Position Details
Position Title: Deputy Dean, VET
Position Number: XXX
Portfolio: College of Design and Social Context
School/Group: School of Architecture and Design
Campus Location: Based at the City campus, but may be required to work and/or be based at other campuses of the University.
Classification: TAFE Senior Educator 3
Salary Schedule: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=ewhtlt73t01
Employment Type: Fixed term
Time Fraction: 1.0
RMIT University
RMIT is a global university of technology and design, focused on creating solutions that transform the future for the benefit of people and their environments. We are global in attitude, action and presence; urban in orientation and creativity; and connected through active partnerships with professions, industries and organisations.
RMIT University enjoys an international reputation for excellence in professional and practical educational programs and high quality outcome-oriented research.
One of Australia’s original educational institutions founded in 1887, RMIT is now the nation’s largest tertiary institution. The University offers an extensive range of postgraduate, undergraduate and vocational programs.
RMIT has three Melbourne campuses – in the central business district and in Brunswick and Bundoora in the city’s northern suburbs – and campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. With significant partnerships in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Singapore, RMIT has a strong educational presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The University’s total student population of 74,000 includes 30,000 international students (onshore and offshore).
RMIT is a leader in technology, design, global business, communication, global communities, health solutions and urban sustainable futures, and is ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for engineering and technology in the 2010 QS World University Rankings.
www.rmit.edu.au
The Design and Social Context College
The College of Design and Social Context encompasses RMIT University's renowned art, communication, built environment, design, education and social science disciplines and is comprised of seven Schools. The College has 24,500 students and 1,000 staff.
For more information about the College including the Schools, research centres and staff resources, visit the College homepage atwww.rmit.edu.au/dsc.
School of Architecture and Design
The School of Architecture Design, RMIT, is a multi-disciplinary design school undertaking scholarship in five discipline areas: architecture, fashion, industrial design, interior design and landscape architecture.
Our metropolitan base in the city of Melbourne provides a rich setting for our design scholarship. We understand design practice as an agent of cultural change within an increasingly complex and cosmopolitan world. We emphasise the activity of designing as research and understand research as an integrated component of scholarship. Our design mission is founded on tri-polar, curated and vertically integrated scholarship. The strategic direction for our School is underpinned by three guiding scholarship principles: scholarship-of-change; curated and vertically integrated design scholarship; and tri-polar scholarship.
Scholarship-of-Change
We aim to address compelling, contemporary issues such as climate change, globalisation and rapid urbanisation in ways that facilitate cultural change through design. Our scholars (students, lecturers and researchers) are risk-takers in the sense that they endeavour to bring about change both in design practice and by practicing design. These changes are pursued through refinement, criticism and experimentation and within an ethical framework of social justice and human rights. The Scholarship-of-change principle provides criteria for the appointment of staff and Adjunct Professors and in the appointment of practitioners to sessional teaching positions.
Curated and Vertically Integrated Design Scholarship
We encourage staff to be actively involved in designing, as designers themselves or through critical engagement with designing. Our research is based on the activity of designing. The courses offered by our school are largely delivered in studio mode. These studios are curated according to our tri-polar model. In them staff, students and (in many cases) practitioners explore design research projects. In this way our students operate as empowered studio collaborators in the pursuit of emergent design knowledge and skills.
Tri-Polar Scholarship
Our ambition is to sustain three contested areas of scholarship endeavour across the school. We believe that holding multiple, articulated positions leads to a productive scholarship environment. We understand these three poles as points of intensity within a dynamic constellational structure rather than as fixed points.
These three poles provide a focus for curating our design studios, research and the careers of our alumni. Staff and students make clear and deliberate choices in selecting studios and positioning their work in relation to these three scholarship poles. These can be positions of alignment or opposition or transmogrification. The three poles provide a critical framework through which we actively curate the careers of our alumni and other exemplar practitioners. The three poles are not exclusive. The poles interact and overlap and are always in question. Over time they are challenged and change.
Currently the three poles include the Expanded Field, Urban Environments and Advanced Technologies. The Expanded Field deals with issues of ethics and sustainability, regimes of care, art and public space, social needs and the ephemeral. Urban Environments has as its focus a concern for precedent, type, and the pragmatics of infrastructure and the urban scale, including civic consciousness and hence civic narratives. Advanced Technologies deals with the pursuit of rule generated processes in design that allow for the utilisation of new digital and biological technologies. The tri-polar model provides criteria for the appointment of new staff and Adjunct Professors and in the appointment of practitioners to sessional teaching positions.
The School has approximately 160 postgraduate students enrolled in Master and PhD by research in either project or thesis mode. Candidates work either one-on-one with supervisors or in small groups. Highlights of the academic year are the Graduate Research Conferences (GRC) held every May and October where every postgraduate student presents their work in progress to a panel of invited national and international critics, and informally discusses aspects of their research with colleagues and visitors; they are also the venue for the public examination of concluding candidates. The GRC has an international reputation as the leading research conference of its type in the world.
The School is also known internationally for the work of the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory and Sound Studios (SIAL) which is an international leader in multi-disciplinary digital design research. The School’s research endeavours are supported through RMIT University’s research Institutes and particularly the Design Research Institute and Global Cities Institute. Significant funding and collaborative opportunities are available through these Institutes. RMIT University is currently planning the construction of a new Design Hub, designed by Sean Godsell that will form the focus of design research and provide the University and Architecture + Design excellent gallery and design research facilities.
To be updated based on the new executive strategic planning process.
Position Summary
The Deputy Dean, VET is responsible to the Dean of School for providing high level VET strategic advice and leadership and fostering and leveraging dual sector activity. The Deputy Dean VET will lead the planning and delivery of all the VET activity in the School.
The position plays a crucial role in engaging with industry to identify business development opportunities in areas of school delivery and discipline expertise. He/she is a key interface between the school and all external VET stakeholders.
The Deputy Dean, VET is a member of the School executive team and is required to work collaboratively with all members of the School management team and with staff across the school to ensure that the School achieves its strategic objectives.
The position has a close working relationship with the College Deputy Director TAFE, the Deputy Dean, Learning & Teaching and the Deputy Dean, International.
It is expected that the time fraction for the leadership role will be approximately 60%. The other component of the role will comprise of teaching as agreed with the Dean of School.
Reporting Line
Reports to: Dean of School
Direct reports: VET Program Managers (Number of reports to be determined following development of the School's structure)
Organisational Accountabilities
RMIT University is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff. RMIT and its staff must comply with a range of statutory requirements, including equal opportunity, occupational health and safety, privacy and trade practice. RMIT also expects staff to comply with its policy and procedures, which relate to statutory requirements and our ways of working.
Appointees are accountable for completing training on these matters and ensuring their knowledge, and the knowledge of their staff, is up to date.
Key Accountabilities
· Provide high level VET leadership and direction, including strategic and expert advice to support the planning and development of the School’s VET activity.
· Lead the School’s VET profile planning and management.
· Lead and develop an informed, professional and collaborative TAFE management team.
· Provide strategic leadership in the school’s engagement with industry by working with VET program managers to identify commercial opportunities and grow fee for service and commercial activity both locally and internationally.
· In Collaboration with the Deputy Head, Learning and Teaching:
- Implement and oversee University quality assurance processes, and work with VET program managers to ensure that programs are designed, delivered and validated in accordance with Skills Victoria performance agreements and delivery guidelines and AQTF and ESOS requirements;
- Lead program review, development and quality improvement activities to ensure the relevance, quality and viability of programs and alignment with Skills Victoria and University directions;
- Lead the development of dual sector collaboration and program initiatives and the development and enhancement of pathways and articulation agreements between TAFE and HE both internally and externally (including offshore); and
- Develop and implement professional development initiatives of VET program managers, coordinators, teaching and program administration staff.
· In collaboration with the Deputy Head, Research facilitate and support the effective engagement of VET with the Schools research activity.
· Contribute to the School’s resource planning and management by leading VET workforce and workload planning, and VET budget planning and financial monitoring and decision making.
· Represent the School within the College, University and externally as appropriate.
· Position and represent the School’s VET programs locally, nationally and internationally and work with College and University marketing groups to ensure effective marketing.
· Maintain academic and professional standing and currency by engaging in a program of academic and professional activity and development.
· Contribute to teaching as appropriate and as negotiated with Head of School.
Key Selection Criteria
· Established capacity to provide vision, educational and professional leadership in a contemporary educational and training environment.
· Proven management experience in the VET sector and demonstrated experience in successfully managing, leading and motivating VET program teams.
· Ability to work in cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral teams with the capacity to manage and respond to new opportunities and deliver desired organizational outcomes.
· Highly developed project and contract management skills with the demonstrated ability to plan activities, projects and programs, whilst managing human and financial resources and meeting desired quality outcomes within the organization and with external stakeholders.
· Demonstrated teaching and program management experience in the VET sector.
· Demonstrated industry experience in an area of relevance to the School.
Qualifications
Mandatory: Degree in teaching area relevant to the School
Preferred: Postgraduate qualifications in teaching area relevant to the School
1. Vocational Competencies
The appointee must be able to demonstrate vocational competencies at least to the level of those delivered.
2. Assessment and Delivery Competencies
The appointee must hold an Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) or equivalent qualification that includes the assessment and delivery competencies in the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from the Training and Assessment Training Package listed below.
TAAASS401A
TAAASS402A
TAAASS403A
TAAASS404A
TAADES401A
TAADES402A
TAADEL401A
TAADEL402A
TAADEL403A
TAADEL404A
TAAENV401A
TAAENV402A
TAAENV403A
Alternatively, the appointee must have demonstrated the following competencies from the Training Package for Assessment and Workplace Training (BSZ98) prior to 23 November 2005.
BSZ401A
BSZ402A
BSZ403A
BSZ404A
BSZ405A
BSZ406A
BSZ407A
BSZ408A
3. Teaching Qualification
The appointee must hold a professional teaching qualification, defined as a qualification at Australian
Qualifications Framework Level Diploma or above which includes supervised teaching practice and studies in teaching methodology or equivalent qualification accepted by the University.
Note: Appointment to this position is subject to passing a Working with Children check.
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