Birmingham Fellow - Arts and Law

Position Details

College of Arts and Law

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £41,526 to £49,553. With potential progression once in post to £55,750 a year

Grade 8

Full time

Permanent

Closing Date: 5th January 2020

Role Purpose

To create and disseminate knowledge through initiating and conducting original, high-quality research, through publication, through supervision of doctoral researchers, and through delivery of undergraduate, postgraduate and/or CPD programmes, as appropriate to the disciplinary area.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The responsibilities are likely to include some but not all of the activities outlined below. In addition, the responsibilities will be as appropriate to the specific role and purpose.

Research

• To plan and carry out original, high-quality research, using appropriate methodologies and techniques. This may include, where appropriate to the discipline:
• To pursue personal research, including developing new research ideas and where appropriate collaborating with other individuals either internally or externally to the university
• To plan, execute, disseminate, and publish high-quality research
• To attract external research funding
• To project manage research activities, and/or supervise other research staff
• To present findings in high-quality publications and conference proceedings
• As relevant to their discipline, to engage with industry, policymakers, the media or others to facilitate the wider impact of their research
• To develop novel methodologies and techniques appropriate to the type of research being pursued
• To supervise (or co-supervise) and examine PhD students, both within the institution and externally
• To provide expert advice to staff and students within the discipline.
• To apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding

Learning and Teaching

At the start of a Fellowship, the emphasis will be on consolidating an outstanding research trajectory. However, because UoB is committed to excellence in Education, Fellows will contribute to learning and teaching as described in the further particulars. As a research-intensive institution, the University of Birmingham is keen to encourage Fellows to embed their research expertise and knowledge into their teaching, such that our commitment to a research-intensive learning environment for students is fulfilled.

Fellows will use a variety of methods of teaching and advising individuals and groups of undergraduates, postgraduates, or CPD students to a high quality standard. Where appropriate to the discipline this may include:

• To teach and examine courses at a range of levels
• To plan and review own teaching approaches and acting as a mentor to encourage others to do the same
• To undertake and develop responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining
• To use appropriate approaches to learning and teaching in their field
• To disseminate appropriate practices through suitable media
• To develop and advise others on learning and teaching tasks and methods
• To devise & supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work

Management/ Administration

Fellows will not be expected to make a defined contribution in management and administration. However, they will be asked to do the following:

• To advise on personal and professional development of colleagues and students
• To contribute to the academic community, including engaging with discussions at group, departmental, school, college or University level as relevant to them and their colleagues
• To manage their own research and teaching responsibilities to ensure delivery of excellence

Candidates should be on a trajectory to become principal investigators and research leaders in their field of expertise, demonstrating:

Person Specification and key requirements

The University seeks to appoint individuals who will:

• Be able to take advantage of the high-end facilities, centres and infrastructure in which the University and external funders have invested in substantially - see list below.
• Contribute to the building of critical mass in key research areas for the University including the development of multidisciplinary capabilities, especially where this is combined with the point above.
• Demonstrate the ability (or the strong potential) to draw in significant levels of research funding - those who can draw on major funds such as the ICSF or GCRF are particularly welcomed, as are individuals who would bring major research grants with them, including fully funded external fellowships with at least two more years to run.
• Contribute strong publications or other outputs that are enterable for the REF 2021.

Skills and Experience

• Awarded a PhD or equivalent terminal degree at the point of application
• Extensive and successful research experience and scholarship within subject specialism
• Proven ability to devise, advise on, and manage research

Research

• Experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation within their discipline
• A publication record must be such that there is already clear evidence of outputs that are at least internationally excellent (REF 3* quality), if not world-leading (REF 4* quality), in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
• Experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking and project managing research to deliver high quality results.
• Extensive experience of applying and/or developing and devising successful models, techniques and methods.

Teaching

Ability to:

• Design, deliver, assess and revise teaching programmes
• Develop learning and teaching approaches, including approaches to mentoring
• Develop programme proposals and decide what contributions to make to the design of teaching programmes
• Advise, supervise and examine PhD students

Citizenship

Ability to:

• Assess and organise resources effectively
• Understanding of, and ability to contribute to, broader management/administration processes at School/Departmental level

Planning, Organising and Decision Making

Ability to:

• Develop knowledge in specialist area
• Develop high-quality research ideas
• Plan how to develop and undertake the research
• Plan how to fund the research as appropriate
• Organise self and others effectively to deliver research outputs
• Project-manage research activities and/or supervise other research staff.
• Decide where and when to present research findings and what publications and conferences to target for this purpose
• Plan for and set teaching programme objectives over a number of years
• Plan and manage own teaching at a range of levels (including design, delivery, assessment) as agreed with the Head of School. Organise meetings/conferences/symposia

Internal/External Relationships

Ability and experience to:

• Liaise with the relevant internal and external research community via seminars and conferences, including internationally
• Referee and peer review of articles for peer-reviewed academic journals and grant applications for research councils and/or other major funding bodies.
• Maintain contact with (including membership of) appropriate professional bodies
• Provide expert advice internally and externally in specialist area
• Develop effective links with external contacts such as other researchers and educational bodies

Applications will be particularly welcomed in the following areas linked to the below assets (applicants not in these areas will need to demonstrate how they fit the criteria above).

• Quantum Technologies
• Data Science and AI (particularly computer science and health data)
• Robotics and autonomous vehicles
• Manufacturing engineering
• Energy systems and Thermal Energy technologies
• Structural biology (with link to high-field NMR preferably)
• Sustainable Materials (Critical materials, recycling and the circular economy, battery technologies, recyclable plastics)
• Lead themes of the IGI (e.g., gender, transnational crime, resilient cities, water sciences)
• Healthcare technologies
• Responsible Business

Internal enquiries relating to each academic area can be made to: College of Arts and Law - Professor Michaela Mahlberg (+44121 414 8034 or email: M.A.Mahlberg@bham.ac.uk )

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community'