Research Manager

Salary: £46,974 to £52,815 per annum Closing Date: Sunday 10 December 2023 Interview Date: Wednesday 20 December 2023 Reference: 23-AAAA1505P-0792-1

UCA is a subject-specialist university developing innovative, practical research in creative arts, creative technologies and business for the creative industries. Our academics lead research into art, design, and the built environment, and push the impact of creative thinking and practice into new technologies (AR, VR) and online cultures. Our research is outward-facing, reaching stakeholders in the creative industries, media, arts and culture and our local communities. In REF 2021 we demonstrated the excellence of what we do, and now we seek to develop it further.

Our Research and Innovation team supports and drives research, impact, knowledge exchange and innovation across all our subject areas. The team is expanding to encompass distinct Research and Innovation portfolios supported by a UKRI Impact Acceleration Account (IAA). We are looking for an experienced Research Manager to lead and develop the Research side of the portfolio, working to manage and develop the systems and infrastructures that support academic researchers, from ECR to professor level, across the University.

If you have experience of research management — REF procesess, impact planning, researcher development, research culture initiatives, research information management, funding, reporting, governance and compliance — then this role is for you. We need someone who can work across our disciplinary areas to make a difference to research in a specialist art and design university that is growing its intensity and ambition. You will work with our academics to develop and realise the potential of their research, plan its impact, and support teams that secure external funding. You will lead REF processes, and put in place systems to enhance UCA's research environment and culture.

The Research Manager reports to the Director of Research and Innovation and works closely with the Head of Innovation. They directly manage a small team of research office staff, and actively engage with academic and professional services staff across the University. The role can be based in either UCA's Farnham campus or Canterbury campus. Farnham is home to our fine art, crafts, performance, film, media, games and creative technology disciplines, is the UK's first ‘World Craft City, and is adjacent to the M3 Corridor cluster of gaming and VR industries; Canterbury is home to the Canterbury School of Architecture and Design and our Doctoral College. The role is offered with the opportunity to balance office-based and remote working.

For an informal conversation regarding the role please contact Amer Alwarea, Acting Director of Research and Innovation at [email protected].

At UCA, creativity and innovation are at the heart of what we do. Our legacy of educating eager and passionate artists, makers and thinkers runs back almost 160 years, and today we're helping shape a global future that supports and nourishes talent worldwide.

Our campuses across Surrey and Kent are vibrant communities, each specialising in different areas of the creative industries. We are also home to a thriving research hub, with academic experts and fellows leading the way in research on sustainability, design, textiles, animation, history and culture, and more.

Are you ready to share your passion for creativity with the next generation of innovators? If so, we want to hear from you.

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The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) aims to be a welcoming and inclusive University that is truly representative of all of the diversity in society. We particularly encourage applications from people from minoritised ethnic groups and people with disabilities who are currently under-represented within the University.