Academic Director

Academic Director at AFA Amsterdam Fashion Academy

Role overview: to manage leadership of long-term academic development as well as day-to-day teaching and learning operations.

Main purpose of the role:

The Academic Director will be responsible for strategic leadership and management in the delivery of high-quality teaching and learning at AFA.

The Academic Director is a senior management position, reporting directly to AFA Director to realise AFA potential for excellence in its portfolio of academic programmes.

The Academic Director will lead, manage, and develop the academic team of AFA Programme Leaders (PLs), Module Leaders (MLs), lecturing staff and academic administrators, to ensure the highest standards of excellence in teaching, learning and student progression, as well as staff professional practice.

The Academic Director will be expected to demonstrate leadership and management skills to develop and deliver evidence of academic excellence, demonstrated by student outcomes, relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) and attainment of Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) subject benchmarks.

Role description:

The Academic Director is a leadership and management position. The post-holder will demonstrate an ability to develop and communicate a vision for academic excellence which can be shared and delivered by staff and colleagues.

The Academic Director will:

• develop and support strategic planning processes within the Academy.
• develop strategy for, and leadership of, the induction, assessment, progression, and outcomes of students.
• maintain oversight of improving student outcomes, from relevant key performance indicators.
• line-manage Programme Leaders and Academic Administrators to enhance and ensure the quality of provision and student outcomes.
• identify, develop, and foster staff development, required to deliver the Academy’s strategy and goals.
• demonstrate a high level of strategic thinking and planning to deliver the Academy’s goals, both internally and externally.
• understand the complexities of the Higher Education (HE) sector and requirements of the UK Office of Students (OfS).
• liaise with industry professionals and advisory bodies for the purpose of curriculum development and graduate opportunities.
• demonstrate awareness and responsiveness to sector changes and be able to communicate these to staff.
• provide key liaison with academic partnership institutes.
• undertake administrative and managerial duties required in the day-to-day running of academic quality compliance and regulations.
• ensure that all relevant policies and processes are understood and adhered to by staff and students.
• maintain oversight of academic standards and student in-year progression.
• provide leadership to ensure standards and timeliness in student advice and guidance.
• liaise with and responding to external examiners.

For staff:

• providing leadership and supporting professional development.
• working closely with academic administrative staff, to ensure accurate student enrolment, registry and student records are maintained.
• reviewing and compiling annual monitoring reports and action plans for the academic provision.
• leading and supporting the development of curriculum and programme portfolio.
• providing leadership, guidance and support to Programme and Module Leaders in the design, recruitment, delivery and monitoring of high-quality programmes.
• taking a lead role within the Academy on working groups and committees, as required.
• liaising with industry professionals and advisory bodies.
• leading the development of innovative design, development, and delivery of high-quality programmes of study at various levels through oversight, management and leadership of Programme and Module Leaders.
• ensuring that there is a culture of continuous enhancement and innovation of the academic practice and provision within the Academy.
• ensuring that academic staff keep abreast of latest developments in teaching and learning within their specialist field and remain aware of external best practice benchmarks.
• keeping abreast of relevant pedagogies and research methodologies to ensure best practice within the Academy through strong communication, mentoring new staff and delivery of staff development.

For students:

• enabling enhancement of student learning and outcomes.
• providing academic leadership and management for student induction, assessment, progression and learning outcomes.
• developing and implementing academic strategy within the Academy, to enhance student satisfaction, progression, and outcomes.
• overseeing the design and development of curricula and ensuring that course design and delivery comply with UK Office for Students (OfS) quality standards and regulations.
• in conjunction with the PLs and MLs, developing and leading an impactful induction programme for new students.
• leading and developing student involvement in curriculum design and the impact of the student voice / feedback within the Academy.
• overseeing the preparation and availability of Programme Handbooks.

Qualifications:

• A master’s degree.
• A substantial record of achievement as an academic, covering teaching, research and professional practice.
• Experience of academic leadership within a Higher Education-based organisation.
• Effective leadership skills, including the ability to motivate others in order to achieve a high level of performance.
• Experience of understanding/achieving continuous improvements to respond to requirements to deliver excellence in learning and teaching.
• Experience of successful curriculum design, development and innovation.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with students, colleagues, at committee/board level and to external audiences.