Never Neutral: Going Beyond(er)

Our newly reconceptualised department emerges from the convergence of the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design and the College of the Built Environment—not as a pragmatic consolidation, but as a bold re-founding. We are shaping a Place of Praxis where architectural, spatial, technical and environmental design are understood first and foremost as forms of agency. Every drawing, join, gesture, proposal and policy carries ethical and political consequence; the built environment is never neutral: it shapes lives, structures power, and distributes concern and care.

Our studios, seminars and lecture halls are places of studied speculation and exquisite experimentation—where research meets practice, where imagination meets responsibility, and where design becomes an instrument of social transformation.

The Role

The Birmingham School of Architecture, Building, Computing and Engineering seeks to appoint an ambitious and visionary Associate Professor in Architecture to provide academic leadership across our portfolio of Architecture programmes and contribute to the continued development and strategic direction of architectural education within the School.

The successful candidate will join a forward-looking academic community built on teaching excellence, critical design thinking, impactful research, and student wellbeing grounded in professional responsibility. Our programmes span undergraduate, postgraduate and professional architectural education, delivering ARB- and RIBA-accredited pathways that prepare graduates to contribute ethically and creatively to contemporary architectural practice.

As an Associate Professor, you will be an experienced practitioner, educator and academic leader with a strong track record of leadership in architectural education. You will have significant experience of programme, curriculum and academic management, together with a thorough understanding of ARB and RIBA accreditation and validation processes. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future direction of our courses, ensuring their ongoing relevance, inclusivity and excellence within a rapidly changing disciplinary and professional landscape.

The post offers an opportunity to influence the development of architecture education across all levels of study, strengthening connections between practice, research, industry engagement and professional formation.

Person Specification

As an experienced architect, educator and academic leader, you will bring extensive professional and educational expertise, design intelligence, and a reflective, evidence-based approach to teaching and learning that raises student ambition and develops confidence in emerging professionals.

You will demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence, collegial leadership and fair, considered student support, recognising that educational quality is strengthened through a respectful, supportive and professionally engaged studio culture.

The successful candidate will be a UK Registered (ARB) and Chartered (RIBA) Architect and will have extensive experience teaching within a UK School of Architecture. Experience of academic leadership, programme development, accreditation processes, and mentoring colleagues is essential.

Key Responsibilities

As an Associate Professor in Architecture, you will:

• Provide academic leadership across the School's architecture programmes, contributing to strategic planning, curriculum development, quality enhancement and the continual evolution of the student experience.
• Lead the development and delivery of innovative, research-informed and professionally relevant curricula across undergraduate, postgraduate and professional architecture education, ensuring alignment with ARB and RIBA requirements and emerging sector priorities.
• Contribute to the leadership and management of ARB and RIBA accreditation and validation activities, supporting the continued excellence, relevance and compliance of the School's architecture provision.
• Champion educational approaches that support the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours and professional competencies required of contemporary architects, preparing graduates for professional practice, civic responsibility and lifelong learning.
• Teach across undergraduate and postgraduate studios and associated modules, fostering excellence in integrated design, spatial resolution, critical thinking and real-world application.
• Deliver research-informed and practice-engaged teaching that develops students' capabilities in design, drawing, modelling, detailing, representation, digital workflows, material specification, technological integration and spatial strategy.
• Lead curriculum innovation that embeds sustainability, climate literacy, environmental stewardship and regenerative approaches to design, ensuring graduates are equipped to respond to the environmental challenges facing the built environment.
• Model excellence in research-informed pedagogy, integrating ethical, inclusive and socially responsive approaches to design and architectural education.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration and learning, enabling students to engage with the wider built environment professions and understand the increasingly integrated nature of contemporary practice.
• Support students in understanding architecture's social, cultural and civic responsibilities, encouraging critical engagement with questions of public value, equity, health, wellbeing and the future of the built environment.
• Contribute to the School's research, scholarship and knowledge exchange activities, strengthening the relationship between practice, research and teaching and enhancing the School's academic profile.
• Mentor and support staff and students as makers, thinkers, activists, practitioners and researchers, fostering a culture of curiosity, creativity, collaboration and critical reflection.
• Champion diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, creating a learning environment that values multiple cultures, experiences and perspectives and supports widening participation and student success.
• Provide responsible pastoral support and academic guidance, promoting engagement, wellbeing, academic integrity, professional conduct and a positive studio culture.
• Help students connect design ideas to real-world considerations, including technical requirements, environmental performance, ethical implications, regulatory frameworks and professional standards.
• Build and sustain partnerships with professional practice, industry, public bodies and community organisations, enhancing opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange and student employability.
• Contribute to industry-engaged learning through external lectures, practice workshops, live projects, collaborative initiatives and other activities that strengthen professional awareness and readiness for practice.
• Provide academic leadership and mentorship to colleagues where appropriate, contributing to a collegial culture of excellence, innovation and continuous improvement across the School.

Why Join Us?

Powered by our distinctive STEAM agenda, we are committed to transforming the lives of our students and the communities we serve. We champion practice-based learning, socio-cultural and techno-political awareness, and design as a transformative force. Our studios are spaces of experimentation, speculation and responsibility—cultivating a radically disruptive constituency of care and nurturing imaginative, socially engaged futures.

To drive this mission forward, we are investing in exceptional academic staff who are at the cutting edge of practice, research and pedagogy. Through active, immersive and hands-on learning, our educators empower students to achieve significant educational gain and profound personal transformation. Together, we aim to shape architects and designers capable of building a more just, inclusive and caring world.

There has never been a more exciting moment to join us.

Be part of a School in motion—reformative, imaginative and never neutral.

Further Information

Applicants are welcome to contact Peter Baldwin at peter.baldwin@bcu.ac.uk with any queries about the post.

Why not explore our campuses using our interactive map: Interactive Map | Birmingham City University

Why work for us

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