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Lecturer in Bioinformatics

Employer
The University of Birmingham
Location
Birmingham, West Midlands (GB)
Salary
£41,526 to £49,553,
Closing date
Jul 18, 2021

Lecturer in Bioinformatics

School Biosciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £41,526 to £49,553, with potential progression once in post to £55,750

Grade 8 

Full Time/Permanent

Closing date: 13th June 2021

Please note, this post can be offered as either Teaching Focused or Teaching and Research, dependent on your career aspirations.

Data Science including bioinformatics is central to the research and training mission of the University of Birmingham. We are looking to recruit an early career scientist with expertise in Machine Learning techniques to contribute to our expanding teaching portfolio in Bioinformatics and Data Science.  The successful candidate will become an active member of the Centre for Computational Biology (CCB) and be invited to take part in an ambitious and exciting interdisciplinary research team at the leading edge of environmental science. This post should particularly be attractive to applicants who are motivated by research that may transform environmental health protection. Yet we welcome applicants with interests in all areas of bioscience.

The MSc Bioinformatics programme run by the CCB is a joint enterprise between the School of Biosciences in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences (LES) and the College of Medical and Dental Sciences (MDS). This post has arisen because the successful MSc Bioinformatics programme currently delivered on the Edgbaston Campus is due to expand to both an in-person delivery on our Dubai Campus and a new Distance Learning (DL) format providing a fully online learning space for students all over the world. The post holder will thus play an important role in defining the content and structure of a unique programme of education for bioinformatics students globally.

The primary focus of this role during the first two years will be to develop, manage and deliver modules for these postgraduate programmes in Bioinformatics. These include programmes based at the University of Birmingham Edgbaston and Dubai campuses and the new DL programme in partnership with Wiley, which is due to be launched in Autumn 2021. Far from taking existing teaching content and porting it online, the development of the DL program provides a unique opportunity to combine your passion for teaching with Wiley’s established strategies for effective learning design, supporting you to create fresh content from the ground up that is embedded in a pedagogical framework. 

Depending on your career aspirations, the post can be offered as Teaching and Research, or Teaching Focussed. If offered as Teaching and Research, you will pursue independent research in the School of Biosciences and the Centre for Computational Biology, as appropriate, and will be encouraged to grow your own research group, thus contributing to the cutting-edge research signature of the MSc Bioinformatics. 

Role Summary

Teaching: The successful candidate will deliver excellent teaching that inspires students by building on active discipline-based research. Education management and teaching will include a substantial contribution to the development and delivery of the Distance Learning MSc Bioinformatics programme; development will be particularly important in the first two years. In addition, the post holder will contribute to the on-campus MSc Bioinformatics on the Birmingham and Dubai campuses. The post holder will teach advanced Machine Learning techniques with a focus on environmental applications of bioinformatics. As academic tutor, they will also support Distance Learning students in other modules.

Research:  If appointed to a Teaching and Research contract the successful candidate will, in later years, grow an independent research programme. This could include joining existing research in the School of Biosciences and the CCB, focusing on Data Science, including Artificial Intelligence, especially for solutions to environmental problems. The post holder will initiate, conduct and disseminate original research, developing their own research networks and building their national and international reputation in the field.

Management will include School contributions that enhance the student experience or employability.  Administration is likely to involve contributions at Centre/School level, and/or making an important contribution to some managerial/leadership (e.g. working groups) within the University.  This may include developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, schools’ outreach, or similar activities at Centre/School level or further within the University.

Main duties

Learning and Teaching
To use a variety of methods teaching and advising individuals and groups of undergraduates, postgraduates, or CPD students.  Where appropriate to the discipline this may include:
•    Teach and examine courses at a range of levels
•    Provide support to the students across the Distance Learning MSc Bioinformatics programme as Academic Tutor and module lead.
•    Plan and review own teaching approaches and act as a mentor to encourage others to do the same
•     Develop programme proposals and make substantial contributions to the design of teaching programmes more widely in the Department or School, as appropriate
•    Where appropriate, undertake and develop the full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining (including summative assessment, assessed work contributing to the final award – as a mark or as credit- such as unseen examinations, essays dissertations or presentations)
•     Use appropriate approaches to learning and teaching in their field and in digital/online spaces
•     Disseminate appropriate practices through suitable media
•     Develop and advise others on learning and teaching tasks and methods.
•     Devise & supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work 
•    Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement or similar on own specialism that enhances the student experience or employability and is of manifest benefit to the College and the University

If appointed to a Teaching focused Lecturer role, the post holder will:

•    Contribute to leading curriculum development and/or renewal; and
•    Develop and manage approaches to teaching and learning that are digital/online and innovative to the subject area or institution; and
•    Advise others on aspects of learning, teaching and assessment; and
•    Deliver (where appropriate to the discipline) specific professional programmes; and
•    Advance the practice of teaching in their modules and within the school, and play an important role in student academic support; and
•    Inform their teaching practice by discipline-based research; and
•    Frequently update their own subject expertise, and undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes; and
•    Typically carry a higher teaching load than those staff who carry out both teaching and research; and
•    Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer and enterprise (including business engagement, public engagement) and similar activity that is of manifest benefit to the College and the University.

In addition, they may play an important role in the recruitment and admission of students; and co-supervise, with a research focused or research and teaching focused member of staff, doctoral students to completion.

If appointed to a Teaching and Research role the post holder will:

Plan and carry out research, using appropriate methodology and techniques.  This may include, where appropriate to the discipline:
•    Pursue personal research including developing research ideas and winning support, including financial support.
•    Plan, publish and/or execute high quality research
•    Manage research activities, and/or supervise other research staff; and
•    Present findings in high quality publications and conference proceedings; and
•    Develop novel methodologies and data science techniques appropriate to the analysis of multi-omics data; 
•    Supervise and examine PhD students, both within the institution and externally
•    Provide expert advice to staff and students within the discipline
•    Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
•    Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, and enterprise (including business engagement, public engagement) and similar activity that is of manifest benefit to the College and the University.

Management/ Administration
To contribute to Departmental /School administration or have a high level of responsibility for others. This may include:

•    Contribute to the administration/management of teaching across the Centre/Department/School 
•    Lead and manage a team to devise and implement a new and/or revised process (e.g. new distance learning teaching methods, new programme or a recruitment drive)
•    Advise on personal development of colleagues and students
•    Make a major contribution to some administrative activities within the University (e.g. appeals panels, working groups).
•    Manage enterprise, business development, and public engagement activities that are of manifest benefit to the College and University.
•    Develop and make substantial contributions e to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, Schools’ outreach.
•    Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.

Person Specification

•    Normally, a higher Degree relevant to the discipline area (usually PhD) or equivalent qualifications.
•    Expertise in Environmental Bioinformatics and advanced machine learning techniques.
•    Extensive research/teaching experience and scholarship within subject specialism.
•    Proven ability to devise, advise on and manage learning.
•     Skills in managing, motivating & mentoring others successfully at all levels.

Teaching
•    Ability to design, deliver, assess and revise teaching programmes. 
•    Experience relevant to the design and delivery of digital/online and/or distance Learning.
•    Extensive experience and demonstrated success in developing appropriate approaches to learning and teaching and advising colleagues. 
•    Experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity that enhances the student experience or employability

Research
•    Postdoctoral research experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation, primarily though high-quality publications
•    Extensive experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking and project managing research to deliver high quality results
•    Extensive experience of applying and/or developing and devising successful biocomputational models, techniques and methods
•    Experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity

Management Administration
•    Ability to contribute to Centre/School/management processes
•    Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
•    Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes.
•    Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area. 
•    Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied. 
•    Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action
 

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community’

Valuing excellence; sustaining investment

 

Primary Location

 GB-GB-Birmingham

Job

 Academic Non-clinical

Organization

 Biosciences

Schedule

 Temporary

 Full-time

Job Posting

 30.04.2021, 1:18:17 PM

Grade (for job description) Grade 8

Salary (Pay Basis)

 41,526.00

Maximum Salary

 55,750.00

Advert Close Date

 13.06.2021, 11:59:00 PM

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