Associate Head: Built Environment

The Role

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

We are seeking an Associate Head for the Built Environment to build a new academic portfolio from inception to delivery, shaping curriculum, partnerships, staffing and facilities from the ground up. The postholder will play a defining role in establishing the University as a regional leader in Built Environment education.

In this unique and strategically pivotal role you will lead high-level employer and professional body engagement and shape an industry-embedded, professionally aligned curriculum. You will also be responsible for recruiting a team of academics to deliver our new Built Environment provision, and work with colleagues to secure the right technical support.  

In this role, you will be part of the School Academic Leadership Team supporting the Head of School in making key strategic decisions relating to a range of topics including staffing, recruitment, space utilisation, resource needs, external partnerships and internationalisation. Once the portfolio is operational, you will build and lead a high-performing academic community, combining experienced academics and industry practitioners, and create a collaborative, inclusive and delivery-focused culture. You will lead by example as an active researcher and in delivering teaching to at least one of the programme areas. You will facilitate good communication across your teams and motivate colleagues to be the best that they can be. As an approachable, decisive, and inspiring leader, you will be an enthusiastic advocate for your programmes and actively engaged with the university strategic plan.

The School 

The School of the Arts offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees. Built Environment is a new strategic area that complements strengths in design, creative practice and interdisciplinary learning, supported by collaboration with York Business School. The growth in our student numbers across the University to over 14,000, has created large and diverse UG, PGT and PGR communities. We are committed to student‑centred teaching, applied creative practice, co‑design with business and live industry briefs. The School is very active in projects involving work‑related learning and our research community includes practitioners and researchers at all career stages, with strong opportunities for collaboration. With around 70 staff, we are a friendly, creative and collegiate community.

Required skills and experience 

For informal queries, please contact the Head of School, Professor Helen Julia Minors (h.minors@yorksj.ac.uk)

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