Phase III
Review of Technology Specialists supporting Research & Education (Phase III)
(Ongoing)
Terms of Reference
The purpose of the group is to review the areas listed below and make recommendations to the Academic Strategy Committee on proposed changes to role profiles, job titles, progression processes and use of fixed term contracts. This work will be informed by research into practice within relevant Russell Group, other UK and global Universities and will build on work already undertaken.
- Identify roles1 within scope across the College, including Technology Specialists supporting Research & Education including Learning Technologists, Research Software Engineers, Instrument Specialists, Clinical Trial Specialist, Facility Managers, Statisticians
- Review the existing role profiles, job titles and progression processes.
- Review how any proposed changes to titles and progression processes would interact with the proposals made for new titles in the Research and Teaching job families.
- Make recommendations on how any proposed changes should be implemented and identify any implications for other structures and whether further work is required, which falls outside of the scope of this phase of work.
The Working Group will build on Phase 1 &2 and review the contract types of staff employed on long-term grant/project funds. Plus, the use of fixed-term contracts for all job families
1 Identifying criteria: roles that require knowledge gained through specialist training/qualifications, and drive development and innovation within their field.
Approach
The existing cross-College Working Group will undertake the review, alongside a new workstream reflective of the areas under-review. The approach to this work will be collaborative and inclusive of diverse views.
Group membership
Professor Peter Haynes
Professor Peter Haynes
Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience)
Professor Mary Ryan
Professor Mary Ryan
Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise)
Leila Guerra
Leila Guerra
Vice Dean (Education) Business School
Daljeet Birdy
Daljeet Birdy
Academic Progression and Job Evaluation Manager
Professor Jason Riley
Professor Jason Riley
Vice- Dean (Education), Faculty of Engineering
Professor Ramon Vilar Compte
Professor Ramon Vilar Compte
Professor of Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry & Vice-Dean (Research), Faculty of Natural Sciences
Lynne Cox
Lynne Cox
Director of Research Office
Dr Chris Watkins
Dr Chris Watkins
Faculty Operating Officer, Faculty of Medicine
Professor Clare Lloyd
Professor Clare Lloyd
Vice-Dean (Institutional Affairs); Faculty of Medicine
Matthias Heger
Matthias Heger
School Manager (School of Public Health)
Dr Liz Elvidge
Dr Liz Elvidge
Head of Postdoc and Fellows Development
Professor Martyn Kingsbury
Professor Martyn Kingsbury
Professor of Higher Education, Centre for Higher Education Research & Scholarship (CHERS)
Dr Vijay Tymms
Dr Vijay Tymms
UCU representative
Ahlam Khamliche
Ahlam Khamliche
Unite representative
Tanya Hunt
Tanya Hunt
Unison representative
Professor Jonathon Mestel
Professor Jonathon Mestel
Senior Consul & Professor of Applied Mathematics
Dr Julia Makinde
Dr Julia Makinde
Honorary Lecturer, Department of Infectious Disease
Workstream Members
Review of Technology Specialists Workstream Members
Peter Haynes - Vice Provost (Education and Student Experience) (Joint Chair)
Mary Ryan - Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) (Joint Chair)
Daniel Mitelpunkt - Digital Media Laboratory
Jeremy Cohen – Research Software Engineers
Alan Spivey – Associate Provost (Learning and Teaching)
Pat Evans - Facilities Managers
Patrick Brown (Instrument Engineers)
Liz Elvidge (or her representative) - Early Career Researchers
Finn Giuliani, Professor of Structural Ceramics/Academic Facility Manager
Julie King Centre of Academic English
Ana Costa-Pereira, Centre for Languages, Culture & Communication
Richard Fitzjohn, Principal Architect Research Software Engineer
Daniela Olivera Mesa, Technical Analyst.
Laura Lane, Graduate School
Richard Banks – Director of the IDEA Lab (Business School)
Beatriz Jiminez - NMR Facility Manager (FoM)
Nik Matthews - Genomics Facility (FoM)
Tim Venables – Faculty Operating Officer (FoE)
Nicholas Johnson – Research Fellow (FoM)
Support to Co-Chairs and Working Group
- Audrey Fraser – Deputy HR Director, (Strategic Partnering and Reward)
- Angela Kehoe - Head of HR for Faculty of Natural Sciences
- Ellie Robinson – HR & Reward Co-ordinator
Meeting Summaries
February 2024
During the February meeting, the Working Group discussed what the common characteristics of specialist roles should be. These characteristics will make up the Guiding Principles to identify, both fairly and transparently, which roles fall within scope of this job family across Imperial. The Working Group reviewed some of the requirements of current job descriptions to aid this discussion.
Characteristics agreed upon so far included:
- The job requires knowledge that has required specialist training/qualifications, which are specifically recruited for and cannot be learnt on the job.
- The individual has expertise, which they use to drive development and innovation within their field with independence (as opposed to following protocol).
- In connection with their drive for innovation, roles may make a significant contribution to the writing of grant proposals and may also publish.
- This job family would likely encompass roles at levels 3b to 6.
The Working Group stated that specialist roles can include researchers who are not necessarily PIs or running a research group, but still demonstrate the above characteristics.
The Working Group also discussed ensuring the job family is developed to fully recognise those with vital and specialist skills and work of the individuals within it to optimise their development at Imperial.
The meeting ended with discussions around the Workstream membership.