Director, The Open University in Scotland

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Employer:
The Open University
Location:
Edinburgh
Salary:
Competitive
Closing date:
Tuesday 29th October
Job Ref:
GSe111991

Recruitment timetable

Closing Date
Tuesday 29th October
Long Listing
Thursday 7th November
Preliminary Interviews
Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th November
Short Listing
Thursday 21st November
Final Panel
Wednesday 18th December

Description

Be surprising and inspiring. Be so much more.

The Open University was founded in 1969 with the mission to: “promote educational opportunity and social justice by providing high quality education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential – open to people, places, method and ideas”. We are the only institution worldwide with such a single vision and purpose. We are distinctive and unique. Our mission is still as relevant today as it was then, perhaps even more so.

The Open University is Scotland’s national widening access university, ensuring that people in every community in Scotland – regardless of age, work, family commitments, disability, income, location or previous qualifications – can achieve their educational potential. We are one of the largest universities in Scotland in terms of student numbers.

Following the retirement of Susan Stewart, we are now looking for our new Director who will be responsible for the strategic leadership and management of The Open University in Scotland. The Director represents The Open University in relationships with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council, Universities Scotland and other key stakeholders across Scotland. They take accountability on behalf of the University for the effective delivery of services in Scotland.

The Director is a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Team (VCE), contributing to The Open University’s strategic direction and leading its implementation in Scotland. They are also a member of VCE-Academic, the executive management group that ensures alignment between academic strategy and implementation. They therefore play a pivotal role in the strategy, management and governance of the entire University

The new Director must demonstrate a commitment to the mission and values of The Open University as well as executive leadership and management experience in higher education or a cognate field, with the understanding and credibility to work effectively at a very senior level in the devolved political context in Scotland.

If you have vision, passion, commitment and determination to make a difference, we want to hear from you. This is a key appointment for us, and it will be for you – so we will invest time with candidates to get to know you and to give you the chance to get to know us. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates who have the vision and experience to lead a high-performing team in an outstanding institution.

If you need further clarifications, or an informal, confidential conversation about the role, please contact our advisors: Ellie Hurst, Hilda Gjika or Julia Roberts at; ouscotlanddirector@gatenbysanderson.com

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How to Apply

To apply, please submit:

  • A CV that has been drafted to outline your strategic leadership experience tailored for The Open University
  • A three-page supporting statement that outlines:
    1. Your motivation to apply for the Director of The Open University in Scotland at this time
    2. Your experience of leading and developing relationships with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and other organisations and agencies, including playing a leading role in policy development and implementation to support the institutional mission and goals
    3. Your experience of operating at an Executive level with the ability and willingness to make difficult decisions for institutional benefit
    4. Your institutional leadership and people management experience at a senior level, and across multi-disciplinary teams
  • A three-minute video recording where you address the following question: 'Why should I be The Open University’s new Director for Scotland?' – please use the following to record your video  https://myint.video/aa8zycHQbC  If you require any technical support with this please contact chloe.marshall@gatenbysanderson.com
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