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Below you will find all current employment opportunities within the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Associate Director (Thematic Hub Lead: People and Place Hub)

We are looking to appoint an Associate Director (Thematic Hub Lead: People and Place Hub) to join the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS). As a member of the directorate you will take the lead in overseeing the activities of the People and Place Hub as well as an element of SGSSS strategy suited to your experience and interest. This role provides academic colleagues with an opportunity to contribute to the on-going development of the UK’s largest Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), supporting all social science research students in Scotland. 

This 0.3 FTE position (managed as an institutional commitment from partner HEI to SGSSS) is available from January 2020 (phased starts negotiable depending on commitments) and it is anticipated that interviews will take place on Friday 6th December in Glasgow. Applicants should send a copy of their CV and a cover letter outlining why they are attracted to the position, along with relevant experience. 

Applications should be sent to team@sgsss.ac.uk including ‘Associate Director (Thematic Hub Lead: People and Place Hub) application’ in the email subject heading. 

If you would like to discuss the post in further detail please contact the SGSSS Director, Professor Jamie Pearce (Director) jamie.pearce@ed.ac.uk. You may also want to speak with your HEI representative on the Dean’s of Graduate Studies network 

Closing date for applications: Tues 26 November 2019, likely interview date Friday 6th December  

Associate Director (Thematic Hub Lead) – 0.3 FTE 

Based at: Home HEI; monthly meeting with Directorate;   

Key contacts: Director, Deputy Directors Studentships and Training, and professional services staff of the Scottish Graduate School, based at the University of Edinburgh. 

Supported by: SGSSS Staff Team  

Role Purpose: The key purpose of this role is to contribute to the development of a culture of collaboration resulting in a high quality and consistent research student experience across the People and Place Hub.  It involves working closely with Deputy Directors for Studentships and Training; the Associate Directors for Student Experience; Interdisciplinarity and Advanced Training; Advanced Methods; the other two Hub Leads; and, the SGSSS staff team. The Associate Director will co-ordinate the smooth running of 5 pathways (Economic and Social History; Human Geography, Environment and Urban Planning; Language-based Area Studies and International Development; Politics and International Relations (PIR); Social Anthropology) in relation to advanced training, cohort building and the review and allocation of studentship applications. In addition Associate Directors will take leadership of a cross SGSSS role as agreed with the Director. The role is available from January 2020 for three years. 

Main responsibilities: in collaboration with the SGSSS Directorate, the ADs will: 

  • develop and communicate opportunities for cross-pathway advanced training available across the SGSSS network; 
  • organisation of a pan-pathway Hub Festival 
  • organisation of other cohort-building activities across institutions and management of partly devolved budget for cohort building; 
  • develop organisational capacity by assisting non DTP HEIs to identify and develop opportunities for co-supervision across institutions; 
  • co-ordinate and oversee pathway convenors and pathway representatives to ensure that students have equitable access to information about relevant processes and opportunities; 
  • take responsibility for communication within the hub and liaising between hubs; 
  • liaising with the Associate Directors responsible for Interdisciplinarity and Advanced Training, and Advanced Methods to ensure a coherent approach to advanced methods across the Hub; 
  • lead the process of studentship assessment within hub for the open competition and representing the hub at the cross-hub allocation panel to ensure consistency in treatment of applications and transparency in review; 
  • assist in the delivery of bespoke training/communication/support to institutions as required. 

 

Person specification: The post requires a permanent academic member of staff (Lecturer or above) at a partner HEI who has experience of academic and/or postgraduate administration and a proven ability to think and act strategically. The AD will contribute creatively to a small and focused team and will serve as an ambassador for the SGSSS-DTP. 

Additional Responsibilities: 

The three Thematic Hub Leads each take on an additional area of leadership.  The allocation of this additional responsibility will depend on applicants’ experience and skills. The areas of additional responsibility will be cross-cutting themes and will support the Thematic Hub Leads in appreciating emerging UKRI/ESRC priorities. Thematic Hub Leads currently have responsibility for the SGSSS internationalisation plans and supporting postdoctoral fellows. The areas of responsibility may change or develop over time depending on competing priorities.