Head of Centre and Institute Operations

THIS JOB HAS NOW CLOSED

The opportunity

You will provide project, administrative and operational support to UALs Institutes and Research Centres. UAL has an ambitious strategy to grow our Research and Knowledge Exchange activity, and this role will be key to supporting this success by developing a team who will provide professional services across current and emerging Centres & Institutes and wider related activities.  

This will involve oversight of the development of processes and systems to support Centres and Institutes in delivering to their plans, including mechanisms to manage and monitor activity; to organize, coordinate and deliver projects, activities and events; to manage and deliver their communications with internal and external stakeholders; and to provide other financial and administrative support on an ongoing basis.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the development of the central operations service, working closely with their team and with stakeholders across UALs Institutes, Centres and Colleges, to respond to current and emerging needs and support Centres and Institutes in achieving their objectives, in line with UALs Research and Knowledge Exchange strategies.  

This is a new role which will work with colleagues across the university, and is an exciting opportunity to bring together a group of existing skilled and experienced staff, to build a service which can support colleagues across the university in delivering to our strategy.

About you

Our staff come from a diverse range of professional backgrounds both within Higher Education and further afield. We value the experience they bring with them.

You will be an experienced manager who motivates and leads effectively, setting the direction of your team and service, to enable and promote collaboration and innovative problem solving across formal boundaries. You will have experience of building effective, service focussed teams, and will promote and enable an inclusive environment; and will apply these principles to the development of the service.

You will have experience of delivering successful strategic and operational management, and experience navigating and delivering change, within a complex organisational structure in Higher Education or a similar environment.

You will bring an in depth knowledge of the management and leadership of core operations and process management activities, including project management, general administration, communications, financial management and reporting, quality assurance, and risk management.

This role is based within the Research, Knowledge Exchange & Enterprise division, working across university, and will require strong communication, relationship building and networking skills.  

Informal enquiries about this opportunity are welcomed, please contact Mairead Kelly, Director of Academic Enterprise on m.i.kelly@arts.ac.uk to discuss.

 If you have any queries about this role or need any reasonable adjustments for your application, please contact Twinkle Brahmbhatt, Senior Resourcing Adviser on 020 7514 2965. 

We are UAL

University of the Arts London (UAL) offers an extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing arts. We are a collegiate University spread across London with six Colleges, four Institutes and five Research Centres. UAL also has two subsidiary companies, delivering specialist activities – UAL Short Courses Ltd, and UAL Arts Temps Ltd.

We’re made up of all types of people, coming together in London, the world’s creative capital. We are designers, artists, performers, thinkers, researchers and makers. Our students, staff and graduates form a global network of creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. Together, our ideas change the world. Because the world needs creativity.

We are ranked highly across the board. We are ranked first for specialist art and design, second in the world for Art and Design in the 2023 QS World University Rankings (for the fifth year in a row), ranked fifth in sustainability and two of our colleges were rated in the top three fashion schools in the world.

Our culture

We have become one of the world’s most international Universities, welcoming over 22,000 students and 6,000 staff from 130 countries. And, as a global university, staff and students learn from different cultures and perspectives, which leads to new conversations and innovative work. At our very core, everything we do seeks to challenge the status quo by driving social purpose and standing up for what matters.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds including those who may feel underrepresented in the workforce due to their socioeconomic circumstances such as those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) backgrounds. We aim to be a university where everyone can be themselves and are supported to reach their full potential.

With our commitment to inclusion and diversity, we are proud to be a Race Equality Charter (REC) member to help us reduce barriers that negatively impacts B.A.M.E. staff, a Stonewall Diversity Champion to ensure all LGBTQ+ people are valued at work, a Disability Confident Scheme Committed employer and member of the Business Disability Forum which help us to improve the lives of disabled people in the workplace.

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