Senior Education Developer Birmingham, England
Job description
ABOUT BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY
At the heart of our 2025 Strategy is our mission is to enable our students to transform their lives and to achieve their potential. Through our education and research, and the roles our graduates go on to play in the world, we not only support individuals to transform their lives, but we also play a part in transforming society.
Located in the centre of the UK’s second city, we are a university with a long heritage of innovation and of making, dating back to our origins in 1843 when we were founded as the Birmingham Government School of Design.
Our heritage of making through innovation and its application through knowledge exchange, and of creative research and practice, today finds it expression in our STEAM agenda, in our research and enterprise, and in our commitment to challenge-based learning. Working across disciplines, and delivering impactful research and enterprise, interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the continuing transformation of our academic portfolio.
WORKING AND LIVING IN BIRMINGHAM
The youngest city in Europe with under-25s accounting for nearly 40% of the population, Birmingham is a city full of energy and enthusiasm and is a great place to live and work.
Based in the heart of England, the city is easily accessible by road, rail and air. Birmingham New Street station has recently undergone major redevelopment, while the city is at the heart of the high-speed rail network, HS2. HS2 will provide new rapid rail travel connecting Birmingham City Centre to London and the rest of the network from the new Curzon Street Station – adjacent to Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus – and will be one of the most environmentally friendly stations in the world.
The city’s appetite for progression is boundless, and it has been championing innovation since the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution, reflected in Birmingham City University’s new STEAMhouse building which opened in October 2022 and is home to an inter-disciplinary community of entrepreneurs, businesses, academic researchers, and students offering a wealth of support to companies of all sizes to boost growth through innovation to address commercial and societal challenges.
This post sits within Digital Academic Practice in the Education Development Service. It involves working across the university with all departments and disciplines. Depth and breadth of experience and knowledge coupled with highly developed communication skills are important to this position. The post requires an ability to act as an expert facilitator, consultant and leader offering expertise and guidance to deliver university and HE sector priorities. University strategic priorities which this role will contribute to / lead upon include closure of attainment gaps, improved student retention, progression and outcomes, transitions into HE, and curriculum and assessment design, enhancement and review.
As a Senior Education Developer core responsibilities include:
Supporting the implementation of the University’s Teaching Learning and Enhancement Strategy by working with Faculties on the design and development of curriculum and learning activities.
Playing a key role in activities and interventions to address institution-wide projects. Responding to Faculties’ locally identified development needs with strong engagement with a range of stakeholders in the development of initiatives.
Acting as a scholarly professional and specialist consultant to Faculty and Professional Services colleagues. The postholder will also contribute leadership / teaching on the Academic Professional Apprenticeship / PgCert, online PgCert, and other workshops etc as required.
This post will provide a lead on the BCU Fellowship Scheme aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) accredited by AdvanceHE. The scheme is in place to support colleagues across the University in gaining Fellowship recognition on the UKPSF. It will include mentoring of candidates, reviewers, mentors and also colleagues.
- A good honours degree or equivalent professional qualification.
- A post-graduate qualification would be desirable.
- A learning and teaching qualification is essential (i.e. PgCert, MA/MEd)
- SFHEA status is essential
- Experience of teaching undergraduates in HE is desirable.
- Experience of developing and delivering staff development activity in HE including at postgraduate level.
- Experience of mentoring and supporting colleagues in curriculum development.
- Strong and effective IT / digital skills with confidence in the use and application of IT solutions to reduce bureaucracy and promote effective working.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to persuade, influence and negotiate with others.
Able to demonstrate:
- Experience and demonstrable success in the requirements of the role.
- Supportive, positive and non-judgmental attitude.
- Ability to work in a team and on own initiative
- Ability to work within budgets.
- Understanding of the Higher Education sector.
OUR STAFF COMMUNITY
Birmingham is home to a rich and diverse range of communities. Our students reflect this rich cultural mix, and we are continuing to work to make sure that this is also reflected in our broader university community.
Birmingham City University values the quality and diversity of our staff. Our staff and student community is defined by our core values, which outline who we are as a University and how we work with each other. Our core values are we create opportunity, we think differently, and we build community.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, continuously reviewing and improving our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.
We hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.
Our University is located in one of the most culturally rich and diverse Cities in the UK, and it is our ambition to be the University for Birmingham and the surrounding region. The events of 2020 have highlighted the stark inequalities that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities face and we are committed to removing the institutional barriers that our staff and students face and improve the representation, progression and success of staff and students from all backgrounds within higher education. To demonstrate this, we have signed up to the Race Equality Charter to show our commitment.
Birmingham City University has been recognised for its progress on LGBT+ equality with a Gold award in the Stonewall Index and have entered the Top 100 Employers 2023 for LGBT+ inclusion. Meanwhile, we are Disability Confident (Committed) and are on an exciting journey to advance our University to progress through the Disability Confident scheme.
We are also a Mindful Employer, which means we are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our staff, and we have also signed up to the Mental Health Charter led by student mental health charity Student Minds.
