Ashcroft International Business School Job Description Job Title: Grade: Work Base: Hours of Work: Responsible to: Responsible for: Relationships and Contacts: Director of Strategic Planning and Finance SMG Cambridge or Chelmsford Full Time Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean Faculty Business Resource Manager Colleagues in AIBS and other University departments Commercial and public service organisations Not-for-profit and voluntary organisations Business support and funding agencies Job Purpose: To provide leadership in the area of strategic planning, annual budgeting and financial management within Ashcroft International Business School. Drive forward the School s budget planning and control to deliver high performance outcomes against annual budget and financial targets. Principal Accountabilities: 1. Lead and co-ordinate the preparation of our annual strategic plan and budget, managing the integration of plans with our University s integrated strategic planning model. 2. Lead the process of setting and agreeing the annual budget with all the School s budget holders, including the setting of financial, income and student number targets across the School s activities. 3. Ensure effective management and financial control through regular budget monitoring and review, including establishing a quarterly budget review process with all major budget holders. 4. Responsible for design and implementation of all systems for providing the Dean and senior management team with regular high quality budget and management performance information, particularly in relation to student applications, student recruitment, third stream income and international student numbers. 1
5. Lead regular financial performance reviews of key areas of the School s activities, including modules, pathways and programme areas; departments and School centres; external contracts and research projects; partnership agreements. 6. Design and operate a course costing model for all our activities. 7. Design and implement an efficient and robust business case and risk assessment methodology for evaluating all our major academic and business projects, including undertaking due diligence of all new partnership ventures in the UK and overseas. 8. Lead and oversee our approach to the management and monitoring of risk. 9. Work with colleagues in corporate support areas (e.g. Finance and University Registry) to ensure our budget and financial management systems are effectively integrated with major corporate systems. 10. Oversee the Faculty s estate and accommodation strategy and its operation. 11. Lead the planning and negotiation of all financial and resource aspects of the School s external income generating activities and partnership arrangements; signing off the funding and resource aspects of all external bids and tenders for contract and project work. 12. Participate in external business development work; contribute to preparing bid documents and give presentations on all business aspects of the work of the School for both internal and external audiences. 13. Lead and manage ad hoc business projects as agreed with the Dean. 14. Contribute as a senior member of the management team to the School s profile and reputation building. 15. Contribute to School and University working groups and committees as required. 16. Contribute to external networking and the building of links with companies and professional bodies. 17. Such other duties temporarily or on a continuing basis, as may reasonably be required, commensurate with your grade. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: The post holder will be required to travel in the UK and overseas and work on all University campuses. It will be necessary to work outside normal hours including evenings and weekends. This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted. It is normal practice to review periodically job descriptions to ensure that they are relevant to the job currently being performed, and to incorporate any changes which have occurred or are being proposed. The review process is carried out jointly by manager and employee and you are therefore expected to participate fully in such discussions. In all cases, it is our aim to reach agreement to reasonable changes, but where it is not possible to reach agreement we reserve the right to make reasonable changes to your job description which are commensurate with your grade after consultation with you. January 2008 2
Ashcroft International Business School Director of Strategic Planning and Finance Person Specification ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE EDUCATION/ QUALIFICATIONS A minimum of: Relevant higher degree Professional accounting qualification e.g. CIMA, ACCA, CIPFA MBA or relevant Masters EXPERIENCE Substantial professional and management experience in financial and business planning, financial modelling and systems, budgetary control Practical knowledge and experience of data and information management and the application of relevant IT systems Leading change and innovation in business performance management Project management experience International experience in an academic or commercial environment Knowledge and relevant experience of the UK HE sector KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS Excellent professional and technical skills in budgeting, financial control and business planning Outstanding teamwork and project management skills Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills First class data and information management skills with a proven application in developing systems to provide accurate, timely and relevant information to senior management Highly developed analytical skills Ability to deal with all levels of staff in both an academic and business context and to inspire confidence in the future 3
direction of the School A high level of motivation and ability to motivate others to deliver in a continuous improvement culture PERSONAL QUALITIES/ DISPOSITION A clear strategic thinker A passion for innovation that can be translated into imagination and vision about the role Strong buy-in to our vision and model of practice based business education Commercially astute A strong commitment to helping and developing staff so they can successfully contribute to the School s strategy OTHER Committed to equality and diversity Willing to work flexibly to support the School s diverse operations and markets Willing to undertake travel between campuses, partner institutions and to business organisations in the UK and overseas 4
Ashcroft International Business School Director of Strategic Planning and Finance Conditions of Service The terms and conditions of employment are the responsibility of the Board of Governors. These details are for broad information only and must not be taken as a complete or authoritative statement. In no way do they constitute a contract of employment. (a) Salary SMG - competitive per annum paid monthly in arrears by credit transfer. Commencing salary will be determined according to qualifications and experience. (b) Hours of work This is a full-time post, the nature of which is such that you will be expected to work such hours as are necessary to fulfil your duties in the professional manner expected from you. (c) Holiday The holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August. In addition to the Statutory, Bank and Public Holidays normally applicable in England, you are also entitled to 35 working days paid holiday in each complete holiday year. In order that we may close between Christmas and the New Year, 3 days of holiday entitlement will be taken at that time of year. The balance will be taken by agreement with your reporting superior having regard to our operating needs. (d) Medical The appointment will be subject to medical clearance. (e) Pension The jobholder will be eligible to join the Teachers Pension Scheme. (f) Normal Retirement Age We operate a retirement age of 65. (g) Probationary Period The first 12 months of the appointment will be a probationary period, during which your suitability for the position to which you have been appointed will be assessed. We reserve the right to extend your probationary period if, in its opinion, circumstances so 5
require. During your probationary period, your employment may be terminated by Anglia Ruskin University on giving one month s written notice. (h) Date of Appointment The position is available immediately once all conditions have been met. (i) Closing date The closing date for this job is 07 March 2008 (12 noon). 6
Ashcroft International Business School Director of Strategic Planning and Finance Overview and Background Ashcroft International Business School (AIBS) is a medium sized full service business school with around 2500 students studying on a diverse portfolio of undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and corporate education programmes at two campus sites in Cambridge and Chelmsford. In addition, there are over 2000 students studying overseas with partner institutions in Trinidad, Hungary and Malaysia. The School s gross income is forecast to be some 10.5 in 2007/08. There are close to 90 staff within the School of which 20 are support staff. The full service model, a common feature of many UK business schools, reflects the historical importance of core undergraduate provision combined with a strong part-time professional course portfolio. Growth and diversification into postgraduate programmes has occurred over the last 20 years, as has a growing reliance on the recruitment of international students and overseas franchise operations. The School has some 250 international students (non-eu) studying on programmes in Chelmsford and Cambridge. The School s 70 academic faculty are organised into two multi-disciplinary departments that cover broad areas of subject expertise in International Business and Strategy, Accounting and Information Systems, Human Resource Management and Marketing. There is a Head of Department for each grouping of academic staff in Chelmsford and Cambridge. The Head of Department role focuses upon managing staff and subject development, supported by a Director of Research. The Dean is supported by a Deputy Dean who has key responsibilities for Programme Development, Quality Management and Student Experience. There are also Programme Leaders who are responsible for the strategic development and operational management of the School s programmes. The School also has a Director of Strategic Planning and Finance who is responsible for all planning and resource matters. A Business and Client Services Manager leads the administrative support function within the School. The strengthening of the School s research profile is an important priority. The integrating theme of academic excellence for the School is focused around international management practice. The emphasis is upon applied research that has relevance and value to the work of organisations and the practice of management. There are specialist but small research groupings of staff in international business, corporate governance, communication and ethics, and fire services research. Currently the School generates around 600K per annum from third stream income activity (excluding international and overseas activities) and this is a target area of growth over the next few years. The School is currently building up its capability to work with the corporate sector. 7
A key challenge facing a business school like AIBS is to identify competitive space and market opportunities within what many consider to be a crowded business school market place in the UK. Many business and educational models for business schools blur and overlap leaving the impression of limited scope for a differentiated offering. We aim to be different. AIBS Shaping and Creating our Future The School s vision is to build its reputation as a leading practice based, international business school. This vision reflects an assessment of existing strengths, strategic space opportunities in the business school market and an opportunity to create a business school that is different. The School s course portfolio, research activities, teaching and learning practices and its staff profile will change as we give shape and meaning to how we are going to achieve our vision. The School s current strategic plan is focused around four inter-connected themes for developing value and driving forward implementation success: - Getting AIBS known building up our brand and reputation for the distinctiveness of our innovative approach to practice based education and research - Growing our business increasing our student and customer base through growth - with a priority focus upon international development and third stream income - Building our capability and expertise - through developing our staff capability and competence to offer courses and undertake research that is distinctive in its approach to practice based education - Product innovation and development - ensuring we deliver a high quality AIBS experience through innovative programmes and applied research projects The School recognises that significant growth and development will take place through international development and partnership working with other educational providers and corporates. An increasing proportion of the School s work will take place off our main campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford. AIBS is committed to developing people through its teaching and research; developing people to give them a competitive advantage in the global business world. Our mission is: to develop people who will be confident and inspired in their thinking and management practice, and who have high career potential to make a difference and deliver value to organisations and society in a global business world. The School s mission and strategy is focused upon providing value and benefits to students and client organisations. Fundamentally, our courses and research activities are geared towards developing insight and sense making into the problems and issues that challenge the modern manager in the global business world. Many of the School s students will be prepared for the world of practice through courses that will include placements and internships, business simulations and action learning projects, career management skills, and the development of practical business skills. A key aspect of the School s approach to practice based education is the design of its courses and research through engagement and partnership with business and industry. 8
The language of strategy in business schools reveals many common stories and themes. In line with our vision, AIBS is committed to making things happen so that we can genuinely offer something different to the market place. The School s confidence and success in being able to deliver its mission is driven by two important and related factors: - knowing our markets and understanding the needs of our students and client groups: we understand the higher education market place is changing and students and client organisations have increased expectations of what business schools should be doing and the quality of the experience they expect when engaging with a business school. The School s challenge is to align its academic development priorities with the changing needs of student and client groups. This will involve both shaping and responding. Robust market intelligence that informs and shapes the School s academic development is seen as a critical success factor. - our commitment to the increasingly customer focused model that is emerging in higher education: our response will be to invest resources, develop our attitudes and behaviours so that they support a continuous improvement model in the quality of the student learning experience. Students and client groups are far from being, if they ever were, passive recipients of their education. Those business schools and universities that fail to respond to these changing expectations will lose students and business. This factor, above all else, brings into sharp focus the importance of a joined up model of the student experience both within the Business School but also with key support service teams across our University. Joined up team work that is committed to delivering an outstanding learning experience is what students and the business community expect as standard. The success of any strategy is judged by action and what is implemented. We will focus our implementation effort around the four strategic drivers (platforms) described above - Getting AIBS known; Growing our business; Building capability and expertise; Product innovation and development. Each of these strategic platforms provide the focus for targeted strategic objectives and priorities and associated action/implementation plans. These themes are not in themselves new, they represent the basis on which the majority of business schools define and express what they are about. It is about courses, research, faculty, students and their experience, partnerships, buildings, accreditations that, all taken together, define how a business school is viewed by the market. So what is going to be different for AIBS as we implement our strategy? First, we are going to be different in our approach to responding to the criticism of business schools in the UK failing to deliver the educational agenda of business and government and in not meeting the professional and career needs of students. In sum, too few business schools have a joined up and integrated approach to engagement with business and employers. This presents AIBS with a strategic opportunity to do something new and different. A second aspect of what is to be different and new about our strategy is to address a weakness in the School in its planning and commitment of resources to implementing strategy. This is a common problem in a sector that is challenged by limited resources. The effective use of resources and the channelling of staff commitment and energy on activities that support the School s strategic objectives is an essential part of making our strategy happen. 9
This will involve a change of practice in planning staff activity and provides all staff with an opportunity to contribute to shaping the School s future development. Crucially, AIBS s strategy is based on growing its student and client base. Over the planning period (2007-11) the School is targeting to grow its income by some 50% towards 15m and the key areas of contribution are international development (2/3) and the growth of third stream income (1/3). By 2010/11 the School s target is to have diversified its income sources away from HEFCE income with some 50% of income coming from non-hefce sources. These changes in both scale of operation and the profile of work will bring increased scope to innovate and invest in our future. The ability to support innovation and future development through a sustainable business model is a critical element of the School s strategy. The School s strategy of developing its profile of work in line with its vision and changing the scale of its operations will require investment in staff and also changes to how we are organised to support a more market responsive and client focused model of operation. In sum, we will need to invest in staff to build up our capabilities for delivering a distinctive and innovative approach to a practice based model of business and management education. Prof Martin Reynolds Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean Ashcroft International Business School Anglia Ruskin University February 2008 10