Associate Dean School of Design

The opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to provide senior academic and operational leadership for LCC’s Design School, working closely with the Dean of Design to support the School’s academic portfolio, quality processes, strategic planning and day-to-day effectiveness.

As Associate Dean, you will play a central role in translating School, College and University strategy into clear, well-managed academic operations. You will be a member of the School Management Team and LCC College Management Group and will deputise for the Dean where appropriate, helping to ensure continuity of leadership, effective decision-making and a collaborative, inclusive and high-quality academic environment.

A key focus of the role will be academic quality. You will lead the School’s work on approval, validation, reapproval, annual course monitoring and related quality assurance processes, working closely with Programme Directors, Course Leaders, the College Quality Team and wider professional services colleagues. You will ensure documentation, schedules, committee processes and standards are clear, consistent, timely and aligned with UAL requirements.

You will also lead and coordinate key areas of School-level enhancement, including student satisfaction surveys, action planning, External Examiner processes, the quality of information provided to students, and the analysis of data relating to attainment, retention, progression, graduate outcomes and satisfaction. Working with the Dean and senior colleagues, you will help identify cross-School priorities and support practical interventions that improve the student and staff experience.

The role also includes leadership of key cross-School initiatives. Working closely with colleagues across education, employability, RKE, business development, international, marketing, recruitment, communications and events, you will help ensure that School priorities are well coordinated and aligned with wider College activity.

This is a broad and influential senior role for someone who can connect detailed operational understanding with wider academic purpose. Bringing together quality, operations, portfolio development, employability, staff development, student experience and cross-College collaboration, you will ensure that the School’s processes are not only robust and effective, but genuinely enabling: supporting colleagues, strengthening standards and advancing the ambitions of the School, College and University.

About you

This is a role for someone who can bring clarity, confidence and care to a complex academic environment. You will bring experience of academic leadership, curriculum development, teaching, assessment and quality enhancement, alongside a strong understanding of UK Higher Education and the role of quality assurance in supporting excellent standards and student outcomes. You will understand how approval, monitoring, reapproval, External Examiner reporting, student surveys and data-led enhancement can be used not simply as compliance processes, but as tools to support staff, strengthen practice and improve the student experience.

You will be a persuasive, inclusive and thoughtful communicator, able to work confidently across students, colleagues, senior leaders, external partners and wider professional communities. You will build productive relationships with Programme Directors, Course Leaders, Associate Deans, technical and administrative teams and senior leaders, bringing judgement, discretion and credibility to complex conversations.

As a senior academic leader, you will have experience of motivating teams, networks and communities of practice, setting direction across functions and promoting collaboration across formal boundaries. You will be able to manage complex projects, manage resources effectively, prioritise competing demands, manage conflict and support colleagues through periods of transformational change.

What we offer

To recognise the hard work of our staff and their contributions, we provide a wide range of benefits – please check our careers site/Canvas for further information as conditions and exclusions apply:

▪ 39 days of annual leave and 2 days off to volunteer plus bank holidays
▪ Flexible and Dynamic working options available from the first day
▪ Discounted Medical Insurance including Digital GP service, therapies, in-patient and day-case treatment
▪ Free counselling and advice via our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
▪ Sector-leading Equal Parental Leave policy (6 months full pay for both parents) 
▪ Teachers Pension scheme
▪ In-house training and development including apprenticeships and free places on creative courses
▪ Interest free loans on travel and tech, discounts on gym memberships, nursery fees, eye care and much more
▪ Various opportunities to attend student shows and exhibitions

We are UAL

University of the Arts London (UAL) generates and inspires the creativity the world needs for a better future. Since 1842, our colleges have been defining creative education. With curiosity, imagination and intent we make work which creates lasting change for people and our planet. London is core to who we are, a place where we meet and share ideas with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Our creative network influences learning, culture, industry and society on a global scale. Our academics and practitioners deliver creative education and inspire new ways of thinking through research and innovation. We work with students at every level from pre-degree and short courses to postgraduate and online learning, enabling them to build the careers they want. Together, we are a community of makers, thinkers, pioneers and storytellers redesigning the future.

As a University, we are ranked second in the world for Art and Design. We are formed of 6 Colleges with unique histories and identities: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts. UAL also has 4 Institutes, 5 Research Centres, 1 Pre-Degree School and 2 subsidiary companies delivering specialist activities.

We are a global University, welcoming over 22,000 students and 6,000 staff from 130 countries. We aim to be a university where people can be themselves and feel supported to reach their full potential. That's why we are proud to hold a Bronze Award from the Race Equality Charter (REC), are members of the Business Disability Forum and Employers for Carers, and maintain our status as a Disability Confident Scheme and Living Wage employer.