Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering

Head of School of Engineering and Built Environment Location: Onsite, primarily in the named location.

Role Overview

Associate Professor in Nuclear Engineering to provide strategic leadership across research, teaching and industry partnership at the University of Derby. The successful candidate will lead nuclear engineering research, secure funding, supervise PhD and undergraduate projects, and contribute to curriculum development.

Areas of Specialism

• Advanced Materials, Manufacturing & Prototyping
• Thermal Hydraulics

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership of research across the school and with key industry partners.
• Strengthen and expand external partnerships, securing funding through collaborative R&D initiatives.
• Supervise PhD students funded through university and industry partnerships.
• Contribute to postgraduate teaching, including expert seminars and dissertation supervision on the MSc in Nuclear Product Engineering for Power Generation.
• Participate in development and management of the research and innovation strategy for the college.
• Identify and grow research projects individually or collaboratively with colleagues.
• Procure grants and develop income generation and bidding activities to strengthen the profile of the college and university.
• Support staff in building capacity for income generation and bidding activity.
• Teach and contribute to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, translating research into teaching.
• Provide high‑quality undergraduate and postgraduate supervision.
• Create networks and opportunities for early‑career researchers, advising them on funding sources and career development.
• Undertake activities to build external esteem, such as publications, conference presentations and journal editing.
• Establish contacts and develop entrepreneurial links with commercial companies, professional bodies, other academic institutions, government and agencies.
• Oversee pastoral care for a diverse range of students in the subject area.
• Lead on quality assurance of learning and teaching and support the Teaching Excellence Framework.
• Lead a learning and teaching focused team, supervise postgraduate students and postdoctoral staff, and support staff development programmes.
• Lead on the process of quality, audit and external assessments for areas of expertise.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the college’s learning and teaching strategy.
• Demonstrate a national/international level contribution to learning and teaching within the relevant discipline.

Qualifications

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
• Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education or equivalent qualification.
• Subject specific qualifications/knowledge.
• PhD or equivalent in a relevant discipline.

Experience and Evidence of Achievement

• Strong portfolio of high‑quality peer‑reviewed publications.
• Sustained success in securing external research funding.
• Proof of senior leadership: proven experience of generating and managing research income, leading research teams, and supervising research students to completion.
• Experience of supervising undergraduate projects and postgraduate research students.
• Demonstrated record of high‑quality publications at national and international levels.
• Experience of effective supervision of research students to completion and mentoring junior colleagues.
• Significant evidence of research, scholarship, teaching and leading edge practice at a national and international level.
• Experience of guiding early‑career researchers and establishing entrepreneurial links.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills, collaborative working with external partners.
• Leadership ability to manage, motivate and develop a team.
• Persuasion and influencing skills.
• Mentorship skills with ability to coach colleagues in teaching and research techniques.
• Budget monitoring and management ability.
• High‑level analytical capability for conceptual thinking, innovation, and creativity.
• Project and programme management for research programmes.
• Track record of publications in peer‑reviewed journals.

Business Requirements

• Demonstrate competencies, core behaviours and supplementary behaviours supporting university core values.
• Demonstrate professionalism in learning/teaching and adherence to UK Professional Standards Framework for HE.
• Commit to ensuring academic excellence and a high‑quality student experience.
• Commit to achieving strategic targets and objectives of the university.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. We are Disability Confident Employers and invite applicants to highlight adjustments. We also promote a trans and non‑binary inclusive environment. Applicants may choose preferred titles and share preferred pronouns voluntarily. The university undertakes anonymised shortlisting to reduce unconscious bias.

Other Information

The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers under the Skilled Worker route for this role. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and is therefore subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any information provided will be treated in confidence and used only when considering suitability for the post.

For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Professor Nasser Sherkat, Head of School of Engineering and Built Environment, via n.sherkat@derby.ac.uk. For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk.