Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design

At the University of Bath, engineering and design sit at the heart of our academic identity and our ambitions for the decade ahead. As we develop Strategy 2036, our framework focused on global excellence, outstanding people, and high-impact research and education, we are seeking to appoint a Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design to lead that agenda from the front.   

This appointment comes at a pivotal moment. With a new institutional strategy taking shape and significant opportunities ahead in research, education, and global engagement, the Faculty is well positioned for its next phase. What it requires now is the right leader to drive it forward.  

About the Faculty 

The Faculty of Engineering & Design is one of Bath's largest and most distinguished academic communities, comprising four top-performing departments: Architecture & Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electronic & Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. 

About the Role 

As Dean you will hold three distinct and equally important leadership responsibilities: 

1. Faculty Leader. You will set direction, shape culture, and drive performance. This means raising research quality and impact, building a compelling and diverse educational offer, championing commercialisation and innovation, and ensuring the Faculty is an environment in which exceptional people do their best work. 
2. Academic Executive. Working closely with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, you will lead strategic planning, budget setting, student number targets, and KPI delivery, with direct accountability for the Faculty's financial sustainability and operational performance. 
3. Institutional Leader. You will sit on the University Executive Board from day one, contributing to Bath's wider institutional strategy and policy. This role extends well beyond the Faculty, and we are looking for a Dean who is genuinely energised by that broader institutional responsibility. 

Key priorities will include: 

• Developing a compelling and distinctive educational offer, attracting and inspiring a diverse student community 
• Enhancing research performance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and commercialisation 
• Growing global engagement, partnerships, and transnational education activity 
• Strengthening the Faculty's culture, supporting staff, enabling high performance, and championing equality, diversity and inclusion 
• Ensuring strong financial management and maximising new income streams 
• Leading strategic planning, operational delivery, and cross-University collaboration at scale 

This appointment carries a genuine mandate to lead. The University will set the strategic direction and values, and then empower you, as Dean, to deliver, with the trust, autonomy, and institutional backing to make bold decisions and drive meaningful change at pace. 

About You 

You will:

• bring academic and/or professional qualifications and relevant experience in a discipline appropriate to the Faculty, with the personal authority and credibility to lead a top-performing engineering community. 
• have a proven record of leadership and management in a higher education environment, with the ability to motivate, develop, and performance-manage academic and professional staff. Your style will be open, inclusive, and collaborative, earning trust at all levels of the organisation. 
• be an exceptional communicator, with the confidence and interpersonal range to engage effectively with students, academic colleagues, senior leaders, and external partners, supported by strong written, negotiation, and presentation skills. 
• have a track record of leading change, managing complex resources, and making strategic decisions that deliver results, alongside a sound understanding of the national and international higher education landscape. 
• have experience of cross-disciplinary working and engagement with professional bodies would be an advantage. Above all, you will bring the leadership character and cultural conviction to build an environment in which people & performance genuinely thrive. 

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