Department Manager

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.  

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University.  Further information about the University can be found here.

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 Join Us? - Information Page. 

The Role and the Department

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 Department of Philosophy - Durham University

The Philosophy Department at Durham University has concentrations of research expertise across four research clusters: Aesthetics, Ethics and Politics; History of Philosophy; Mind, Language and Metaphysics, and Science, Medicine, and Society. It is home to the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society (CHESS) and has strong links with other interdisciplinary research centres and institutes at Durham.

At postgraduate and undergraduate levels, our students can choose from a wide range of teaching, spanning the whole discipline of philosophy and the history and philosophy of science and medicine. The Department’s undergraduate programmes are to be found among the top 10 in national rankings for philosophy (The Guardian, The Complete University Guide and The Times). The Department has one of the largest PhD programmes in the UK, and many of our students go on to pursue highly successful academic careers.

As Department Manager you will play a key role as part of the Department’s leadership team delivering Department and University strategy. You will work closely with the Head of Department and other members of the leadership team to plan and implement policy to meet Department and University strategic aims and ensure the effective delivery of teaching and research. In this role you will also have overarching management responsibility for the Department’s professional services (administration) team and will collaborate not only with academic staff within the Department but also with business partners and departmental contacts in key areas such as HR, Finance, Marketing & Communications, Strategic Planning and Student Support teams.

You will also work with the Faculty Manager and other Department Managers in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, forming a community of practice for sharing information and good practice.  Department Managers take a strategic role in aspects of operation across all departments in the Faculty, e.g. collaborating to manage PS resource to ensure service delivery to students.

This role offers the opportunity to develop strategic and project management skills.

The Department Manager role requires an excellent all-rounder with the ability to

• Work at a strategic level but with an operational focus to support the development and implementation of strategy across all areas of service delivery in the Department and more widely across all departments in the Faculty.

• Navigate hierarchies and be aware of the diverse responses to and from different cultural environments.

• Lead and manage the departmental professional services team both in business as usual and maximising administrative capacity to deliver departmental strategy.

• Work with the Head of Department on delivering change, ensuring effective engagement and implementation and review.   

• Create an atmosphere of positive responsiveness to change, fostering initiative and developing staff.

• Act as a key channel of communication between academic staff and professional services staff, both within the Department and across all academic, college and other professional services departments.

• Show leadership, self-motivation and confidence in contributing to and taking responsibility for innovation, decisions and actions.

• Demonstrate personal resilience and emotional intelligence in effectively dealing with a wide range of academic and professional service staff and students, as well as often complex process management challenges.

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

Working at Durham 

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:

• You’ll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.

• We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).

• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost-effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.

• We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.

• We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.

• Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.

• Our family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).

• We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.

• You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.

• Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.

• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.  If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

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.  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.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.  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.
 

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification  
  
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role.  Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.  Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.    
  
Your application should cover the following criteria:  

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience

1.     Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).

2.     Professional practitioner with specialist knowledge and expertise to influence service delivery, events and activities within the organisation. This includes strategic and operational oversight of staff, students and processes (or equivalent), within a department and as part of a Faculty-level (or equivalent) professional services leadership team.

3.     Extensive and in-depth experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of colleagues, including more senior colleagues.

4.     Experience of participating in internal or external networks to share and discuss good practice, develop strong and productive working relationships and positively influence the University’s reputation.

5.     Extensive and in-depth experience of implementing policies and procedures and supporting service improvements in an administrative environment, including solving problems and planning appropriate solutions.

6.     Track record of management and development experience across a large service team or teams.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

7.     Excellent spoken and written communication skills and an understanding of how to employ these across a range of stakeholders.

8.     Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps relevant to the role including the ability to analyse data to produce outputs.  

9.   Extensive knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in an HEI administrative environment.

How to apply
  
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria. Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.   
  
Submitting your application 

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about 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 make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
  
What you need to submit   

•    A CV
•    A supporting statement which clearly outlines how you meet each of the criteria within the Person Specification. 
 
Contact details   
  
For a chat about the role or any further information please contact Alice Wilson, Department Manager, Philosophy alice.wilson@durham.ac.uk.

Typical Role Requirements  

Service Delivery/Development

• Contribute to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the University’s values.

• Develop and apply an in-depth understanding of university policy and external developments when carrying out your role.

• Ensure that policy and regulatory standards are met by activities, processes and transactions that are carried out in services you arand provide expertise and advice both in the Department and across the Faculty.

• Use your managerial and leadership expertise to identify priorities and shape the service to achieve the required outcomes.

• Look for ways to continually improve services and take a lead role in the development and implementation of assigned policies, processes and standards.

• Initiate and manage business process reviews to improve the service in your area.

• Ensure data (commercially sensitive and/or personal) is appropriately stored and managed.

• Manage quality and regulatory audits of systems and procedures.

• Support the welfare, wellbeing and employment of your staff by providing professional guidance.

Planning and Organisation

• Contribute to the development of operational plans relevant to the Department and Faculty more widely.

• Oversee the analysis of data about the service levels provided by the Department and Faculty more widely  and make recommendations for improvement in reports to senior managers and committees.

• Allocate and monitor designated budgets, expenditure and resources.

Team Development

• Manage and develop the people, performance and resources in the Department and more widely across the Faculty to ensure that a customer-focused service is provided.

• Help shape the skills and expertise needed to deliver a professional service by recruiting, inducting and training team members and structuring the team in a way that will best meet operational and strategic priorities.

• Ensure that your team can deliver the required services by devolving and delegating responsibilities to appropriate team members.

• Carry out regular performance reviews to provide feedback on objectives and expectations and identify any development needs.

• Handle most HR issues and support the welfare and wellbeing of your team, referring more complex issues to specialist services or more senior managers.

Communication/Liaison

• Use your professional knowledge to identify and recommend priorities for Department business plans.

• Provide specialist guidance and advice in relation to institutional policy, compliance, quality assurance, governance and other relevant aspects of university business.

• Design creative and innovative communications to promote and increase engagement relating to different stakeholders in the Department, Faculty and University.

• Influence University policy, standards and governance by leading and participating in operational business meetings, working groups and sub-committees.

• Create strong working relationships, including internal and external networks, using your networks to increase your knowledge and skills, swap information with peers and positively influence the University’s reputation.

• Represent the Department and the University at promotional events e.g. Open Days.

• Any other reasonable duties.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.