The Royal College of Art is the UK’s only entirely postgraduate institution of art and design, dedicated to teaching, research and knowledge exchange with industry. The RCA has been ranked the number one university-level institution for art and design, internationally, for the eighth consecutive year according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2022.
RCA is seeking an experienced Head of Technical Services to provide strategic, operational, people and financial management of all the technical support, services and facilities that enable students to produce work in physical or virtual forms as part of their postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art. The Head of TS will support research centres and schools in enabling staff to produce high quality research; and for the College to undertake a range of knowledge exchange, executive education and short course activity where these involve technical services.
Key duties & responsibilities include:
- To lead, manage and develop Technical Services across the College, including overall responsibility for all technical facilities and staff, aligned to the College’s Strategic Plan and Operating Plan.
- To line manage Technical Managers, to ensure services are delivered efficiently and effectively and that they meet the needs of all users (between 4 and 6 direct reports, between 100 and 120 indirect).
- To deploy and manage the technical services budget (c.£5m) allocated for ongoing maintenance and strategic investment across all the technical facilities of the College.
- To lead the development of a Technical Support model to meet the needs of the RCA research activities and outputs across a variety of technical areas, while identifying and delivering efficiencies in terms of technical staffing and management.
- To liaise closely and regularly with the Heads of ILTS, Deans of School and Heads of Programme, and Technical Managers to ensure that ongoing technical provision is meeting the needs of staff and students; and to devise appropriate plans for investment in the maintenance and strategic development of technical support and services. To attend School Academic Management Team Meetings for the purpose of such consultation.
- To manage and coordinate delivery of public outputs/shows with the College Show Committee, Digital, IT, Library, Estates & Campus Operations, Communications and Marketing, and any other relevant departments. Line manage the Project Manager, Show.
The ideal candidate has:
- Proven ability to manage a complex range of technical facilities and services ideally within a Higher Education setting.
- Proven ability to manage a complex budget and deploy substantial funds to achieve maintenance and development across a wide range of technical facilities.
- Excellent people-management skills; the ability to gain the confidence of administrative, academic and technical colleagues at all levels of an organisation and to be persuasive and assertive where necessary.
- Proven ability in procurement relevant to the cost-effective maintenance and development of a range of technical facilities and services.
- Excellent planning, organisational and communication skills, with experience of organising and delivering technical induction and training opportunities.
Interview date is scheduled for 14 September 2022. For more information please see the Info Pack.
Further details: Information Pack Email details to a friend
The Royal College of Art is an equal opportunities employer. The College particularly welcomes applications from all sections of the community and would particularly encourage members of minority groups to apply.