Assistant Professor in Electronic Engineering ENGI23-1

Job title:                                 Assistant Professor in Electronic Engineering    

Vacancy reference:               ENGI23-1 

Department:                           Engineering 

Responsible to:                     Head of Department 

Salary Range:                        Grade 8 £44,414 - £52,841 per annum  

Working arrangements:       The role is full-time, but we will consider requests for flexible working arrangements including potential job shares 

Open date:                              27 February 2023

Closing date:                           31 March 2023

Preferred start date:             Successful candidates will ideally be in post by 1 October 2023 

Working at Durham University  

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career while enjoying a high-quality work/life balance. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Durham? information page.  

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following Total Rewards – Grade 8.    

The Department 

The Department of Engineering at Durham University is currently undergoing a period of strategic growth and this is an exciting opportunity to join an expanding, unified Engineering department which is recognised as being one of the very best in the UK.  It is an exciting time to join this expanding Department and make your mark. 

In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise of 2021, the Department had 95% of publications rated as 3*/4*, and all impact case studies graded 3*/4*.  The Engineering Department demonstrates significant depth of research excellence across a range of disciplines, with activities that are currently concentrated around three Research Challenges (Sustainable Infrastructure, Future Energy Systems and Advanced Materials, Electronics and Communications) and eight Research Nodes which group staff under technical expertise and interest (see https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/engineering/research/ ). We are particularly proud of the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of our research, which also includes strong industrial partnerships.  The strategic vision for the Department includes a major growth over the next five years, with a significant enhancement of the research challenge portfolio and a drive to enrich our undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research provision. 

The Department is committed to an ethos of research-led teaching at all levels of our taught programmes, and is ranked 4th in the Complete University Guide, 5th in the Guardian University Guide and 6th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 in the UK for General Engineering.  The Department has improved its NSS scores year on year, is currently 4th in the UK, being in the top quartile overall, and specifically for teaching, assessment and feedback, and organisation.

We are a scholarly community that is open, supportive, collegiate, representative and diverse: our commitment to this is expressed through the work of the Department’s Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Committee, and our Athena Swan Bronze Award.  The Department is currently preparing its submission for the Athena Swan Silver Award.

The Department of Engineering at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to join us in the role of Assistant Professor.  We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the broad field of Electronic Engineering and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants with a strong record of research and a focus on the fields of radio propagation, sensor integration, the engineering application of electronic devices, or flexible electronics, however machine learning and materials science are not within the scope of this post. 

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at:  

https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/engineering/    

Assistant Professors at Durham 

Assistant Professors on the Education and Research track are encouraged to focus on research and teaching and also to engage in wider citizenship to enhance their own development, support their department and wider discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience. 

Academic colleagues are supported to publish high-quality research in their area of interest with a focus on quality in high-impact outputs including monographs, essays in edited volumes, and book chapters, rather than quantity. We will fully support your research needs including practical help such as resources to attend conferences and to fund research activities, as well as a generous research leave policy and a designated mentor.  

Durham University is also committed to ensuring excellent teaching quality, stimulating learning environments, and innovative curricula for all of our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise and to develop innovative teaching, as well as contributing to the overall student experience.  

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best international talent to Durham. We, therefore, offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING 

Applicants must demonstrate research excellence in the field of Electronic Engineering, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University.   The University aims to provides a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process. 

Key responsibilities:  

• To pursue research that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour.  

• To develop clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement; 

• To play a role in relevant teaching and research supervision, and contribute to ongoing curriculum development; 

• Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond through collaborative research activity;  

• Demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department;  

• To deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment and feedback; 

• To fully engage in and enhance the values of the Department; 

• To contribute to attracting and supervising research students, and to enhance the Department’s commitment to its vibrant and inclusive postgraduate culture.  

• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department.  

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  

As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values  and our Staff Code of Conduct.   At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI. 

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including disabled people, women, and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  

We are committed to equality: if for any reason you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of research outputs, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application.  We also understand that the Covid-19 pandemic will have had differential impacts on different people and welcome information on this if you wish to share it. The selection committee will recognise that this may have reduced the quantity of your research accordingly. 

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role. 

Person Specification  

Candidates applying for a grade 8 post should meet all the essential criteria.   

We are particularly keen to hear from candidates who have either already achieved Chartered Engineer status with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or, as a minimum, can demonstrate the ability and desire to become Chartered.

Research  

Candidates must have the capacity for and be progressing towards the independent development of internationally excellent research that produces high-quality outcomes, including some work that is recognised as world-class or that has world-class potential.   

Essential Research Criteria – Grade 8 

Education 

Candidates must demonstrate the development and delivery of high-quality teaching that contributes to providing a supportive and enabling learning environment and curricula which encourage students to achieve their potential.

Essential Education Criteria – Grade 8 

Service, Citizenship and Values 

Active engagement in the administrative and citizenship requirements of the Department. Positive contributions to University values  and to fostering a respectful environment as well as demonstrating their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Essential Services, Citizenship and Values criteria – Grade 8 

Desirable Criteria – Grade 8 

Contact Information 

Department contact for academic-related enquiries 

Professor Charles Augarde, Head of Department ([email protected] )

Professor Christopher Groves, Professor in Molecular and Nanoscale Electronics ([email protected] )   

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application 

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email.  Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]  

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.  We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).  

How to Apply  

We prefer to receive applications online.    

Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data.  We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system, please get in touch with us on [email protected] .  

What to Submit 

All applicants are asked to submit: 

• A CV  
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above; 
• Personal research plan for the next 3-5 years. Your strategy for securing funding to support the intended research should also be described. 
• Four of your most significant pieces of written work.  Where possible your written work should have been published or submitted since 2014, however work prior to 2014 may be submitted where candidates have had career breaks. 
• An EDI and values statement – (of no more than 500 words) which outlines work which you have been involved in which demonstrates your commitment to EDI and our values. i.e. Involvement in quality, diversity, and inclusion activities such as mentoring, volunteering, or attending conferences. 

Where possible we request that you provide accessible web links to your publications, which the hiring Department will use to access your work.  The application form contains fields in which to enter each of the web links. Please note we are unable to access publications behind a paywall.   

In the event you are unable to provide accessible links to online hosting of your work, your work should be uploaded as PDFs as part of your application in our recruitment system. Please ensure that your PDFs are not  larger than 5mb. Please note that your work may be read by colleagues from across the Department and evaluated against the current REF criteria.

Please save all application documents with your name and document type as PDF files. 

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.  

Referees 

You should provide 3 academic referees they should not (if possible) include your PhD supervisor(s).  The majority should be from a University other than your own (save for early career applicants applying for their first post). 

References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process. 

As part of your application, you will be asked whether you give your consent to your academic references being sought should you be invited to attend an interview. We will only request references where permission has been granted.  

Next Steps 

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the Department to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates.   

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.  The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around 8th and 9th June 2023 (to be confirmed). 

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date. 

Applicant Guidance  

For further guidance on your application please see HERE