Director of Academic Services

Since 1845, Queen’s University staff, students and alumni have made a difference to societies locally, nationally, and internationally. The University has always been a generator of knowledge; we tackle the issues faced by individuals and societies at a local, regional, and global level and we are an engine of progress that is central to the socio-economic success of Northern Ireland. When it comes to future graduate employment, Queen’s ranks 12th in the UK, and our contribution to the economy in Northern Ireland and the UK is currently estimated at over three billion pounds annually.

Today, Queen’s University is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading universities and it continues to shape and serve the world around us through its research and teaching. A significant employer in Northern Ireland, Queen’s employs over 4,500 people from in excess of 98 countries and has a student body of approximately 25,000. The University is a member of the Russell Group of research-led UK universities and has an annual turnover of £450m.

This is an exciting time to join the Queen’s community and follows a period of highly successful growth, diversification and improvement for the University’s reputation and student recruitment. The University has recently designed a new leadership structure to optimally align strategy and vision with operational delivery – making us more agile and better equipped to achieve our goals as outlined in Strategy 2030.

The post of Director of Academic Services is an important strategic leadership role, with responsibility for ensuring that Queen’s builds on its recent growth and success and is positioned to achieve the aims and aspirations of Strategy 2030. 

Reporting to the Vice-President, Students and Corporate Services, you will be a senior member of the Management Group of the Office of Vice-President of Students and Corporate Services, working closely with the Director of Queen’s Global and the Director of Student and Campus Experience within the portfolio.  The Directorate of Academic Services spans the student success journey and encompasses Academic Affairs and Quality Assurance, the Admissions and Access Service, the Centre for Educational Development, Immigration Support Services, the Library, Student Administration and Systems, and Timetabling and Room Booking.

As Director of Academic Services, you will both lead the staff in the Directorate and provide University wide leadership to support the delivery of a transformative learning experience and the delivery of future oriented student success for all students. You will collaborate with and support the Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students on the establishment and embedding of the Queen’s Global Institute for Teaching and Learning to drive innovative teaching and learning, curriculum, and assessment development.  Your leadership will set the direction within the Directorate, promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, collegiality, continuous improvement and promotes a high-performance culture and demonstrating behaviour consistent with Queen's Core Values. 

The role requires you to be passionate about the transformative impact of higher education opportunities and to share a vision of continuing to provide a Queen’s education that imbues our students with a sense of purpose and the competencies to shape their own lives and positively contribute to the lives of others.  

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following criteria:

Qualifications

• Educated to minimum of degree level or equivalent qualification.

 Experience

• Substantial relevant senior-level experience (5 years at senior management level) leading and managing at least one, or combined areas of Admissions and Access, Student Administration and Systems, Academic Affairs, Educational Development and Library Services in a large, complex university, with demonstrable evidence of success.
• Experience of successfully leading change management in a higher education context to drive performance against targets in survey feedback and KPIs.
• Substantial relevant senior-level experience of cultivating and managing dynamic teams that have delivered results within a higher education environment and a personal track record of achieving success.
• Experience of leadership across complex teaching and learning environments with a commitment to quality assurance and student success.
• Experience in budgetary planning and financial management and a proven track record of efficient and effective delivery against KPIs.
• Experience of the successful management and execution of complex projects.
• Experience of successfully developing and cultivating partnerships and strategic alliances.
• Experience in developing innovative solutions and the practical implementation of strategy which includes the positive engagement of staff teams to deliver against targets.

Please note the above are not an exhaustive list. for full job details and the Essential and Desirable criteria, click on the 'Candidate Information' link below.

At Queen’s our people are at the heart of everything we do. As a staff member you will become part of a vibrant organisational culture, which will provide you with the opportunity to achieve your full potential and enhance your career through a continuous focus on learning and development.

We offer an excellent employment package that includes:

• Great terms & conditions
• Pension schemes
• Flexible working by enabling you to design your working week in collaboration with your manager through a blend of remote and office working                              
• Family-friendly initiatives
• Career development opportunities
• Support for health & mental wellbeing
• Generous holiday entitlement of 8.4 weeks a year (made up of 23 days annual leave, 10 closure days and 9 bank holidays)

Queen’s University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We have created an inclusive culture by establishing staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.

We also subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI in addition to Athena Swan. For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit: www.qub.ac.uk/diversity ; www.qub.ac.uk/qgi and www.qub.ac.uk/sites/StaffGateway/StaffNetworks/ .

Informal enquiries may be directed to Liz McLaughlin at [email protected] .

Candidate Information

Attractive reward package

About the Directorate

Further information for international applicants