Heads of Division (x3) School of Social and Political Sciences

Appointment of Three Heads of Division: Political and International Studies; Sociological and Cultural Studies; and Urban Studies and Social Policy

The University of Glasgow has been at the forefront of change, excellence and innovation for over 570 years and today we are one of the world’s top 100 universities. Our history is bound up with that of Glasgow and Scotland, but we are also outward-looking, international and keen to achieve our vision of being a world-class, world changing university, as set out in our strategy “World Changers Together”.

As one of the largest Social Science schools in the UK, the School of Social and Political Sciences is home to over 3000 students and over 300 staff. We conduct internationally recognised interdisciplinary social and political sciences, pioneering research, innovation and student education to tackle the key social and political challenges of our time, attracting and supporting talented and diverse staff and students to work together to support an inclusive and collegiate centre of knowledge production. Over 90% of our research submitted to the REF2021 exercise was assessed as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. We regularly feature in top 10 league table rankings such as the Guardian Best UK Universities 2024 where we ranked 2nd in the UK for International Relations, 5th for Politics and 7th for Sociology.

We have created three new Divisions to support and represent the interests of staff and students in our core social science Subject Groups which span the social and political sciences: Political and International Studies; Sociological and Cultural Studies and Urban Studies and Social Policy. We are now seeking three Heads to lead these Divisions and play a crucial role in developing the School’s extensive portfolio of research and teaching and delivering positive impacts on society and politics nationally and internationally.

The Heads of Division are pivotal leadership appointments and carry significant accountability for providing strategic and operational leadership as we embrace the challenge of enhancing our teaching and research portfolios, improving decision-making and finding sustainable ways to address challenges which will facilitate our ongoing success. The successful candidates will have an exemplary track record of relevant achievement and demonstrable evidence of research and teaching excellence coupled with external engagement in areas relevant to one of the Divisions. Proven academic leadership and management experience will be required along with experience of leading and successfully initiating and implementing change.

For further information and application please visit:

Closing date for applications is midday, Monday 29th April 2024