Human ResourcesUniversity of Leeds

Leeds LS2 9JT

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JOB REFERENCE NUMBER: 330459

FACULTY OF EDUCATION SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LAW

SCHOOL OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL POLICY

TWO CHAIRS IN SOCIOLOGY/SOCIAL POLICY

These two posts are part of the first stage of a substantial investment by the University in the development of the School of Sociology and Social Policy. Over the next few years several lectureships, an academic research fellow and a further chair are planned.

The School obtained an RAE score of 5 in 2001 as a Social Policy Unit of Assessment. In recent years the University has provided strong support to the School’s Centres, and through the appointment of a University Research Fellow in the area of Racism and Ethnicity Studies. The School plays a central role in the recently formed Leeds Social Science Institute (LSSI). It has a substantial portfolio of funded research from ESRC,Central Government and major charities such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Total research spend per annum over the last three years has averaged over £600k per annum. Since 1999 the School has been the base for the ESRC funded research group (£1.3 million) - Care, Values and the Future of Welfare led by Prof. Fiona Williams. The Centre for Disability Studies directed by Prof. Colin Barnes is based in the School and is recognised as a world leader in its field, attracting many international students, research visitors and substantial research funds. The Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies (CERS), directed by Dr. Ian Law is the focus of increasing research activity, teaching and numbers of postgraduate research students. The School also has close connections with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, reflecting our strengths in gender studies across our research clusters. Most recently members of the School have a taken a leading role in the award by the ESRC of the Leeds-Manchester Research Methods Node. In addition the School hosts a number of ESRC and EU funded personal research fellowships. It has a growing number of PhD students funded by ESRC (with four quota awards for 2005-06), University and School scholarships, and its research training has full ESRC recognition. Over thirty PhDs have been awarded in the School in the last five years.

This research strength is mirrored in the School’s teaching activities. It is in the top segment of its market for its undergraduate degrees, admitting around 130 students per annum to undergraduate degrees and a further 60 to various joint honours programmes. The School has successfully retained a single honours Social Policy programme in the face of falling numbers nationally, whilst it is one of the largest providers of undergraduate Sociology with one of the widest ranges of joint honours combinations in the country. The high quality of its undergraduate teaching, the taught postgraduate programmes and the work produced by students are constantly confirmed by its external examiners. It has a range of strong and innovative taught postgraduate programmes that are attracting increasing attention from international students. The MA Disability Studies is available in a successful online distance learning format, and the MA in Social Research has ESRC research training recognition. The School has taken a leading role in widening participation activities within the Faculty by developing the four year BA Social Sciences, as well as being the largest single provider of modules from Social Sciences to part-time programmes. We thus play an important role within the University in relation to part-time provision and widening participation.

School Strategy for a Research Intensive Learning Environment

Mission Statement:

  • We seek to enhance the School’s position as a key player in the investigation and analysis of issues of diversity and differentiation, and to continue to provide world class scholarship and teaching in this area.
  • We seek to underpin all our research activities with world class excellence in methodology and theoretical advancement.
  • We seek to transfer knowledge from our research to influence relevant national and international policy communities.
  • We aim to develop further as a research-intensive learning community that is welcoming to a diverse range of students.

The School has research clusters in Disability Studies; Racism and Ethnicity Studies; Personal Lives and Social Change; Care, Citizenship and Well-being. These have the following common characteristics, and cross-cutting concerns: diversity and social justice, theoretical advancement, methodological innovation and policy relevance.

  • Diversity and social justice: each of our clusters has a substantive concern with dimensions of social diversity and social justice such as disability, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality and class.
  • Theoretical advancement: each of our clusters is committed to advancing theoretical work fundamental to setting the research agendas of sociology and social policy internationally.
  • Methodological innovation: each of our clusters is seeking to develop and apply more effective methodologies.
  • Policy relevance: each of our clusters seeks to transfer knowledge about its empirical findings to relevant policy communities.

1)Disability Studies: Research spend 2001-02 to 2003-04: £180k.

Related centre: Centre for Disability Studies.

2)Racism and Ethnicity Studies: Research spend 2001-02 to 2003-04: £88k.

Related Centre: Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies.

3)Personal Lives and Social Change: Research spend 2001-02 to 2003-04: £662k.

Related Centre:Centre for Family, Kinship and Childhood Studies.

4)Care, Citizenship and Well-being: Research spend 2001-02 to 2003-04: £911k.

Related Centre: Care Values and the Future of Welfare.

Reflecting a research intensive environment each of these clusters and the cross-cutting themes relate to substantial areas of UG and PG learning, that provide students with a high quality learning experience related to our research activities. The numbers of postgraduate research students are increasing. Our PGT research training modules are drawn upon by other Schools in the Faculty of ESSL. We have recently been awarded 4 ESRC quota awards, one of the largest allocations to a Sociology or Social Policy outlet. These will enable us to increase our FTE PGR numbers from their current level of 22 to 33 by 2007 making us one of the largest postgraduate schools in Sociology and Social Policy in the country.

JOB SUMMARY

These twofull-time postsare available from 1st January 2006 or as soon as possible thereafter. The post holders will conduct research, contribute to the teaching of the School’s postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, supervise research students and contribute to the leadership of the School.

Main Duties and Responsibilities of the Post

The post holders will undertake a programme of research and publication that will contribute to the School's international research standing. The holders of the posts will develop new teaching programmes and knowledge transfer activities in Sociology and Social Policy particularly at postgraduate level. The professors will be expected to deliver and assess modules and to undertake appropriate pastoral, administrative and managerial duties. Other duties will include supervision of research students and of MA dissertations.

These are senior appointments and the post holders will be expected to make an appropriate contribution to the management and leadership of the School and the broader Faculty and University, including the role of Head of School at some point in the future.

PERSON SPECIFICATION
The following qualifications/skills/personal qualities are essential for each of the posts.

  • An established scholar with an international reputation in the fields of either Sociology or Social Policy broadly defined.
  • An outstanding record of research and publication.
  • An established research record in either racism and ethnicity studies or personal lives and social change, (although outstanding contributions to our other research clusters will be considered).
  • A record of effective leadership in an academic environment. Including the ability to develop new research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities.
  • A proven ability to attract research funding and research students.
  • Strong organisational skills.
  • A proven ability to work as part of a team.
  • The ability to relate to, motivate and teach students and to carry out pastoral functions.

The following qualifications/skills/personal qualities are desirable for the post.

  • A record of cross-national comparative or international research.

Relationships

The post holder will be responsible through the Dean of the Faculty and the Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy to the Council of the University.

Informal Enquiries

Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Dr Paul Bagguley, tel: +44(0)113 3434428, or by e-mail

The Schooland its research centres also have a website on which contains useful information about its activities and courses.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The University reserves the right to consider for appointment persons other than those who make formal application in response to the initial advertisement.

Brief conditions of service applicable to appointments to the professorial and equivalent staff are detailed on the attached document.

Salary is negotiable within the professorial range – minimum £47,685 with effect from 1 August 2005.

The University is introducing a new reward framework which will facilitate the recruitment, retention and motivation of world class staff.

Appointment to an academic or academic-related staff post confers the right to join the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme (USS), although membership of this scheme is not a condition of employment. Members of the scheme are contracted out of the State Earnings Related Scheme (SERPS). Participation in the Staff Review and Development Scheme is a condition of employment for academic and related staff. The University is committed to the active promotion of equal opportunities.

Equal Opportunities and Data Protection

The post will be located in the Social Studies Building which is wheelchair accessible via a lift.

Disabled applicants are welcome to review the buildings and their access. Disability Services are happy to provide advice if required tel: 0113 343 3927, e-mail

Disabled applicants are not obliged to inform employees of their disability but will still be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act once their disability becomes known.

The University promotes an equal opportunities policy – we welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnic origin or disability.

The information you provide in your application will be used to consider your suitability for the post you have applied for. If your application is not successful, the information will be disposed of confidentially within 8 months. If your application is successful and you are appointed, your information and future data will be processed in accordance with the University's Data Protection Code of Practice. A copy of this code can be obtained from either the University of Leeds Human Resources Department or by visiting

Health and Safety Responsibilities

You are required to adhere and comply to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act, related Regulations and in accordance to the University’s Policy on Health and Safety which can be accessed via In addition you are also required to co-operate with regard to the implementation of the Health and Safety arrangements and should not interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interest of Health, Safety and Welfare at Work.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants should study these further particulars and the appropriate person specification.

Your application should consist of:

  • the completed application form – an electronic version can be found at:
  • a copy of your curriculum vitae (unstapled) giving full details of qualifications and experience and naming three referees (please give full postal addresses, fax numbers and e-mail addresses wherever possible);
  • an extended statement of how, if successful, you would envisage fulfilling the requirements of the post.

Applicants who submit their applications electronically are asked to complete the University’s on-line Equal Opportunities form which can be found at the following link:

The completed documents should reach Susan Alexander, Recruitment and Administrative Co-ordinator, Human Resources, The University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT OR by e-mail to , by not later than Thursday 14th July 2005.

Please quote job ref: 330459

References

It is the custom of this University to approach the referees of only those candidates who are invited to interview. Applicants are asked, therefore, to indicate clearly if they do not wish such approaches to be made.

Attachments:

Conditions of service applicable to professorial and equivalent appointments

Information on the University and the City of Leeds

Enclosures:

Application form – which also includes the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form - to be completed and returned with the application in the envelope provided. Replies will be treated in the strictest confidence.

OR can be completed and submitted on line using the following link:

The University’s Equality and Diversity Statement

Appendix

ACADEMIC STAFF

Staff working in the School in 2005-06 include.

Dr Paul Bagguley, Senior Lecturer in Sociology (Head of School 2003-2006)

My main interests are in the areas of the sociology of protest, social movements, economic sociology, urban sociology, racism and ethnicity and sociological theory. I have carried out extensive research on the urban 'riots' in 2001 (with Dr. Yasmin Hussain) funded by the British Academy, unemployment and social protest, anti-poll-tax protest, and new social movements. In the fields of economic sociology and urban studies I have concentrated on debates around post-Fordism, labour flexibility and post-industrialism, economic restructuring and its impact on trades unions political economy and local labour markets, and on gender segregation in employment. With Dr. Yasmin Hussain I am also working on a project entitled ‘The Role of Higher Education in providing opportunities for Young South Asian Women’ funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

My main publications include: ‘Hussain, Y. and Bagguley P. ‘Flying the flag for England?Citizenship, religion and cultural identity among British Pakistani Muslims’ in Abbas, T. (ed) 2005 Muslim Britain: Communities under Pressure, London: Zed Books; Hussain, Y. and Bagguley, P. 2005 ‘Citizenship, Ethnicity and Identity: British Pakistanis after the 2001 'riots'.’ Sociology, vol. 39, no. 3: 409-27. 'Contemporary British Feminism: a social movement in abeyance?', Social Movement Studies, 2002; 'Reflexivity Contra Structuration', Canadian Journal of Sociology, 2003; From Protest to Acquiescence? Political Movements of the Unemployed, Macmillan; and I am co-author of Restructuring: Place, Class and Gender, Sage. I co-edited two books of papers from the 1997 British Sociological Association Annual Conference: Transforming Politics: power and resistance (with Jeff Hearn) and Relating Intimacies: power and resistance (with Julie Seymour), Macmillan, 1999. During 1999-2000 I was a visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at VanderbiltUniversity, Nashville, USA, and in 2003 I was guest Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Prof Colin Barnes, Professor of Disability Studies

Colin Barnes is a disability activist, writer and researcher with an international reputation in the field of disability studies and disability research. He is a member of several organisations controlled and run by disabled people and research director for the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP). As a committed advocate of disabled people's rights, Colin has spoken about the experience of living with impairment in a variety of locations including the House of Commons, the European Parliament, and on television and the radio.

Colin teaches disability studies and is the founder and Director of the Centre for Disability Studies, an independent publisher: The Disability Press, and the electronic Disability Archive UK. He is an executive editor, reviews editor and regular contributor to the international journal Disability and Society - formerly Disability, Handicap and Society. He has lectured on a wide range of disability related issues both in Britain and overseas including: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the USA.

Colin's many publications include Cabbage Syndrome: The Social Construction of Dependence (1990); Disabled People in Britain and Discrimination (1991 reprinted in 1994 and 2000); Disabling Imagery and the Media (1992); Making Our Own Choices (1993); and From National to Local (1995), and co-authored Disabled People and Social Policy (1998) with Mike Oliver and Exploring Disability: a Sociological Introduction with Geof Mercer and Tom Shakespeare. Edited books include Exploring the Divide (1996) and Doing Disability Research (1997) both with Geof Mercer.

Alan Deacon, Professor of Social Policy

My primary research interests are the current debates about the future direction of welfare reform in Britain and the United States. I provide an introduction to these debates in my most recent book, Perspectives on Welfare (Open University Press, 2002). Between 1999 and 2004 I was a member of the ESRC Research Group on Care, Values and the Future of Welfare based in the School.

I am currently working on three inter-related issues.

  • The debate about ‘welfare conditionality’, that is the degree to which peoples’ entitlement to welfare should depend not only on their needs but on their willingness to meet conditions regarding their behaviour and character.
  • The claim that welfare reform should be informed to a much greater extent by an ‘ethic of care’, and the assumptions about human nature and motivation that underpin recent writings on the ‘ethic of care’.
  • The reasons why social exclusion and deprivation appear to be perpetuated across generations within the same families and communities, and the assumptions that underpin New Labour’s strategies to tackle such a ‘cycle of disadvantage’.

Recent publications on these topics include articles in Policy and Politics (2003), Housing Studies (2004), Social Policy and Society (2003 and 2004), Benefits (2002) and a Social Market Foundation pamphlet On Condition (2004). I have also given papers to conferences and seminars in Wisconsin, Seattle, New York, Florence, and The Hague.

Moira Doolan, Senior Teaching Fellow

My teaching interests are wide-ranging. One of my main interests is in the field of crime, deviance and regulation. I am convenor at first and second year level on two modules in this field. For seven years I coordinated a University Diploma Programme in a Maximum Security Prison and this increased my interest in punishment, imprisonment and alternatives to imprisonment. I teach a module in the third year, which covers these areas.