Academic Dean in Warrington

The College UK Management College (UKMC) is a private, widening-participation higher education provider established in 2016, delivering degree programmes with an integrated Foundation Year in partnership with universities that act as the awarding bodies. The College delivers, but does not develop or award, curriculum: all programmes are validated or franchised by its partner universities — the University of Wolverhampton (principal partner), Canterbury Christ Church University, Arts University Bournemouth and Health Sciences University — and are delivered across the College’s campuses in Manchester (College House, Salford and Abarna Campus), Derby, Newcastle (North Shields) and Sunderland.

Course delivery is organised course-wide rather than campus-by-campus: each programme is led by a Course Director who owns the Course Performance Plan across all campuses, while at each campus a Head of Academics (Campus Academic Lead) works with Course Officers and Module Leaders to deliver and assure provision locally. The College measures its success through retention, continuation, completion and progression.

Role Purpose

The Academic Dean is the College’s senior academic leader for the delivery of all courses, with all partner universities, across all campuses. The post holder holds executive responsibility for ensuring that every programme the College delivers is up to date, coherent and effectively delivered in accordance with the regulations of the relevant awarding body; that delivery at every campus is properly resourced, staffed and quality-assured; and that assessment, examination and academic-standards processes operate credibly and consistently.

The Academic Dean owns academic workforce planning and academic staff recruitment, ensuring the College has the qualified, developed and well-supported teaching workforce its students and partners require. The Academic Dean reports to the Associate Provost / Provost and works in close partnership with the Dean of Student Experience, whose teams provide the academic services that surround and support course delivery.

Reporting and Organisational Position

Reports to: Associate Provost / Provost.

Line manages: Associate Deans and Assistant Deans; through them, the Course Directors; and the Academic Heads of Campus (Campus Academic Leads) at each campus. The wider academic delivery workforce — Module Leaders, Course Officers, Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers — reports through this structure. The Head of Learning and Teaching reports to the Academic Dean for the teaching-quality, observation and academic CPD agenda.

Works with: The Dean of Student Experience; the Academic Registrar and the Academic Services and Registry structure; the Head of Quality and Compliance; the Head of Human Resources (academic workforce planning and recruitment); the Chief Operating Officer (timetabling, estates and campus resources); partner universities (awarding bodies), their link tutors and boards; and the College’s senior committees.

Key Responsibilities

• A. Strategic Academic Leadership
  • Provide institution-wide academic leadership for the delivery of the College’s full course portfolio, ensuring delivery plans give effect to the Strategic Plan 2025–2030 and the learning and teaching sub-strategy.
  • Lead, develop and performance-manage the Associate and Assistant Deans, agreeing objectives, holding regular documented one-to-ones, conducting appraisals and building a capable, collegial academic leadership team.
  • Ensure the course-wide delivery model operates effectively, with clear accountabilities and no gaps between course-level and campus-level oversight.
  • Advise the Associate Provost / Provost, the Executive Board and the Board of Directors on academic delivery capacity, risks and opportunities.
  • Deputise for the Provost on academic delivery matters as required and represent the College’s academic provision externally.
• B. Course Delivery with Partner Universities
  • Hold overall responsibility for the delivery of every programme franchised or validated by partner universities, ensuring each is delivered strictly in accordance with the relevant awarding body’s academic regulations.
  • Ensure each course remains up to date and coherent in delivery.
  • Lead the College’s academic contribution to partner-university validation, approval, periodic review and revalidation events.
  • Oversee annual programme monitoring and course self-evaluation for every programme.
  • Manage teach-out obligations with care.
  • Act as the College’s senior academic point of contact with each partner university on delivery matters.
• C. Multi-Campus Delivery and Parity
  • Ensure every campus delivers its allocated provision to the same academic standard.
  • Oversee the deployment of Academic Heads of Campus.
  • Monitor outcomes by campus and by programme.
  • Ensure new campus provision is established with full delivery capability from the first day of teaching.
• D. Assessment, Examinations and Academic Standards
  • Hold senior oversight of the operation of assessment across the College.
  • Ensure College staff are prepared for and effectively represented at partner-university assessment boards.
  • Safeguard the credibility of assessment in collaboration with the Dean of Student Experience.
  • Ensure reasonable adjustments and agreed support plans are implemented consistently in assessment delivery.
• E. Academic Workforce Planning and Recruitment
  • Own the College’s academic workforce plan.
  • Lead academic recruitment with the Head of Human Resources.
  • Oversee academic induction, probation, mentoring and the assistant-lecturer development pathway.
  • Champion academic staff development and progression.
  • Plan resilience into the workforce.
• F. Learning, Teaching and Delivery Quality
  • Hold senior oversight of the Head of Learning and Teaching and the teaching-quality agenda.
  • Ensure teaching across all campuses is inclusive, research-informed and compliant with the Teaching, Learning and Assessment frameworks.
  • Use student feedback to drive continuous improvement in delivery.
• G. Student Outcomes and Data
  • Hold delivery-side accountability for the College’s outcome measures.
  • Ensure Course Directors analyse attainment, engagement and outcomes data by demographic group.
  • Contribute delivery evidence to the annual Self-Assessment Report and the Quality Enhancement Plan.
• H. Governance, Compliance and Regulation
  • Chair the Faculty Committee and ensure its sub-structure operates effectively.
  • Ensure academic delivery complies with the OfS conditions of registration.
  • Escalate material academic risks promptly through the risk register.

Working with the Dean of Student Experience

The Academic Dean and the Dean of Student Experience hold complementary portfolios within a single academic leadership model. The two Deans are expected to operate as close partners.

Values and Conduct

The Academic Dean is expected to model the College’s values at all times: to act with integrity, fairness and transparency; to promote equality, diversity and inclusion across the academic community; to safeguard the interests, welfare and outcomes of students; and to uphold the College’s widening-participation mission.