Associate Professor in Sustainability

We are recruiting an Associate Professor in Sustainability (Education), who will join the highly interdisciplinary School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES). The position offers an exciting opportunity to support the launch, teaching and leadership of our new BSc Sustainability programme on our Dubai campus.

We are keen to attract candidates whose work engages with contemporary sustainability issues, from interdisciplinary perspectives, across a range of Sustainable Development Goals. Our BSc Sustainability is the first such programme in the United Arab Emirates and the post holders will work on the creation of new content, programme development as well as enabling the launch and running of the new programme. We also wish for post holders to work closely with sustainability practitioners, and relevant government officials, in the greater MENA region to ensure that our teaching engages with living projects and that in demand green skills are embedded throughout our modules.

As well as contributing to BSc Sustainability, the post holders may also provide wider support for the teaching delivery and administration of GEES Dubai and Edgbaston based programmes. As part of the broader School, the post holder will also be expected to contribute to our ongoing innovation of teaching and assessment.

The University of Birmingham is an equal-opportunity employer wishing to recruit talented individuals from anywhere around the world. We encourage applicants from all sections of the community.

Successful applications will receive a competitive package and play a key role in our ambitious University s expansion as we enhance our international reputation and global footprint.

Role Summary

Contribute at a senior level on a sustained basis to the whole range of teaching leadership and administration, though mainly in support of our BSc Sustainability programme. In addition, you will be expected to demonstrate academic citizenship, developing and maintaining mutually respectful and supportive working relationships with all staff and students, and ensuring the way you carry out your role impacts positively on how others carry out theirs.

Teaching is likely to include: (a) development and leadership of major teaching programmes or equivalent; and (b) enhancement of the student experience or employability, that are of manifest benefit the University. It is expected that you will demonstrate a significant contribution to the advancement of teaching (policy, practice, standards) of the subject, provide leadership in teaching and learning that is innovative to the subject area or institution, with a significant contribution to the debate nationally about teaching.

Management and administration is likely to include School level leadership and management activity with University wide involvement for example through sustained high value impact knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement or similar activities.

Main Duties

Education

You will contribute across the range of teaching and learning activities:

• making a significant contribution to the pedagogical knowledge base of the subject that advances teaching through the enhancement of practice, the development of teaching resources and/or through practice-based research;
• leading on the management and the development of approaches to teaching and learning, including designing innovative approaches and supporting colleagues to use them in the subject area or institution;
• leading on curriculum design at module and programme level to ensure it is contemporary, inclusive, engaging and academically challenging;
• making an impactful, high quality contribution to debates about education policy, methods and practices through internal and external publications, subject societies and conference activity;
• developing an external profile evidenced through engaging in external quality assurance activities related to teaching, eg. external examining and engaging with/supporting education in other institutions;
• where appropriate, playing an important and sustained role in the recruitment and admission of students;
• co-supervising doctoral students to completion;
• leading the development of teaching, learning and assessment policies and strategies;
• acting as an education mentor to colleagues in the School/College or more widely;
• leading the development of new and appropriate approaches to learning and teaching;
• leading sustained high value impact in knowledge transfer and enterprise (including business engagement, public engagement) that enhances the student experience and/or or employability, and is of manifest benefit to learning and teaching in the College and the University;
• undertaking own teaching, which will include teaching and examining courses at a range of levels, planning and reviewing own teaching approaches, developing programme proposals, supervision, marking and examining. You will ensure that your teaching practice is informed by discipline based research, through participating in the research culture of the School.

Management/Administration

Lead activities in the School and represent the School on College/ University committees or working groups. This may include:

• teaching and examining modules at a range of levels, with teaching activities also taking place during weekends and evening;
• making an important contribution to the development and running of the School, for example, leading activity on teaching assessment;