Post Date : 14-May-2024 Close Date : 30-Jun-2024
Title: Professor and Head of School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
Contract Type: Professorial level appointee, full time permanent contract,
4 year renewable term as Head of School
Reporting to: Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Location : Primary location RCSI Dublin Ireland
School: Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences: An Overview
The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at RCSI is part of the
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. It is situated on St Stephen's Green,
in the heart of Dublin, one of the friendliest cities in the world. The vision
of the RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences over the last 5 years
is to be recognised internationally as a leading centre for pharmacy and
health sciences education, research and innovation and we have focused on
growth and diversifying our educational offerings. Our educators and
researchers are focused on delivering world-class, patient-centred and fully-
integrated teaching and research.
The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Science offers both undergraduate and
postgraduate programmes, including a fully-integrated, five-year degree
programme leading to the award of MPharm, along with an innovative future
focused four-year degree programme leading to the award of BSc in Advanced
Therapeutic Technologies (commenced September 2022). Our Masters in
Technologies and Analytics in Precision medicine launched in September 2021
for students interested in building a career in the new and exciting
discipline of precision medicine. The latter two programmes are supported by a
€7.8M Higher Education Authority Human Capital Initiative Grant to develop
programmes addressing the skills needs of industry and are aligned with RCSI's
ambitions in the area of digital and connected health. Indeed, we developed
these new programmes in collaboration with our pharma industry / medtech
colleagues.
In line with internationalization across RCSI, we are also in the process of
establishing a Joint EducationInstitution with Soochow University China -The
International College of Pharmaceutical Innovation - where we will deliver our
programmes in China, recruiting up to 1200 students when fully operational. It
is envisaged that the ICPI will be launched in Sept 2024.
Everything we do is focused on supporting societal wellbeing, healthcare and
the healthcare industry, through education, research and service. This is
driven through experiential learning to ensure that our educational training
addresses healthcare and industry needs, whilst our research will focus on
important healthcare and industry priorities. Our educational and research
programmes embed the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals,
particularly those goals focused on health, education and environmental
sustainability and we are continually growing our student engagement with
patients, the public and our community, where we have excelled in our own
School– ensuring that the patient is at the heart of everything we do.
The School's current profile is the following:
344 undergraduate students on our MPharm programme (Years 1-5); with an
anticipated 2024-25 Y1 intake of 110
95 undergraduate students on our BSc Advanced Therapeutic Technologies
programme (Years 1 & 2); with an anticipated 2024-25 Y1 intake of 65-70
14 Postgraduate students in our MSc in Technologies Analytics and
Precision Medicine Programme
100 postgraduate students completing MSc (15) and PhD (85) programmes
by research
57 academic staff and a further 8 practice educators
43 externally funded post-doctoral / research assistant staff
10 professional operations staff
10 technical staff
OBJECTIVE:
RCSI is seeking to appoint its next innovative leader to the position of RCSI
Professor and Head of School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences. This post
is a permanent professorial appointment within RCSI, appointed as Head of
School. Head of School appointments at RCSI are rotational. The appointee will
report to the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs or nominee while in
the role of Head of School.
This internationally respected leader will bring extensive experience in
education, research and executive management to the role. In particular, the
candidate will have extensive academic experience in pharmacy, pharmaceutical
sciences education as well as the vision to look to the future in areas that
might appeal to the pharma and medtech industry in areas such as precision
medicine and in digital and connected health; the latter being an emerging
theme in RCSI's new Strategy. They will build on our success to date, leading
and maintaining an environment of excellence in education, which will enable
the delivery, and continuous improvement of all of our educational programmes
as well as looking for future growth opportunities.
They must also be an internationally competitive leader in an area of research
aligned to pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and our wider thematic research
areas. The appointment will substantially increase the research presence and
profile of the School both nationally and internationally and will have the
capability to thrive in this environment and grow RCSI's reputation for in the
area of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences. They will be able to demonstrate
strong leadership and be capable of inspiring the School's education and
research efforts by enhancing its reputation for scholarly and professional
excellence.
Successful experience as a senior academic and/ or department lead role is
essential. Experience working in an inter-professional or multi-cultural
context would be a distinct advantage as the successful appointee will
actively collaborate across Schools and other RCSI campuses, including China.
Previous examples of similar collaborations at a national and/or international
level would be valuable.
OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES:
Provide vision, leadership and innovation to develop and drive the goals
of the RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences in education and
research in this field locally and internationally.
Deliver on and continue to develop the School's strategic plan, aligned
with RCSI's organisational strategy.
Grow research grants and outputs through empowerment, development and
support of academic staff in the School and leverage synergies across RCSI
and beyond.
Enhance the School's educational profile through improving on quality of
our current programmes whilst looking for new growth opportunities at the
undergraduate and post graduate level.
Develop and enhance relationships with our stakeholders, regulators and
others relevant bodies.
PERSONAL COMPETENCIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ROLE:
Have a proven ability to engage with key stakeholderrs nationally and
internationally
Possess excellent leadership skills, with an ability to lead a diverse
team of academic, administrative and technical professionals in a changing
environment.
Inspire, motivate, develop and mentor the existing team of highly-
performing and ambitious staff, throughout their career stages.
Demonstrate an ability to influence and manage complex relationships and
foster harmonious relationships at all levels.
Show strong understanding and knowledge of strategic planning processes
and the ability to devise communications strategies to promote the School
of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
Be able to communicate to inspire the wider academic community and public
audiences
Demonstrate a clear commitment to interdisciplinary and inter-professional
working.
Demonstrate adaptability in the face of uncertainty.
Be able to lead innovation in relation to teaching and research
approaches.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership :
Leading and collaborating on the development and implementation of the
School's vision and strategy, aligned with the newly published RCSI
strategy.
Providing effective leadership to School staff - inspiring, motivating,
developing and mentoring the existing team of highly-performing and
ambitious staff, throughout their career stages.
As a board member of Affiliation for Pharmacy Practice Experiential
Learning (APPEL; https: // www. appel. ie/), providing leadership and
direction to APPEL.
Leading the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences' involvement in
the wider Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences education programmes in
Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Physician Associate programmes;
including amongst other things the identification and development of new
inter-professional education opportunities across the Faculty.
Contributing to the governance of the Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences.
Representing the School and RCSI on such committees and external bodies as
may be appropriate including the University's Academic Council.
Undertaking overseas activities as required.
Collaboration:
Driving increased engagement and collaboration with clinical partners - in
particular within the RCSI Hospital Group to support the development of
education and research activities between the School and clinical
partners.
Maintaining collaborative relationship with the Irish Institute of
Pharmacy (IIOP), which is hosted in RCSI.
Forging strong links and collaborations with other education institutions
and the pharmaceutical sector.
Engaging with and collaborating with other Departments in RCSI with regard
to the planning and execution of education and research projects.
Research:
Growing and expanding our impact and reputation in research, building on
our success to-date
Continue to develop national and international collaborations with
academic and industry partners.
Ambition to drive the development of translational research within the
school to improve patient outcomes
Education - Quality and Regulation:
Ensuring the continued accreditation of existing programmes and
accreditation of any new programmes with national and international
bodies.
Identifying and developing new education programmes at undergraduate and
postgraduate levels.
Overseeing governance and ensuring quality standards of programmes and
student experience in our RCSI – SU International College of
Pharmaceutical Innovation - China
Overseeing and participating in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
programmes and examinations across all of the School's education
programmes.
Liaising with regulatory bodies in relation to accreditation, professional
registration and continuous professional development. EDUCATION &
Applicant profile
Education and Experience
Hold an appropriate higher-level degree such as PhD relevant to this post
(e.g., Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical, biomedical etc)
Significant experience in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical education, and
knowledge of current issues and opportunities
Have a strong track record of senior authorship on high impact peer-
reviewed publications in disciplines relevant to this post.
Have a strong track record of obtaining external funding for research
programmes.
Have senior level leadership experience
Be a recognised international expert in their relevant subject area as
evidenced by a track record of regular invited talks at international
conferences/events
We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can
sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do
submit an application — we'd love to hear from you.
THE PROCESS
Interview and presentation:
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a formal presentation and panel-
based interview. In advance, opportunities to visit and/or speak with RCSI
leaders will be organised
Salary:
This is a full professorial role. Level of appointment will depend on the
successful candidate's previous experience.
Startup funding:
An attractive start up package will be offered to complement the
aspirations and research priorities of the appointed candidate.
International Travel:
The role will be based in Dublin with an expectation of some travel to the
regions in which RCSI operates, including China.
Application procedure:
All applications for this post must be made through the careers webpage
www. rcsi/careers
Informal Enquiries:
Informal enquiries are invited in the first instance through Ms. Judy
Walsh ([email protected]) RCSI Human Resources Department. Judy can
arrange for queries to be addressed by the relevant party.
International relocation reimbursement may be provided as appropriate to the
successful candidate.
