Chair in Public Policy/Public Administration/Public Management/Political Institutions - School of Go

Position Details

Institute of Local Government Studies

School of Government

College of Social Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Competitive salary for an outstanding candidate

Professorial Grade

Full Time

Permanent

Closing date: 30 September 2022 (We will start reviewing applications on 30th June and will invite for interview shortly thereafter if we have a sufficient number of suitable applicants. If all positions are filled prior to the final closing date (30 Sept), we may close the advert, so we encourage early applications).

For further information about the role, School and College, please click here: https://www.download.bham.ac.uk/vacancies/38090.pdf

The Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV) in the School of Government at the University of Birmingham seeks outstanding candidates who will provide significant strategic leadership in teaching, research, engagement and impact in the field. The successful candidate(s) will have an outstanding reputation and recognition from key stakeholders, based on significant and sustained achievements which have a major influence in the discipline, policy and practice.

We are particularly interested in hearing from applicants with research and teaching expertise in the following sub-disciplines:

• Governance, devolution or federalism
• Policy processes and challenges
• Co-production, democratic participation or social Innovation
• Public sector economics, strategic management or performance management
• Evidence, impact and innovative research methodologies

With over 50 years of experience working with local and (inter)national governments and the public sector, INLOGOV creates new thinking with public practitioners and is the leading UK centre for the study of public management, policy and governance. We seek colleagues who can both undertake pioneering research and develop exciting and intellectually stimulating teaching. In return, INLOGOV provides a supportive and collegial environment, enabling colleagues to engage internationally, strengthen networks and deliver excellent teaching, research and impact.

We offer an exciting range of postgraduate degree programmes, with a thriving doctoral research community. Our postgraduate programmes include a full-time on-campus Public Management MSc, an on-line Master of Public Administration, a blended Executive Apprenticeship in Public Leadership and Management, MOOCs and micro-credentials, and postgraduate research degrees. We pride ourselves with offering interdisciplinary research-driven teaching to a diverse and expanding student community.

Building on our rich history of research addressing the institutional and political life of local government and public management, our research now reaches beyond these traditional structures and actors to address governance, democracy, leadership, participation, policy-making and service delivery at and across multiple scales and issues. Our vibrant international research community of early-career and established researchers help to address a range of important global challenges through work on sustainable mobility, institutional design, wellbeing and digitisation. Our engaged scholarship is theoretically-driven, and demonstrates a commitment to methodological pluralism, with particular strengths in qualitative, collaborative and participative approaches.

INLOGOV is part of the School of Government, one of the largest Schools of Government in the United Kingdom - home to more than 80 full-time academic staff, more than 1,200 undergraduate and taught postgraduate students, and more than 70 doctoral researchers. The School is intellectually vibrant with an excellent record in both research and teaching.

Role summary

We are seeking outstanding candidates who will provide significant strategic leadership which will positively strengthen the profile of the university. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to have an outstanding reputation and recognition from key stakeholders in research and education activities, based on significant and sustained achievements which have had, and continue to have, a major quantifiable influence in the discipline, policy and practice. All appointees will contribute to teaching and learning, academic leadership and management and citizenship. A full job description and person specification is given below.

Role description
Main Duties

• Develop, plan and lead research activities and programmes of outstanding quality and international repute in public policy, which support the School and department's research strategy.
• Develop and lead collaborative working arrangements with academics in cognate areas in the School and wider University to deliver outstanding research and teaching.
• Lead major funding bids which develop and sustain support for public policy research and advance the reputation of the School and the University.
• Publish high-quality internationally recognised outputs.
• Develop sustained and strong relationships with relevant external organisations.
• Participate actively in the development of the School's research agenda, identifying and building collaborations inside and outside the University.
• Champion and provide academic leadership in public policy/administration/management, internally and externally.
• Seek opportunities to promote the University and raise its profile externally.
• Develop an atmosphere and culture among staff where research/teaching innovation can flourish, actively promoting and supporting staff in applying for research grants, writing and presenting papers and in the continuous search for excellence.
• Research/teach as appropriate and ensure/promote the positive interrelationship between research and teaching.
• Actively seek and promote interdisciplinary research/partnerships within the School, across the University or with external bodies.
• As appropriate participate in and act as a role model for teaching, course development, supervision and coaching.

Person Specification

Essential

• Evidence of an outstanding and sustained international research and/or education profile, evidenced by a substantial record of international quality outputs and achievements
• Proven ability to plan and lead the delivery of research and/or teaching programmes.
• Evidence of successful and sustained collaborations with other teams/institutions and significant and sustained success in obtaining external grants.
• Track record in interdisciplinary working in research and/or teaching and bringing multi-disciplinary teams together.
• A track record of attracting and successfully supervising high quality postgraduate research students
• Evidence, over a significant period, of delivering excellence in the design and delivery of teaching, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level
• Evidence of activities which advance the student learning experience (for example in enhancing the curriculum, learning activities/teaching materials, assessment, evaluating the impact on the student learning experience) or which enhance the teaching and learning performance of colleagues.
• Track record in translating research into impact on other scholars and on the wider community through publication, consultancy and advisory work.
• Track record of engaging with policy, public service leaders and practice
• A PhD in a relevant discipline

The School of Government

The School of Government represents one of the UK's largest concentrations of academics, researchers and students focused on government and governance from the local to the global. Our work spans from the study of local government in the Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV), which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015; to work with international organisations including the EU, NATO, OSCE and numerous aid agencies in the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) and the International Development Department (IDD). The School is home to a number of research-focused units, including the Institute for Conflict Cooperation and Security (ICCS) and the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC).

Each department delivers a distinctive range of academic programmes. POLSIS is home to a significant portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered on campus; IDD has an established reputation in specialist Masters courses, many also offered through distance learning, and has recently launched two new undergraduate programmes; and INLOGOV has developed a range of blended learning programmes and an ambitious degree apprenticeship initiative. Our MPA programmes span IDD and INLOGOV and recruit high quality students worldwide.

Research across the School reflects this diversity and breadth with significant grant income having been obtained from research councils, charities, EU funders, and UK and overseas government agencies. Recently funded projects include European populism (ESRC), attitudes toward aid (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), democracy promotion (in partnership with the Westminster Foundation and supported by FCDO) and the political implications of infrastructural investments (Carnegie Corporation). Thematic research priorities include security and conflict studies, where we have particular strengths around the UK-US relationship, the European neighbourhood and former Soviet space, the Middle East and North Africa and China, Japan and the Asia-Pacific; and governance and democracy, where we work both on global governance and on comparative national, regional and local politics and administration.

The School has strong support, with specialist staff dedicated to student welfare and educational enhancement. The College's wider professional services team provides specialist support in developing research grant applications, impact activities, widening participation and equality, diversity and inclusion. We were recently awarded an Athena Swan Bronze award in recognition of our efforts to address gender inequalities, and provide leadership for College and university initiatives around decolonising the curriculum, addressing ethnic attainment gaps and LGBTQ+ rights.

Based on recent growth in staff and student numbers, the School is well-placed to confront the many political challenges of the next decade, and we are particularly keen to broaden our expertise in accountability, representation and legitimacy. These themes have been elevated by the Covid-19 pandemic as governments across the world face multiple challenges of socio-economic repair, political stabilisation and international collaboration.

The School of Government is strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and is particularly seeking applications from underrepresented groups. Applications will be assessed against the stated criteria and on merit.

We would particularly welcome applications from female, black and minority ethnic candidates who are underrepresented in the School. We are happy to discuss flexible working. Our sister department (POLSIS) is also recruiting and we may share details of suitable candidates with them unless requested otherwise.

Informal enquiries are welcomed - please contact one of the following: Jason Lowther (Director of INLOGOV) at J.Lowther@bham.ac.uk or Professor René Lindstädt (Head of School of Government) at R.Lindstaedt@bham.ac.uk

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.