Curriculum Design Adviser

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement

Pension scheme

Health & wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking a Curriculum Transformation professional to support the implementation of the Leading Edge Curriculum and Education for Life 2030+ strategy. The role collaborates with academic and professional services colleagues to redesign programmes, build coherent curricula, and align with institutional priorities.

The post is fixed-term until 31 July 2028 and offers blended working arrangements. Contact Michelle Black for an informal discussion.

Qualifications

• Up-to-date knowledge of policy and developments relating to curriculum design, learning, teaching, and assessment in higher education.
• Experience of programme-level curriculum design, development, and enhancement within a higher education context.
• Ability to manage a complex workload and work flexibly within a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Supporting programme teams through structured curriculum transformation and programme redesign aligned to the university strategy.
• Facilitating curriculum design workshops and activities focused on coherence, learning outcomes, and assessment strategy.
• Working with colleagues to implement institutional curriculum policy and framework requirements.
• Designing coherent programme-level learning, teaching, and assessment strategies to enable progression and inclusivity.
• Developing and refining curriculum design guidance, resources, and toolkits for transformation activity.
• Co-ordinating curriculum documentation and design outputs through programme approvals and reviews.
• Building relationships with academic leaders and professional services across the university.

Skills

Curriculum design

Facilitation

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Policy interpretation

Digital literacy

Communication

Education

University degree or equivalent

Senior Fellow HEA

Job description

Salary: £37,369 to £39,560 with progression to £46,970 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 22 November 2026

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Curriculum Transformation Team at Newcastle University as we support the implementation of the Leading Edge Curriculum (LEC) and Education for Life 2030 + Strategy.

The role will work in partnership with academic and professional services colleagues to support programme-level curriculum redesign across the institution. This includes facilitating curriculum design activity, supporting programme teams through structured redesign processes, translating institutional policy into practice, and contributing to large-scale curriculum transformation activity. Working across a range of programme clusters, the postholder will support academic teams to design coherent, future-focused programmes aligned to the University’s curriculum framework, enabling policy and strategic educational priorities.

The post is fixed- term, until 31 of July 2028. The roles are suitable for blended working. For an informal discussion, please contact Michelle Black, Curriculum Transformation Manager ( [e-mail] ).

Key Accountabilities

• Supporting programme teams through structured curriculum transformation and programme redesign processes aligned to the Leading Edge Curriculum and Education for Life Strategy
• Facilitating collaborative curriculum design workshops and activities focused on programme coherence, learning outcomes, assessment strategy, student experience, and curriculum enhancement
• Working in partnership with academic and professional services colleagues to support the implementation of institutional curriculum strategy, policy, and framework requirements
• Supporting programme teams to design coherent programme-level learning, teaching, and assessment strategies that enable progression, inclusivity, and future-focused learning experiences
• Supporting the development and refinement of curriculum design guidance, resources, toolkits, and implementation approaches to support institutional curriculum transformation activity
• Supporting programme approval and review processes through the preparation, coordination, and review of curriculum documentation and design outputs
• Building effective working relationships with academic leaders, programme teams, and professional services colleagues across the University to support curriculum transformation activity
• Managing and coordinating elements of curriculum transformation activity across multiple programme clusters, priorities, and timelines
• Writing and presenting reports, briefing papers, guidance materials, and presentations for a range of internal and external audiences
• Contributing to the ongoing evaluation, enhancement, and continuous improvement of curriculum transformation approaches, processes, and support models
• Contributing to cross-team planning, operational delivery, and institutional change activity linked to curriculum transformation and programme redesign
• Supporting the delivery of high-quality, inclusive, and research-informed educational experiences aligned to institutional strategic priorities
• Maintaining an up-to-date understanding of sector developments, policy, and practice relating to curriculum design, programme development, assessment, and higher education transformation
• Working flexibly across institutional priorities and projects, undertaking other duties appropriate to the grade of the post as required by senior colleagues

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• An up-to-date knowledge of policy and emerging developments relating to curriculum design, learning, teaching, and assessment in higher education
• Knowledge and experience of programme-level curriculum design, development, and enhancement within a higher education context
• Understanding of approaches to inclusive curriculum design, active learning, assessment and feedback, and student learning experiences in higher education
• Ability to manage and prioritise a complex workload, solve problems, use initiative effectively, and work in a flexible and responsive way within a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to establish, maintain, and communicate effectively within internal and external networks and partnerships across a wide range of stakeholders
• Experience of supporting projects, initiatives, or change activity using appropriate planning and organisational approaches to deliver work to agreed timescales
• Strong facilitation, communication, and interpersonal skills, including the ability to engage and work constructively with academic and professional services colleagues
• Ability to interpret and apply institutional policy, guidance, and framework requirements within practical curriculum and programme design activity
• Experience of preparing reports, presentations, briefing papers, guidance, or other professional documentation for a range of audiences
• Ability to analyse information, identify themes and priorities, and contribute to continuous improvement and enhancement activity
• Strong digital literacy skills and confidence using a range of digital tools and platforms to support collaboration, communication, and programme development activity

Attributes and Behaviour

Gathering Information

• Builds effective working relationships with academic, professional services, and external stakeholders
• Identifies emerging opportunities, challenges, and impacts relating to curriculum transformation and higher education developments

Communicating

• Encourages and supports open and effective communication across teams, projects, and stakeholder groups
• Adapts communication style, approach, and format to suit different audiences and contexts

Team-working

• Works collaboratively and effectively across a range of teams, projects, and partnerships
• Contributes positively to collaborative working environments and shared objectives

Planning and Organising

• Effectively organises and manages competing priorities and complex workloads within agreed timescales
• Plans and prioritises work in alignment with team, project, and institutional objectives

Finding Solutions

• Encourages creative and constructive thinking, in self and others to support continuous improvement and transformation activity

Qualifications

• University degree or equivalent
• Senior Fellow HEA

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.