeolithic archaeology from a
landscape perspective.
Professor Andrew Church
Research focuses upon tourism and leisure geographies. His research
has included projects on leisure and natural resource management and
public access to the countryside.
Professor Andy Cundy
Research focuses upon the development of new technologies for
contaminated land remediation, recent tectonics and coastal change.
Dr Leila Dawney
Research focuses on the geographies of landscape, embodiment,
practice and performativity, migration, racism and postcolonial cultural
forms.
Dr James Ebdon
Research focuses upon the development and implementation of novel
low-cost tools for identifying sources of bacterial, viral and chemical
pollutants in aquatic environments.
Dr Jenny Elliott
Research focuses upon sustainable development in the developing
world. She is also researching curriculum change in HE with respect to
education for sustainable development.
Dr Becky Elmhirst
Research focuses upon the social geography of sustainable
development. Her main interests concern natural resource management,
migration and gender in Southeast Asia.
Professor Callum Firth (Head of School)
Research focuses upon coastal evolution, sea level change and coastal
tectonics. He also has interests in neotectonics and the deglaciation of
Scotland.
Dr Laurence Hopkinson (Reader)
Research focuses upon natural analogue-based carbon sequestration
technologies, electrokinetic treatment of contaminated land and
laboratory synthesis of industrial minerals.
Dr Chris Joyce (Reader)
Research focuses upon the environmental management and
biogeography of wetlands, particularly wet grasslands, floodplains and
saline lagoons, with studies in Europe and the USA.
Dr Jason Lim
A social and cultural geographer whose research interests lie in the
politics and ethics of difference in everyday life.
Dr Lorna Linch
Research focuses on glacial sedimentology and in particular
micromorphological analysis of glacial sediments.
Dr Hannah Macpherson
Research focuses on disability, the body, nature and landscape. Her
work draws on post-structural and post-phenomenological theory and
contributes to debates on the body and non-representational geography.
Dr Antonios Marsellos
A structural geologist with research interests in the active tectonics of the
Aegean and the use of GIS and remote sensing in earth sciences.
Dr Norman Moles (Head of Division)
Research focuses upon metals in the environment, including the
formation of metallic ore deposits in sedimentary environments and the
dispersal of metallic materials in soils.
Professor David Nash (Head of Research)
Research focuses upon soils and geomorphology in arid and semi-arid
regions and the evidence for Holocene to recent environmental change in
southern Africa.
Dr Kirsty Smallbone (Assistant Head Quality)
Research focuses upon the distribution and dispersion of particulate air
pollution and the associated risks to human health.
Dr Martin Smith
Research focuses upon the geochemistry of crustal fluids, particularly in
relation to the formation and global distribution of ore deposits.
Professor Huw Taylor
Research focuses upon the health hazards associated with recreational
waters, and the development of methods to distinguish sources of water
pollution.
Dr Phillip Teasdale
Research focuses on recent sea level change, coastal and estuarine
sediment processes, environmental geochemistry, radiometric dating and
environmental radioactivity and marine micropalaeontology.
Dr Stewart Ullyott
Research focuses upon the development of silicified Cenozoic
sediments, with particular interest in the origins of sarsens and
puddingstones in southern Britain.
Dr Raymond Ward
An environmental scientist with research focus on the evolution of coastal
wetlands in response to environmental changes.
Dr Judith Watson
Research focuses on Local labour markets, education and training
markets, urban education and ethnicity and qualifications development.
Dr Ryan Woodard
Research focuses on recycling schemes, waste awareness and
education, waste prevention and waste management.
Job sharing
The University of Brighton welcomes job sharers. Job sharing is a way of
working where two people share one full-time job, dividing the work,
responsibilities, pay, holidays and other benefits between them
proportionate to the hours each works, thereby increasing access to a
wide range of jobs on a part-time basis.
Potential job sharers do not have to apply with a partner. However, if a
post is to be operated as a job share there must be at least two suitable
applicants who wish to share the job.
A job share appointment will only be made if it has been demonstrated
that both shortlisted applicants can do the job to the required standards
and within a working pattern of hours that is agreeable to all parties. If
one applicant is unsuitable, neither can be appointed unless an
alternative potential job sharer has been shortlisted.
When applying as a job sharer please indicate this on your application
form. Please also indicate on the additional information tab whether you
are applying with a job share partner and the name of that person. It
would also be useful if you could indicate whether you would be
interested in the post on a full-time basis if no suitable partner can be
found. If you have indicated that you would be willing to take up the
position on a full-time basis then the normal recruitment procedure will be
followed.
If you are interested in appointment on a job share basis, please contact
Human Resources for a copy of the university's policy, procedure and
guidelines for job sharing. Alternatively staff in Human Resources will be
happy to answer any queries you may have.
The job
Details of the job are described in the attached job description.
The salary
Salaries are paid monthly in arrears through the BACS System directly
into the bank or building society account of each member of staff.
Salary payments for staff that work less than 52 weeks per year are
spread evenly over twelve months of the year so that they continue to
receive payment during the times they are not contracted to work. This
means that, when they leave the employment of the university, they may
have received either an over or underpayment for that year, according to
the date of leaving in relation to the anniversary of the start date. In
such cases, the adjustment would be made in the final salary payment,
as a deduction or lump sum payment, as applicable.
Working week
The hours of work for this post are 37 hours per week, excluding meal
breaks (these are unpaid), 52 weeks per year and hours of attendance
will be from 8.30am to 5.00pm on Mondays to Thursdays and from
8.30am to 4.30pm on Fridays.
Duration of the job
The appointment is for a fixed term of 12 months because it relates to a
planned programme of restructuring.
Holiday
For each full-year worked you are entitled to annual leave dependent on
your grade of pay (see table below). The entitlement increases after
five years’ continuous service, pro rata for part-time staff. Annual leave
entitlement for part-time staff and staff on shift patterns will be calculated
in hours. New members of staff are entitled to annual leave
proportionate to their completed calendar months of service. In addition
to the eight Bank and Public Holidays each year, discretionary days are
granted in late December to allow the university to remain closed
between Christmas and the New Year.
Grades
1-3
4-7
8-9
Basic entitlement
per year
23 days
25 days
27 days
Grades
1-3
4-7
8-9
Basic entitlement after 5
years’ service
28 days
30 days
30 days
Terms & conditions In determining terms and conditions of employment, the university has
regard to recommendations made through the appropriate national
negotiating framework. These terms and conditions of service can be
varied by local agreements reached through the university’s local
negotiating framework which comprises a Joint Negotiating Committee
supported by two Common Interest Groups. These groups bring
together representatives of the university and its recognised trade
unions, which are:
•
•
Strategic plan
UCU University and Colleges Union
UNISON
Details of our Strategic Plan can be found at:
http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/xpedio/groups/Public/documents/staffce
ntral/doc013747.pdf
Interviews
Interview dates to be confirmed. Please see advert for more information.