Associate Head: Built Environment

Full time permanent

Location: York  

Salary: £59,966 to £71,566 per annum

Introduction to YSJ University 

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

As one of the fastest growing universities in the UK over recent years, we have a new strategy for the next decade, emphasising our commitment to widening opportunity through the power of education and contributing our talents to creating a fairer world, and a more prosperous region. We are putting inspirational learning and impactful research at the heart of this strategy, recognising our academic expertise as our greatest asset.

This is a rare opportunity to build a new academic portfolio from inception to delivery, shaping curriculum, partnerships, staffing and facilities from the ground up. The postholder will play a defining role in establishing York St John as a regional leader in Built Environment education.

The Role

In May 2026, the University decided to establish a new portfolio of programmes across the Built Environment to address significant skills shortages in the region, boost our graduate outcomes and enhance the power of our place-based research. We are seeking an Associate Head for the Built Environment to work with industry to lead the development and implementation of the Built Environment portfolio strategy in line with the University’s Strategy for Social Impact. 

In this unique and strategically pivotal role within the University you will lead high-level employer and professional body engagement and shape an industry-embedded, professionally aligned curriculum. You will also be responsible for recruiting a team of academics to deliver our new Built Environment provision, and work with colleagues to secure the right technical support.   

In this role, you will be part of the School Academic Leadership Team and will work closely with four other Associate Heads, our Directors of Teaching and Learning, Research and Innovation, PGR, EDI, to support the Head of School in making key strategic decisions relating to a range of topics including staffing, recruitment, space utilisation, resource needs, external partnerships and internationalisation. Once the portfolio is operational, you will build and lead a high-performing academic community, combining experienced academics and industry practitioners, and create a collaborative, inclusive and delivery-focused culture. You will lead by example as an active researcher and in delivering teaching to at least one of the programme areas. You will facilitate good communication across your teams and motivate colleagues to be the best that they can be. An approachable, decisive, and inspiring leader, you will be an enthusiastic advocate for your programmes and actively engaged with the university strategic plan. 

The School 

The School of the Arts offers a range of degree programmes across undergraduate, postgraduate taught degrees and research degrees. Built Environment will be a new and strategically significant area within the School, complementing existing strengths in design, creative practice and interdisciplinary learning, and supported by close collaboration with York Business School. At York St John, our student numbers have grown from under 6,000 to over 14,000 over the past decade, so we are blessed with large and diverse UG, PGT and PGR communities. As a School, we are committed to student-centred teaching, applied creative practice, co-design with business and live industry briefs, in order to challenge our learners to think about the world in different ways. 

We are very active in projects involving work-related learning (including partnerships with a variety of external industries and companies, and active in work to decolonise the curriculum and to build supportive and inclusive pedagogies. We have a thriving research community formed from a range of practitioners, action researchers and traditional researchers. There are opportunities for colleagues to share research and get involved with wider research projects, and colleagues are encouraged to develop research-informed teaching. We have a combination of early career researchers as well as active senior researchers, and we engage with a range of academic interests that impact our excellent teaching provision and expanding research portfolio. With around 70 staff in the School in total, we are a friendly, creative and collegiate community. 

Required skills and experience 

The successful candidate will have practitioner expertise in at least one branch of the Built Environment such as architecture, quantity or land surveying, construction project management or building service engineering.  Regardless of your personal specialism, you will need to demonstrate an appreciation and understanding of the other subject areas. Research expertise, including a doctorate is desirable. As an experienced professional, with industry experience and experience in higher education, you will have a strong portfolio in terms of new programme development and teaching innovation, as well as having recognised scholarship in your area of expertise. This is very much a cross-University role where you will need to quickly establish a strong network across a range of academic and professional services colleagues at all levels. You need to be a confident communicator with experience of programme management, budget management, leadership, and strategic thinking. At York St John, our approach to leadership is collegiate and focuses on both empowering and supporting staff.  

Additional information 

For informal queries, please contact the Head of School, Professor Helen Julia Minors (h.minors@yorksj.ac.uk) 

It is anticipated that the selection process will include an interview and presentation. Further details will be provided if you are shortlisted for interview.

This role is eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship, provided the relevant UKVI requirements are met. For more details about the Skilled Worker visa route, please visit the official UK government website: Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK