Associate Dean School of Design

London College of Communication | © Ideal Insight

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.

Your profile

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.

For assistance with reasonable adjustments or accessibility needs, please contact Lesley Wilkins, Senior Resourcing Adviser, lcc.staffrecruit@arts.ac.uk.