The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The Institute is named in honour of the scientist Alan Turing and its mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better.

The role oversees and advises on the recruitment of diverse roles within the research community at the Turing, taking a lead on roles that are not recruited through direct employment. This includes regular annual calls for doctoral level training programmes, fellowships for early career researchers and specialised calls for senior positions or specific projects. The role requires experience of managing complex recruitment processes or academic calls and a thorough understanding of best practice in the context of higher education, recruitment and academic training pathways. The role will involve regular cross-team collaboration with the People Team, Academic Engagement, Research Programmes, Communications and the wider Turing community and external partners. This will involve building close working relationships with relevant leads from these teams and supporting the development of inclusive calls in accordance with the Institute’s strategic objectives.

The Academic Recruitment Business Partner will ensure that each stage of the recruitment process is designed to promote the Institute’s core values, especially in the areas of widening participation, equality and promoting diversity. The role holder is expected to work independently to manage the team resource including direct reports, progressing projects and providing expert advice on academic recruitment across the Institute.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan and manage the workload and resource of the Academic Recruitment function within the People Team, including scheduling centrally run calls, allocating projects and working with colleagues to scope input needed by other departments.
• Provide consultation and expert advice to colleagues within the Research Programmes and Academic Engagement Directorate on scoping and design of Institute calls including benchmarking against relevant equivalents and reviewing previous calls, seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders, agreeing call requirements and providing training on panel processes.
• Lead on the planning and delivery of the annual calls run by the Institute, currently including the flagship Enrichment scheme and manage the Academic Recruitment Coordinator to deliver this.
• Lead on planning the recruitment strategy for the HDRUK-Turing Doctoral programme and work with external partners to implement this.
• Lead on the planning and strategic delivery of calls for Turing Research Fellows, Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowships and other academic appointments and schemes.
• Ensure a positive experience for candidates including by supporting the Academic Recruitment Coordinator to manage candidate queries and provide feedback and acting as the first point of escalation for any complex cases or complaints.
• Lead the evaluation and review process for calls, including a review of diversity and monitoring data and the structure and assessment process of calls to assess the performance of the Academic Recruitment function.
• Promote a culture of continual improvement relating to best practice in academic recruitment, academic calls and access to the Institute including providing training in panel processes and grant assessment and supporting the use and development of the Flexigrant Grant Management System. Liaise with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team and Network Groups to achieve this and ensure efforts are coordinated.
• Be the day to day manager for the relationship with the providers of the Flexigrant Grant Management system; working with Director of People, Director of Programme Management, and Director of IT and Security .
• Liaison with relevant professionals at other organisations to share best practice and remain up to date on changes and developments in the sector.
• Line management including regular performance reviews for direct report(s)

Essential

• Experience in managing complex recruitment processes or call management, preferably within a higher education/research institute/academic setting.
• Demonstratable understanding of the postgraduate student and other higher academic life cycles and wider context of the higher education and academic research environment.
• Experience of providing high level advice and guidance and working co-operatively and effectively with academic and professional colleagues.
• Experience of leading review processes including analysing applicant data and of implementing process improvements.
• Experience of using Flexigrant or other Grant Management or Recruitment system.
• Commitment to EDI principles and experience of active efforts to improve organisational behaviour.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex matters clearly and negotiate outcomes.
• Able to adapt the style of communication to the audience to ensure understanding.
• Ability to manage time and resources effectively; monitoring and reviewing progress to ensure effective working of self and others to meet tight deadlines

Desirable

• Degree in related field or equivalent level of qualification or experience.
• Experience of developing and writing call documents, assessment criteria and running academic panels and interviews.
• Prior knowledge of legal requirements and contractual mechanisms within higher education including processing grant agreements, secondment agreements, admission of international students/applicants and relevant immigration law.
• Experience of designing and delivering training on recruitment or open calls best practice.

Term and Conditions

This full time post is offered on a fixed term basis for 12 months to cover an internal secondment. The annual salary for this post is £47,000 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

Application procedure

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV, covering letter and contact details for your referees. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact them on 0203 862 3357 or 0203 862 3340, or email [email protected].

Closing date for applications: Sunday 01 August 2021 at 23:59.

Interviews will take place on the 09 August 2021.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to obtaining and retaining the right to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected]