Based at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh, the role holder will be responsible for implementing our CDT's accredited training and professional development programme. This varied role will involve liaising with academics, students and training providers and ensuring high-quality delivery and management of all related processes.
The role-holder will be an energetic, self-starter with an ability to make decisions and work to deadlines. Reporting to the Centre Director, you will work closely with the CDT Executive Team and present biannual reports on student progress and programme development to our Management and Programme Committees.
In addition to the general responsibilities described above, the role-holder is responsible for organising residential networking events, requiring the formulation and communication of clear strategic objectives and building internal and external networks for this purpose.
Key duties and responsibilities
- Contributing to the recruitment of new CDT students, participating in the selection interview
- Ensuring the delivery of a high-quality student experience, including taught courses and transferrable / professional skills training
- Development and implementation of the transferrable-skills programme (in collaboration with academic staff and other training providers), ensuring the content remains aligned to industry's needs and to the delivery objectives of the CDT
- Coordinating, planning and timetabling of all training events and liaison with training providers.
- Formulation of the lecture programme
- Building internal and external networks to enhance the training experience
- Contributing to periodic (typically annual) reporting to NERC in the form of documents and analysis
- Report and presentation creation and delivery at committee meetings
- Coordinating and reviewing project management and personal development plans for CDT students for the remainder of the project.
Education qualifications and experience
Essential criteria
- Honours first-degree level education or equivalent
- Knowledge and experience gained in an industrial, research, academic training context.
- Experience of interaction with industry, preferably an understanding of environmental research, with a demonstrable ability to network in this community
- Evidence of critical analysis skills and organisational/administrative capabilities
- Experience of UK HE Sector, particularly the doctoral and postdoctoral training environment.
- Strong administration, organisational skills and project management.
- Evidence of excellent interpersonal, writing, information-management, presentational and communication skills, demonstrating an ability to project a clear vision of overall objectives, create a sense of common purpose among training providers members, and encourage them to contribute to this goal
- Evidence of efficiency, working under own initiative to strict deadlines, planning skills and decision making.
- Evidence of ability to maintain web pages and to create web forms (MS forms)
- Evidence of understanding of Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity in a training environment
Desirable criteria
- First degree or PhD in an area relevant to Environmental Science
- Experience of supervising and/or engaging with students.
- Possess knowledge and personal experience of academic syllabus development and delivery, in the secondary or tertiary education sectors; have experience of Masters level taught-course education.
- Experience of academic project management
- Selection and recruitment experience, including interviewing candidates
Flexibility in working patterns may be needed in order to accommodate events taking place outside non-standard working hours, such as weekend workshops and summer schools.The University is committed to facilitating flexible working and this can be agreed by negotiation. Occasional UK travel may be required.
About our team
The NERC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Multiple Stressor effects on Wetland Wildscapes comprises five universities (Heriot-Watt, University of Oxford, University of York, University of the Highlands and Islands, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), along with various non-academic partners.
About Heriot-Watt
Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry.
Nearly 30,000 students study with Heriot-Watt across business, engineering, design and the social, physical, biological and sports sciences. Our student body is roughly split evenly between the UK, our two campuses in Dubai and Malaysia, and online, with the latter being distributed across almost all the countries of the world. We also have many partnerships with other institutions world-wide who award Heriot-Watt degrees.