Director of Defence

School/Department Cranfield Defence and Security
Based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire - Cranfield Defence and Security
Hours of work 37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered
Contract type Permanent
Salary Professorial Salary - Competitive
Apply by 14/08/2022

Role Description 

We are a University with ambitious and distinctive characteristics and we have a new opportunity to join our Cranfield community in the area of Defence.

About the opportunity

At this exciting point in our journey, as we embark on the development of a new strategic Corporate Plan, a Director level role has been created to lead and champion the University’s offer in Defence.  You will have a unique opportunity to shape this role, based on your own skills and experience.   You do not need to have university experience, and we welcome applications from individuals who are able to influence and partner successfully with a range of stakeholders. 

Reporting directly to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield Defence and Security (CDS), this is a strategic leadership position with an opportunity to engage, influence and collaborate with external partners and secure new business.  You will motivate research teams and lead a diverse teaching portfolio across the Defence domain.  You will have the ability to build and lead multidisciplinary teams across the University to identify and address new opportunities and challenges.  This role will form part of CDS’s Executive Leadership Team and the University Senior Management Team.

About You

To meet the needs of this role, we are seeking applicants who have extensive knowledge and leadership experience within the UK defence arena.  If you are passionate about management and leadership, and have the ability to inspire a highly ambitious team of academic staff, postdoctoral fellows and research students, we would like to hear from you.  We would also be interested to hear from you if you have the ability to establish and influence key strategic partnerships. Our ideal candidate will be financially and commercially astute and have experience in leading the design of projects or programmes.

We welcome applications from people who are passionate about shaping the strategic direction and growth of the Defence business.  You will act as a role model for research, teaching and management in the Defence domain and you will have a thorough understanding of these areas.  

In return, we will provide career development opportunities in a collaborative environment with other like minded thought leaders to generate real world impact in areas of strategic national and international importance.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here .

You will have an opportunity to join our community at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, where Cranfield has successfully had a close working relationship with the UK’s Ministry of Defence since 1984.

With an unrivalled reputation for defence education, research and consultancy, our expertise is trusted by governments, armed forces, industry and security services around the world. 

At Cranfield Defence and Security, we have three priorities:  

• delivering a world-class postgraduate education for our military and civilian students,
• collaborating with thought-leading experts and building on Cranfield’s outstanding track record of engagement with industry and other organisations,
• utilising our unrivalled facilities to make a difference, globally.

Why you’ll like working with us

• Cranfield Defence and Security has a unique relationship with the MOD and this provides exciting opportunities which will have an impact of areas of strategic national and international importance
• We are forward-looking and different, agile and adaptive
• We prize teamwork and collaboration
• We prize innovation and experimentation
• We value diversity and aim to provide an inclusive and collaborative community

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here .

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. Find out about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here .

Our equal opportunities and diversity monitoring has shown that black and minority ethnic people and women are currently underrepresented within CDS and so we positively encourage expressions of interest from those within these groups.

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Professor Mark Richardson at [email protected] .