Bath Spa University’s vision is to be a leading educational institution in creativity, culture and enterprise. With innovative learning and teaching, focussed research excellence and state-of-the-art facilities, we put our students at the very centre of all we do.

The School of Humanities and Cultural Industries combines traditional academic subjects with the latest creative practice and live, outward-facing projects. The UK has world-leading cultural industries, and those industries need graduates who can work creatively and collaboratively using a range of writing, research, and digital skills. Our students get the opportunity to work with Bath Festivals, local museums, the National Trust, X Media Lab and many other national and international organisations. This ensures that graduates are work-ready and able to contribute to the creative and cultural industries in a meaningful way. Using our state-of-the-art Publishing and Broadcast Labs we offer short courses, consultancy, skills-training, and collaboration as well as degree programmes and research.

With a thriving practice based research culture, the Department of Creative Writing is home to a distinguished team of creative writing practitioner researchers as well as 10 nationally recognised Professors including Fay Weldon, Maggie Gee, David Almond, Philip Hensher and David Harsent. The MA in Creative Writing is widely regarded as one of the most successful in the UK and the MA in Writing for Young People has developed a reputation as the leading course in the UK for developing new writers for young audiences. Our Creative Writing PhD is one of the country’s leading doctoral programmes.

About the role

This is a strategic role working closely with the Dean of School to ensure high quality and strategically aligned academic provision and, to lead the development of the Creative Writing Department to take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by the high reputation of the courses it offers. A key area will be developing innovative courses that will make full use of the new, world class £70m digital arts facilities,

including studios, sound stages, edit and publishing suites, due to become available in 2014. Leading a team of talented and creative individuals, the role will combine strategic level thinking with managing operational effectiveness and performance.

About you

With a good undergraduate degree in a relevant field and significant experience of successful academic leadership, you will be both a practitioner and academic and have a national profile in Creative Writing/Publishing or a related field. A credible and effective leader, with an excellent command of the Quality Assurance landscape, you will be able to demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills along with an ability to combine strategic thinking with operational management. You will also have a genuine commitment to a student-centred learning and teaching environment informed by quality research. Experience of leading the development of new curriculum as well as an active involvement in your subject field at national level, involvement in subject forums and active membership of professional bodies, are essential. A higher degree in a relevant discipline along with successful bid writing for and/or a track record of securing research funding is preferred.

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Steve May, Dean of School, on 01225 875867 or s.may@bathspa.ac.uk

How to apply

Further details and application forms are available from www.bathspa.ac.uk/services/hr/jobs . Details on how to apply and our Guidance Notes for Job Applicants please look on our job pages and click on “How to Apply” on the left. Please note that CVs will not be considered and those included with application forms will be removed. Any queries regarding the application process or our website should be emailed to hrcontact@bathspa.ac.uk

We offer excellent facilities and benefits to our staff. These include a nursery, childcare vouchers, pension scheme, flexible working practices, an employee assistance programme, and family-friendly policies.

We value a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community 

For more information and to apply