For Lecturers - University of Brighton



Appointment of a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Computational Structural Mechanics

The school The University is committed to transforming the lives and experiences of people and their environments through research that drives positive change and economic and social benefits. Based in the College of Life, Health and Physical Sciences, The School of Environment and Technology is focussed on producing applied, multi-disciplinary research that informs policy, practice and benefits the student experience.

Based in the Cockcroft Building on the Moulsecoomb site, there are 49.25 academic, 6.1 research, 7.9 technical and 12.2 administrative staff within the school covering a wide range of activities within the two divisions of Geography & Geology and the Built Environment & Civil Engineering.

Members of staff are active in their professional fields, acting as external examiners, validation panel members and HEFCE assessors.

Research

The School specialises in multi/interdisciplinary applied research which is grouped around 5 broad themes:-

• Applied geosciences

• Ecology,landscape and pollution management

• Society, space and environment

• Ground, water and structural engineering

• Sustainable construction and environmental planning

Staff within each of these themes also contribute to the Aquatic Research Centre which is an interdisciplinary centre focusing on resolving key issues associated with marine and freshwater systems in both the natural and built environment.

In the 2014 REF 40% of the staff from the School were submitted via 4 Units of Assessment ( B7 – Earth Systems & Environmental Sciences -12.25 fte, C22 – Social Work and Social Policy – 2.0 fte; C26 – Sport & Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism – 2.0 fte, D34 – Art & Design: History, practice and theory – 3.0 fte) and the following quality profile was generated:-

4* = 11.2% 3* = 50.9% 2* = 34.0% 1* = 3.6% U/C = 0.3%

The School attracts around £1 million of external funding each year from UK Research Councils (EPSRC, NERC, AHRC), the European Union, local and national government (DEFRA, Environment Agency, SDNPA) and industry. In many cases staff within the School are leading large multi-partner European projects and they play a key role in the peer review process (e.g.RCUK Review College) and in academic societies hosting national and international conferences.

The school provides an excellent environment to support the development of early career researchers with pump priming funds being made available to develop research activities. The School also supports in excess of 60 postgraduate research students.

Courses

The school offers a wide range of research led courses to over 1200 students at Masters and Undergraduate Degree level which cover the subject areas of architectural technology, building surveying, construction management, civil engineering, environmental sciences, geography, geology and environmental management.

The undergraduate programmes are modular in structure and split into two semesters of 15 weeks’ duration. All of the courses make use of fieldwork and industrial placements and these are integrated into the teaching programme. Many of the courses are accredited by professional bodies (ICE, RICS, IEMA, Geol Soc) and have key transferable skills integrated into the programme. As a consequence the graduating students have an excellent record in securing appropriate employment.

Staff within the school also have close links with industry, the local community and the relevant professions, with highly qualified staff offering consultancy, short courses and CPD opportunities to the South East region.

Consultancy Opportunities

Staff may also work on consultancy activities, which may be undertaken in consultation with their Head of School.

Facilities

The school is strongly supported by the university and as a consequence has seen significant investment (£8.3 million) in new laboratories and capital equipment over the last five years. Key facilities include:

• Geochemical suite (XRD, XRF, XPS, AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS)

• Geology Laboratory

• Environmental Sciences Laboratory

• Public Health Laboratory

• Research Laboratory

• Hydraulics laboratory with 6 flumes

• Experimental River basin

• Heavy Structures Laboratory

• Geotechnicial laboratory including a centrifuge

• Concrete laboratory

• Drawing Studio

• Computer Laboratories including Autocad and GIS

• Surveying Equipment (Total Stations, dGPS)

• Field based monitoring equipment including a 4 wheel drive vehicle and coring equipment

• Instrumented monitoring sites for hydrogeology, wetlands and estuarine environments.

The refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building (£29 million) has provided new offices, laboratories and social learning spaces as well as providing a building with a low carbon footprint.

Support Staff

The academic activities are supported by a range of administrative and technical staff. The laboratories and computer systems are supported by highly qualified technical instructors who support teaching and research activities. Similarly the teaching and research administrative activities are supported by the School Office together with two Student Support Tutors. In addition the school can call upon support from the Centre for Collaboration and Partnership which focuses on working with industry (KTPs) and student placements.

The Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division

The mission of the Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division is to be a centre of excellence for teaching and research in construction with particular emphasis on the interaction between the society and the natural environment. The division also has a strong professional focus which guides and informs both teaching and research activities.

The Division consists of 24.4academic staff who are supported by 4 dedicated technical staff and it is also able to draw upon the wider technical support available in the School and the School Administrative team.

Research

Research within the division is focused around two themes:-

Sustainable Construction and Environmental Planning with particular expertise in building & energy modelling; life-cycle assessment; information & communication systems for built environment applications; access to food in the urban environment; coastal planning and regeneration; evaluation of infrastructure procurement & contracts in emerging economies; construction methods, processes and technologies; and sustainable refurbishment and modernisation. The staff have attracted grants from the EPSRC, DEFRA and the EU as well as being involved in a number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with companies in the South-east.

Ground, Water and Structural Engineering with particular interests in geotechnics (Soil-structure interaction, foundation engineering, soil and rock mechanics, laboratory study for rock stability in permafrost areas); hydraulics (wave processes and interactions, cohesive and non-cohesive sediment transport on beaches, tidal and density currents, modelling of waves via Finite Elements and Boundary Elements methods, physical modelling of sediment movement and waves); materials (cyclic behaviour of plane and confined concrete, hysteretic behaviour of materials, usage of natural fibres for concrete and soil reinforcement); and structures (identifying mechanical parameters and presence of damage via non-destructive tests, seismic action modelling , proposing and testing new mechanical jointing systems for timber, glued-laminated timber and engineered wood products and numerical modelling of timber structures, analysis of structures under stochastic loads, redesign of structures under seismic action, validation of numerical models via dynamic testing of small-scale prototypes of structures). The group has attracted funding from the EPSRC, EU, DEFRA, and from industry.

Courses

The University of Brighton has a long history of providing professional, higher education courses directly related to the construction industry. The courses achieved high scores in the HEFCE Teaching Quality Assessment and are accredited by a variety of professional bodies including the RICS, ICE, IStructE, APM and the CIOB. The courses have also attracted excellent National Student Survey, with overall student satisfaction placing of 85.4%, the third highest within Built Environment courses. The Division supports around 530 students, on the following courses:

• MSc Civil Engineering

• MSc Construction Management

• MSc Highway Engineering

• MSc Project Management for Construction

• MSc Town Planning

• BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology

• BSc (Hons) Building Surveying

• MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering

• MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil with Environmental Engineering

• MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with Construction Management

• BSc (Hons) Construction Management

• BSc (Hons) Project Management for Construction

Members of staff are active in their professional groups including Chartered Institute of Building, Institution of Civil Engineers, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers and Royal Town Planning Institute. They also undertake external examining; validation panel membership and HEFCE assessment. Staff in this division, play an active role in local community activities and organisations.

The Civil Engineering courses have been developed around a common first year which greater depth in the core disciplines being developed at Level 5. Option modules are introduced at Level 6 and for those students who undertake the flagship MEng course there is further emphasis upon leadership and construction management skills. The Civil Engineering courses are distinctive in terms of their inclusion of construction management and environmental material (e.g. Water quality, engineering geology) which is strongly supported by staff from other areas of the School.

The built environment undergraduate courses share a common first year and this allows the students to get a better understanding of the subject material before they start to specialise at honours level. This approach has allowed us to move to a position where we have an array of semi-independent, inter-linked modules from which it is possible to offer new options and ensure that the students develop key skills appropriate to their degree but can still select from a broad range of options. A particular focus for these courses is an emphasis upon Sustainable Development in Construction and the broader issues associated with development and regeneration.

Graduate employment is very high and the courses now attract considerable involvement from regional and national employers as evidenced via our Industrial Liaison Panel.

Postgraduate teaching is offered via the MSc programmes in both the built environment and civil engineering areas. Recruitment is primarily full-time though a few part-time students enrich the courses through current knowledge and experience. The MSc’s are custom designed courses where students bring both skills and experiences from their previous professional and other activities and integrate them with the academic content provided by the study programmes.

Job Sharing The University of Brighton welcomes job sharers. Job sharing is a way of working where two people share one full-time job, dividing the work, responsibilities, pay, holidays and other benefits between them proportionate to the hours each works, thereby increasing access to a wide range of jobs on a part-time basis.

Potential job sharers do not have to apply with a partner. However, if a post is to be operated as a job share there must be at least two suitable applicants who wish to share the job.

A job share appointment will only be made if it has been demonstrated that both shortlisted applicants can do the job to the required standards and within a working pattern of hours that is agreeable to all parties. If one applicant is unsuitable, neither can be appointed unless an alternative potential job sharer has been shortlisted.

When applying as a job sharer please indicate this on your application form.  Please also indicate on the additional information tab whether you are applying with a job share partner and the name of that person. It would also be useful if you could indicate whether you would be interested in the post on a full-time basis if no suitable partner can be found. If you have indicated that you would be willing to take up the position on a full-time basis then the normal recruitment procedure will be followed.

If you are interested in appointment on a job share basis, please contact Human Resources for a copy of the university's policy, procedure and guidelines for job sharing. Alternatively staff in Human Resources will be happy to answer any queries you may have.

The Job The school wishes to appoint a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Computational Structural Mechanics who will strengthen our teaching and research expertise in Numerical Analysis across the Civil Engineering subjects taught in the Division.  Applicants with expertise in the areas of Finite Element Modelling, numerical analysis and programming are encouraged to apply. Applicants should be able to demonstrate recent research activity and those seeking appointment at Senior Lecturer level should possess a strong track record of research publication.

The range of duties of a university lecturer is extensive and diverse. The following summary indicates the nature of this range. Almost all academic staff will be expected to contribute to both the teaching and the research activity of their subject area. At Senior Lecturer level (AC3), staff are expected to be engaged in the planning, design and leadership of teaching and research activity, and to be making wider contributions to the work of their school and the university.

Teaching and Scholarship

A Lecturer (AC2) is expected to possess, develop and utilise a range of teaching methods and ways of supporting student learning. These may include: lectures, seminars, tutorials, forms of e-learning, workshops, laboratory classes and individual supervision.

The role requires the ability to: identify the learning needs of students and to define appropriate learning objectives; ensure that the teaching content, methods of delivery and learning materials are appropriate; develop own teaching materials, under guidance; select appropriate types of formative assessment; seek ways of improving teaching performance by self-reflection and the gathering and analysis of student feedback, and teach as a member of a team within the framework of an established course. An understanding of equal opportunities issues with regard to academic content and teaching delivery is also expected.

In addition a Senior Lecturer (Ac3) is expected to be able to design teaching materials, identify areas where current provision is in need of revision or improvement, supervise student projects, field trips and placement activity.

Research and Scholarship

A Lecturer is expected to: continually update their disciplinary and/or professional knowledge and understanding; develop personal (and, where appropriate, collaborative) research objectives; write up research work for publication; translate new subject knowledge into teaching content; and reflect on their own practice as a higher education teacher. Engagement in continuous professional development with regard to disciplinary/professional and pedagogic expertise is required.

In addition a Senior Lecturer should: disseminate research findings and outputs at conferences and similar events and identify and seek sources of external funding for their own scholarly activity.

Communication

A Lecturer should be able to: deal with routine communication using a range of media; communicate complex information orally, in writing and electronically and communicate material of a specialist or highly technical nature.

In addition a Senior Lecturer will be capable of: routinely communicating complex and conceptual ideas to those with limited knowledge and understanding, as well as to peers, and preparing proposals and applications to external bodies, e.g. for funding and accreditation purposes.

Liaison and Networking

A Lecturer is expected to : liaise effectively with colleagues and students; build internal contacts and participate in internal information exchange networks, and join external networks to share ideas.

In addition a Senior Lecturer will be able to develop external networks in such areas as: identifying sources of funding; student recruitment; student placements; outreach and marketing activity, and obtaining consultancy projects.

Managing People

A Lecturer will be able to agree and largely self-manage teaching, research and administrative activities.

In addition a Senior Lecturer will be expected to: advise and support less experienced colleagues; in certain circumstances supervise the work of others in research teams or as a research supervisor, and coordinate the work of colleagues, for example when acting as a module leader.

Teamwork

A Lecturer is expected to: collaborate with academic colleagues on course development, curriculum changes and the development of research; attend and contribute to subject group and similar meetings, and collaborate with colleagues across the university to identify and respond to students’ needs.

In addition a Senior Lecturer may be required to act as a team leader in a small scale project.

Pastoral Care

A Lecturer/Senior Lecturer will be expected to: act as a personal tutor; use listening, interpersonal and pastoral care skills to deal with sensitive issues concerning students, appreciate the needs of individual students and their circumstances, and to refer students as appropriate to the specialist services which can provide further help.

Initiative, Problem-solving and Decision Making

A Lecturer will be able to: develop and apply initiative, creativity and judgement in the conduct of teaching and research; respond effectively to pedagogical and practical challenges, and contribute to decision making on, and share responsibility for, the academic content, delivery and assessment of modules.

In addition a Senior Lecturer will be expected to: take responsibility for the design and delivery of individual modules and their assessment; identify, and make proposals regarding, the need for change in individual modules; disseminate and apply the results of research and scholarship; develop ideas on income generation; provide advice on student recruitment and marketing approaches and contribute to the successful implementation of quality assurance requirements, internal and external.

Planning and Managing Resources

A Lecturer will be able to plan and manage their own teaching and the use of teaching and research resources, including laboratories and workshops, as agreed with relevant senior colleagues. An awareness of risks in the work environment and their potential impact will be expected.

In addition a Senior Lecturer will be able to act as a module leader, coordinating administrative and academic staff as necessary, and to undertake academic related roles related to areas such as admissions, examinations and student support. Depending on the area of work the conducting of risk assessment may be expected.

Knowledge and Qualifications

Appointment to either the Lecturer/AC2 or Senior Lecturer/AC3 grade will be dependent upon the role to be undertaken and the skills, knowledge and experience of the successful applicant.

It is expected that the criteria below regarding knowledge and qualifications will be met by the successful candidate.

• A good degree in Civil Engineering or relevant discipline.

• Preferably a completed PhD or one near completion or an equivalent level of professional experience.

• Experience of delivering material and assessing student work in Higher Education and for Senior Lecturer level experience in the design of modules and assessment tasks.

• A strong research background / equivalent professional experience with a track record of refereed journal publications.

• Up-to-date, sound knowledge of the subject including current professional/vocational developments and the range of generic skills required.

• Understanding of academic and award standards and the range and level of knowledge and skills, both subject-specific and generic, which the programme is intended to foster.

• Competent IT skills and effective use of IT for teaching and learning and an ability to communicate complex ideas to a variety of audiences.

• The potential to identify sources of income to support research activities or for Senior Lecturer a track record in external income generation.

• Achieved or be able to achieve chartered status in a relevant professional institution / professional qualification.

Hours of work This post is full-time. The nature of teaching posts is such that staff are expected to work such hours as are reasonably necessary in order to fulfil their duties and responsibilities. It would therefore be inappropriate to define the total hours to be worked in any week. A reasonable norm for full-time staff, however, having regard to the contractual position of other senior staff in the institution, would be thirty-seven, although this should not be regarded as a minimum or maximum.

Direct teaching responsibility for full-time staff should not exceed eighteen hours in any week or a total of five hundred and fifty hours in the teaching year. This provision will not, however, apply in subject areas where the nature of the curriculum and teaching style make it inappropriate. In such cases, separate arrangements apply. The university has currently identified the following academic areas where teaching methods or modes of delivery make the 18 hour per week limit inappropriate at certain times of the year:

• art and design

• business/management

• health - clinically related subjects

• construction management

The 550 hour annual maximum will not, however, be exceeded except by mutually agreed overtime.

The salary Salaries are paid monthly in arrears through the BACS System directly into the bank or building society account of each member of staff.

Salary payments for staff that work less than 52 weeks per year are spread evenly over twelve months of the year so that they continue to receive payment during the times they are not contracted to work. This means that, when they leave the employment of the university, they may have received either an over or underpayment for that year, according to the date of leaving in relation to the anniversary of the start date. In such cases, the adjustment would be made in the final salary payment, as a deduction or lump sum payment, as applicable.

Duration of the job The appointment is fixed term for a period of one year due to variable and uncertain student demand.

Professional development

Four part-time courses are run within the university for staff new to the teaching role. They are:

The Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (run by the Centre for Learning and Teaching, and designed for staff in all schools and faculties)

The Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care Education (run by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, for staff within the school)

The Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education (run by the School of Health Professions, for staff within the school)

The Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education (run by Medical Education Unit)

All new lecturers with little or no previous experience of teaching in higher education, who have not undertaken an equivalent course of study and training, are expected take one of these courses in their first or second year in post. The courses provide opportunities to explore a range of practical approaches to supporting students’ learning, and to reflect upon the process of developing as a teacher. By negotiation with the relevant Head of School, teaching timetables are adjusted to enable the new lecturer to participate effectively in the course. The course is accredited by the Higher Education Academy, the national professional body for teachers in Higher Education, and successful completion normally leads to professional recognition as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

The successful applicant will be provided with further information about these Postgraduate Certificate courses at the time of appointment.

In addition to these courses for staff new to the teaching role, the Centre for Learning and Teaching offers a wide range of courses, events and consultancy to experienced lecturers and to course teams and academic schools across the university. Further information is available from the CLT’s website:

Holidays The annual leave entitlement is 35 working days, pro rata for proportional full-time staff. This is in addition to the statutory holidays applicable in England, local discretionary holidays and days when the university is closed in the interests of efficiency.

Terms & conditions In determining terms and conditions of employment, the university has regard to recommendations made through the appropriate national negotiating framework. These terms and conditions of service can be varied by local agreements reached through the university’s local negotiating framework which comprises a Joint Negotiating Committee supported by two Common Interest Groups. These groups bring together representatives of the university and its recognised trade unions, which are:

• UCU – University and College Union

• UNISON

Strategic plan Details of our Strategic Plan can be found at:

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