Interested candidates have until midnight on Sunday 16 July to apply to lead the academic and pastoral life of Cambridge's biggest College.
Salary Range: £77,476-£82,180 p/a
Hours: 37hrs per week
About the College
Homerton has a rich history. It was originally established in Homerton, London in 1768 as a dissenting academy. It later moved to Cambridge, and it received its Royal Charter in 2010, making it the University of Cambridge’s newest and largest College.
Homerton is a thriving and diverse community of 633 undergraduates, 271 higher degree part-time students, 272 higher degree full-time students, 168 PGCE students, 66 Fellows, and approximately 150 support staff. Over 750 students are residents on site. The College consistently exceeds benchmarks and targets for the admission of socio-economically disadvantaged students and students from ethnic minorities. 75% of UK undergraduates admitted in 2021 were from state schools with 19% from POLAR 1 and 2 postcodes.
The purpose of the College is to nurture a talented, diverse, open-minded, and principled scholarly community, and thereby to further the University’s mission of contributing to society through the pursuit of education and research at the highest levels. The College believes that equality, diversity, and equity lead to excellence, and works to remove any barriers to full participation in Cambridge life that students may experience.
About the role
The Senior Tutor is the senior academic officer responsible for leading the College’s provision of academic excellence across undergraduate and postgraduate learning, for overseeing the management and delivery of all College teaching as well as pastoral support for students, and for the support and guidance of Directors of Studies and Tutors as well as relevant professional staff. Homerton is a large and diverse College, which prides itself on wraparound, person-centered support to enable each student to navigate their own journey through their time with us.
As a senior leader within the College, the Senior Tutor will champion the College’s values of openness, mutual respect, equality, and diversity, promoting and safeguarding the prosperity and health of the whole College community. Reporting to the Principal and working closely with the Vice-Principal, Bursar, Deputy Senior Tutor (Wellbeing) and other senior College Officers, the Senior Tutor will lead the academic strategy, ensuring that the College’s deep commitment to widening participation, diversity, inclusion, and social impact is entwined with academic excellence and rigour. They will be a strong and compelling advocate for Homerton and the College’s academic progress within relevant intercollegiate and University for representing the interests of the College while drawing on best practices to inform our work. The post-holder will bring a clarity of judgment and well-reasoned approach to all University and College academic matters, and demonstrate strong leadership and management skills.
About You
The College is seeking a values-driven individual with a credible academic track record and a clear commitment to both teaching and research, with most or all of the following skills, attributes and personal qualities:
Skills and attributes
- An understanding of and commitment to the College’s core values and purposes as an academic community dedicated to education and scholarship at all levels, from undergraduate study to producing internationally renowned research.
- Strategic vision and significant management experience in relation to people and resources.
- Experience delivering positive change in a complex environment.
- Ability to motivate and engage staff, students and Fellows alike and to work in an open and collaborative way.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Proven success in administration within a university setting.
- Evidence of working well with a diverse range of students.
- Demonstrable ability to work effectively in a complex governance structure with a wide range of people, including academic staff, professional, administrative, and support staff, students and friends of the College, and wider University and intercollegiate stakeholders.
- Well-developed skills and experience in chairing and serving on committees.
- Proven ability to think strategically and show good judgement.
Personal qualities
- Commitment to the College’s values of openness, mutual respect, equality and diversity.
- Deep empathy with the academic mission and work of the College.
- Collaborative approach.
- Strong intellect.
- Hardworking, energetic and enthusiastic.
- Pragmatic approach with a solutions-focused mindset.
- High level of integrity, motivation and commitment.
- Creative, agile, and innovative.
- Effective team-work skills, appreciating the value of consultation, consensus-building and collective decision-making.
What do we offer
The salary range for this position is £77,476-£82,180. The position is eligible for USS (pension scheme) membership. The postholder is entitled to 25 days of annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years of continuous service) plus bank holidays. The College operates an Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) for Fellows. Their employment will therefore end automatically on 30 September of the academic year in which they reach the age of 67.
Appointment process and how to apply
Homerton College, Cambridge has retained the services of Perrett Laver to help identify the widest possible field of suitable candidates and to assist in the assessment of candidates against the requirements for the role. An executive search exercise is being undertaken alongside the public advertisement of the post.
Applicants should submit a full curriculum vitae, including comprehensive details of key achievements and responsibilities, along with a covering letter addressed to The Selection Committee, which fully addresses the competencies summarised in the role description and outlines their interest in Homerton College.
Completed applications should be uploaded at https://candidates.perrettlaver.com/vacancies/ quoting reference number 6561. The closing date for applications is midnight BST on Sunday 16th July 2023.
Longlisted candidates will be invited for an initial interview with Perrett Laver beginning of August 2023. The shortlist will be determined in late August 2023. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to visit the College and to attend further interviews at the College beginning of September 2023. The final round selection process will take place mid-September 2023
Please see the Further Particulars for more detail about the role.
