Assistant Professor in Engineering Management (ENG_02)

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Job Description - Assistant Professor in Engineering Management (ENG_02) ()

Department of Engineering

Open-Ended/Permanent - Full Time

Contract Duration: Permanent

Working Arrangements: Monday to Friday

Closing Date: 17-Mar-2025, 11:59:00 PM

Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.

The Department

The Department of Engineering at Durham University is continuing a period of strategic growth. This is an exciting opportunity to join an expanding, unified Engineering Department which is recognised as one of the very best in the UK, with a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our graduates. The University is in the QS Top 100, and the Department itself is ranked 6th in both the 2025 Times and Guardian tables and 4th in the Complete University Guide 2025. In the REF2021 exercise, 95% of our Engineering outputs were graded 3 or 4 , and the Department is committed to an ethos of research-led and industrially-relevant education at all levels of our taught programmes.

The Department of Engineering demonstrates significant depth of research excellence across a range of disciplines, with activities that are currently concentrated around three Research Challenge areas: Sustainable Infrastructure, Future Energy Systems and Advanced Materials, Electronics and Communications. Thematically, our research is split into eight Research Nodes which group together our day-to-day activities and expertise. We are particularly proud of the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of our research, which also includes strong industrial partnerships.

As part of its strategic expansion, the Department is developing a new taught postgraduate MSc in Engineering Management, to start in October 2026, which will be supported by three new academic posts - a Professor and two Assistant Professors. The Assistant Professors of Engineering Management will collaborate closely with the Professor to support the development of the new programme and contribute to its delivery, with the aim of delivering a successful and valuable programme to complement our current range of taught programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. To recognise the significant work required to achieve this, the postholders will have minimal teaching responsibilities within their first 12 months, allowing them the time and space to develop the programme and to become established within the Department.

Key Responsibilities:

• Pursue research that is high quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour, commensurate with the Department's continuing emphasis on international excellence;
• Develop clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement;
• Play a role in relevant teaching and research supervision and contribute to ongoing curriculum development, particularly in relation to developing the new MSc in Engineering Management;
• Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond through collaborative research activity;
• Demonstrate a willingness and ability to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department;
• Deliver lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment;
• Engage fully in and enhance the values of the Department;
• Contribute to attracting and supervising research students, and to enhancing the Department's commitment to its vibrant and inclusive postgraduate culture;
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department.

Person Specification

Candidates applying for this post should meet all the essential criteria.

Research

• Qualifications - a good first degree and a PhD in Engineering, with a clear component of engineering management, or a related subject, or equivalent suitable industrial experience.
• Outputs - evidence of high-quality research outputs, some of which is recognised as world-class. These will usually be scientific papers but can be a suitable equivalent, e.g. case studies from industry, patents etc.
• Personal Research Plan - evidence of a personal research plan which supports and enhances the Department of Engineering's research strategy.

Education

• Quality - evidence of the development and delivery of effective and engaging teaching.
• Innovation - evidence of contribution to new programme development and innovation in the design and delivery of high-quality teaching or assessment of learning.
• Strategic - evidence of strategic teaching development - engagement in the design of excellent teaching programmes which are research informed and led.

Service, Citizenship and Values

• Professional qualification - to be either already professionally qualified as a Chartered Engineer or Scientist, or able to demonstrate progression towards becoming Chartered.
• Citizenship contribution - evidence of participation in the citizenship/administrative activities of an academic Department, Faculty or University.
• Leadership - engagement in activities that contribute to the administrative functioning of an academic Department, Faculty, University and/or discipline.
• Communication - candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills.

Desirable Criteria

• Qualification - candidates must be or have the ability to attain the rank of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
• Research Leadership - contribution to the leadership of research groups and the mentoring of early career researchers.
• PhD Supervision - involvement in the provision of excellent supervision for PhD students.
• Research Impact - demonstrable evidence of the impact of the Candidate's research beyond their institution.
• Income Generation - evidence of engagement in the development of successful research projects and quality research grant proposals.

How to Apply

We prefer to receive applications online. Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data. If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system, please get in touch with us on .

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

• A CV
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above (2 pages A4 maximum).
• A personal research plan for the next 3-5 years (maximum 2 A4 pages).
• Four of your most significant outputs, e.g. scientific papers, or equivalent from a non-HE track.

Referees

You should provide details of three academic referees, plus details of your current line manager. References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process.

Next Steps

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the Department to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates. Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person.