Canterbury Christ Church University - Director of Quality a…

Canterbury Christ Church University - Director of Quality a…

An inspiring place to work.

Candidate Brochure Director of Quality and Standards

Inside.

Introduction......................................4-5 About us............................................6-9 Sustainability ...............................10-11 Our locations. ...............................12-13 Our mission...................................14-15 Job description. ............................16-19 Person specification. ....................20-23 An inspiring place to work..........24-25 Equality, Diversity & Inclusion..........26 Application process...........................27

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Candidate Brochure

For more than 50 years, Canterbury Christ Church University has been a big part of the Kent community, providing education which makes a real and positive difference to people’s lives.

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Director of Quality and Standards

Canterbury Christ Church University is seeking to make the crucial appointment to the role of Director of Quality and Standards. Introduction. This is an exciting time to be joining the University. We are investing significantly in new digital and physical facilities, growing our online provision, increasing our reach into international markets and expanding our academic portfolio of Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Creative Arts that will further support our region particularly in relation to the STEM Economy. Our new Director of Quality and Standards will play an influential role in the realisation of these ambitions.

Reporting to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, this senior role is an opportunity to provide inspirational leadership and to ensure that the University meets its external obligations whilst supporting the development of first-class student experiences. Key aspects of the role include leading the Quality and Standards Office, ensuring effective academic governance and providing a responsive quality- assurance infrastructure.

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Candidate Brochure

We are seeking an experienced leader who will deploy expert knowledge and skills to influence University strategy and contribute to the long-term direction of the organisation. You will demonstrate significant strategic management skills and extensive knowledge of academic governance, policy, regulations and procedures. You will be able to lead and engage others to respond effectively to the fast-changing needs and expectations of regulatory bodies, students, staff and other stakeholders.

Click here to view the briefing video interview from Professor Helen James, Deputy Vice Chancellor.

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Director of Quality and Standards

Discover more about us. For more than 50 years, Canterbury Christ Church University has been a big part of the Kent community, providing education which makes a real and positive difference to people’s lives.

Our University started out as a teacher training college in the 1960s in response to a national shortage of teachers. Today we continue to shape our courses and research around critical social issues both nationally and globally. We are recognised as a leader in education, research and enterprise that supports the South East region’s growth and economy and that is focused delivering an excellent and inclusive experience that provides enterprising, professional graduates. We want to do more than just provide our students with a high-quality education. We also want to work in partnership with our students to ensure they graduate with an understanding of the challenges facing society and our world, and have the skills, commitment and personal qualities needed to help address them.

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Candidate Brochure

Our mission: Inspired by our Church of England foundation, the University’s mission is to pursue excellence in higher education: transforming individuals, creating knowledge, enriching communities and building a sustainable future. Our vision: We will be recognised as a leader in education, research and enterprise that supports the South East region’s growth and economy, building on our heritage as a globally connected, dynamic and innovative University, delivering an excellent and inclusive experience that provides enterprising, professional graduates. We value: • The development of the whole person, respecting and nurturing the inherent dignity and potential of each individual • The integration of excellent teaching, research and knowledge exchange • Power of higher education to enrich individuals, communities and nations • Our friendly, inclusive and professional community of students and staff, preparing individuals to contribute to a just and sustainable future.

You can learn more about our Strategic Framework here: Strategic Framework 2015-2022 (canterbury.ac.uk)

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Director of Quality and Standards

Facts and figures.

Our students

25% part-time

82% overall student satisfaction

In the top 10 for graduates in work, among large UK universities

15,000 students 75% full-time

n

In partnership with the University of Kent, our Kent and Medway Medical School is educating the doctors of the future.

Above the national average for graduates in highly skilled employment.

Average age

We helped create 5,757 additional jobs outside the University

u

£324M

£535M

Our students and graduates contribute

2018/19 Canterbury Christ Church University and its students helped th regional economy flourish

to the economy especially in the healthcare sector and the creative industries and as teachers and scientists.

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Candidate Brochure

Our staff

Staff Employed 1,700

Our University provides employment for many local people across Kent and Medway.

More than half our workforce is female

88% of staff members

We work with several hundred sessional staff who help to provide expertise and industry knowledge.

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Our Achievements The University received a prestigious silver rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework, exceeding national quality requirements for UK universities.

of our research submitted to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) was assessed as world- leading, internationally excellent or internationally recognised.

Nearly 90%

Top 20 in the UK for Qualified Teaching Staff. 79% of our academic staff hold a teaching qualification in additional to their academic and professional qualifications (HESA 2017/18) .

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Director of Quality and Standards

We are firmly rooted in Kent and Medway’s communities – from Canterbury to TunbridgeWells and Medway – and we therefore recognise our significant role in protecting and enhancing our wider environment. Sustainability.

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Candidate Brochure

Learn more about sustainability at Canterbury Christ Church University

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Our locations. Our network of campuses and centres stretches across Kent and Medway, and are a vital part of the local communities.

CANTERBURY CAMPUS The largest of our campuses, Canterbury is a World Heritage Site and a historic cathedral city.

Exciting and cosmopolitan Canterbury https://youtu.be/bcz8R14z4DA

MEDWAY CAMPUS Our Medway Campus is a stone’s throw away from the Historic Dockyard, which is home to a cinema and restaurant complex. Vibrant and stimulating Medway

SALOMONS INSTITUTE, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

The Salomons Institute is home to professional and postgraduate study. Historic Tunbridge Wells

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Candidate Brochure

AUGUSTINE HOUSE Our flagship library and student services building at the heart of Canterbury’s city centre. Award-winning library

ARTS AND CULTURE VENUES Arts and Culture events take place in a number of different venues across our campuses. See our venues

CHRIST CHURCH SPORTS CENTRE The centre features a fully equipped sports hall, fitness suite and sport and exercise studio. Visit the Sports Centre web pages

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Our mission is to pursue excellence in higher education: transforming individuals, creating knowledge, enriching communities and building a sustainable future.

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Candidate Brochure

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The role. Canterbury Christ Church University Director of Quality and Standards

Job Description

About the Department The Quality and Standards Office (QSO) functions in a University-wide context and has a central role in ensuring that there is effective academic governance and a rigorous and responsive quality assurance infrastructure to support it. Working in partnership with faculties, schools and academic staff, it plays the lead role in ensuring that the University meets its obligations to external bodies, such as the Office for Students, the Quality Assurance Agency and Professional Regulatory and Statutory Bodies. The University is identifying new areas of activity, including the creation of the Kent and Medway Medical School in partnership with the University of Kent, undergraduate and postgraduate apprenticeships, micro-credentials, and delivering an increased range and complexity of international and UK partnerships. The Quality and Standards Office will take the lead in ensuring that academic risk is managed effectively, and that flexible and timely outcomes are achieved without loss of robustness. The Quality and Standards Office promotes and maintains standards through an on-going cycle of course approval and review, the operation of the external examiner system, and the governance of collaborative provision. Working across the University and particularly with Learning and Teaching Enhancement (LTE), it plays a major role in enabling the University to deliver an outstanding academic portfolio, underpinned by an outcomes-led process of continuous improvement. For further information about the Department please click here.

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Candidate Brochure

Main Purpose of the Role • Reporting to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Director of Quality and Standards has cross-institutional leadership responsibility for ensuring that University courses meet national standards and provide a first-class student learning experience. Engaging with external networks, they will employ expert knowledge, skills and experience to influence University strategy and contribute to the long-term direction of the organisation. • The post holder will provide inspirational and motivational leadership in all aspects of the delivery of the quality and standards function, play a leading role in ensuring that the University meets its regulatory requirements relating to quality and standards as determined by the Office for Students, lead University engagement with the Quality Assurance Agency, and ensure that the University is seen externally as sector-leading in quality assurance. • The Director of Quality and Standards is a member of the University’s Senior Leadership Group, the DVC’s Senior Management Group and works closely with senior colleagues in Faculties, Learning and Teaching, Student Experience, Library and Learning Resources, International Partnerships and Development and UK Partnerships.

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Main Duties

1. To provide strategic direction and leadership in support of the provision of an excellent student experience, facilitating a culture of strong performance and continuous improvement. 2. To provide supportive interaction with faculties via Deans, Heads of School, Faculty Directors of Quality, and other appropriate staff to ensure that there is an effective partnership for the maintenance of standard and the management of quality. 3. To contribute to the delivery of the University’s Strategic Framework, especially the provision of an excellent student experience, in partnership with the Senior Management Team, Heads of School, academic staff and students. 4. To ensure that the University’s systems for the approval and review of courses, the Periodic Review of Schools and Departments, the external examination of courses, and the management of the University Regulations and Credit Framework are fit-for-purpose and deliver an excellent student experience. 5. To provide expertise, such as having participated as a reviewer for the Quality Assurance Agency or the Teaching Excellence Framework, and through other external engagements to ensure that the University’s academic governance and the quality assurance infrastructure underpinning it is dynamic, sector-leading and able to offer effective solutions to complex issues.

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6. To ensure that there are appropriate quality arrangements in place for the oversight of courses offered in collaboration with collaborative partners, both in the UK and internationally, so as to enable confidence to be placed in the standards of the awards and the quality of the student experience offered through such academic partnerships, and the good-standing and the reputation of the University to be maintained at all times. 7. To provide leadership in responding to issues relating to the University’s arrangement for quality and standards, and, in particular, to ensure that there is embedded capacity to respond to the change agenda, ensuring that the University quality arrangements combine robustness with flexibility and can respond to new initiatives. 8. To ensure that appropriate Key Performance Indicators are identified and used in the approval and review of courses and in other quality procedures to enable the University to define and challenge areas where improvement is needed, enhance others and to ensure the identification and dissemination of good practice.

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Person Specification

Qualifications • A higher degree at doctoral level or equivalent professional qualification Experience and Knowledge • Experience of leading and delivering high-quality systems for the maintenance of standards and the management of quality a within a complex organisation • A track record of successfully initiating and implementing change in a large and complex organisation • Experience as a QAA institutional reviewer or a reviewer for the TEF • Knowledge of sector-leading approaches to academic governance and the quality assurance arrangements that underpin it. • Significant experience of working with a range of quality agencies • Successful experience of leading and managing teams in higher education • An in-depth understanding of higher education and the policy and regulatory context, including national and international issues • Significant experience as an academic in higher education • Academic Course Leadership Skills and Attributes • Excellent communication skills, which engage people in the strategic role that quality assurance plays in delivering the University’s commitment to a first-class student experience • The ability to identify and respond to evolving needs and issues with tailored initiatives • The ability to see initiatives through to completion, including reliance on others outside of areas of direct line management

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• The ability to represent the University nationally and locally, and to engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders and agencies • Stong people management skills

Qualities • Open, confident and convincing communication style

• The ability to deal diplomatically with conflict and challenge • A commitment to fairness, equality, diversity and transparency • A commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability • The ability to establish effective working relationships with a diverse

range of people and groups • Tenacity and perseverance

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An inspiring place to work. Working at Canterbury Christ Church University 88% of our staff say Canterbury Christ Church University is a friendly place to work and we offer a diverse range of benefits, work-life balance and learning and development opportunities to our staff.

Further information can be viewed at https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/ human-resources-and-organisational-development/docs/Benefits-of- Working-Here-v1.0.pdf and Canterbury Christ Church University - an inspiring place to work.

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Candidate Brochure

Click here to view the Discover Canterbury video in your browser.

The County of Kent and City of Canterbury Kent is a county that offers scenic countryside and wonderful coastlines as well as excellent accessibility to London and Mainland Europe. Kent has a spectacular coastline and there are some wonderful seaside towns. Across the County there are many hidden gems like market towns and picturesque villages. Canterbury combines cultural activities and highly rated educational establishments with historic landmarks and nearby nature, with it regularly being ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the South East region.

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Equality, diversity and inclusion.

At Canterbury Christ Church University we’re proud that we attract a hugely diverse population of students and staff from all over the world.

Closing Our Gap Our campaign to share how our University is working to reduce the attainment gap between white students and BAME students through our inclusive curriculum, academic research and the engagement opportunities that are available to students, staff and our wider academic community. You can learn more here.

We value diversity and believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are central to our ethos and underpin everything that we do. The University strives to be an open and accessible organisation; one that upholds the values of equality and diversity and actively stands against all forms of discrimination. You can learn more about our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion here.

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Candidate Brochure

The University is being supported on this recruitment campaign by the search consultancy MRG University People. To arrange a briefing conversation please contact our advisors Sian Gardiner ([email protected] / 07932717458 ) and Ben Duffill (ben.duffill@mrgpeople. co.uk / 07976125010) of MRG University People. Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV (of not more than 4 pages) and a covering letter (of not more than 2 pages).

Applications should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected] . The closing date for applications is Sunday 11th July at 23:00 BST.

MRG University People will undertake preliminary interviews with selected candidates during the week commencing 19th July 2021. Selection interviews will take place with Canterbury Christ Church University on 4th August 2021.

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An inspiring place to work.

Candidate Brochure Director of Quality and Standards