Curriculum Leader, Nuclear Skills Academy

The University of Derby in partnership with Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd operates the first of its kind, award-winning Nuclear Skills Academy, delivering exclusive apprenticeship programmes to nurture a dedicated pipeline of talent at the start of their careers.  

Renowned for our expertise in engineering in further and higher education at the University of Derby, we are setting new standards in the UK for our collaboration with industry and leading the way in global research in future fuels and sustainability. We have worked to develop the academy and implement the highest quality classroom and digital learning spaces, along with industry-standard engineering workshops. 

You can be part of shaping talent for the future of industry in the UK, by developing the skills and capabilities of our apprentices at the start of their career. We are proud of our staff and understand that the best student experience can only be delivered if the people we have working for us share our vision, our ambitions, and our dedication to delivering excellence.

Working as part of the established University of Derby/Rolls Royce Nuclear Skills Academy (NSA) based in Derby, you will be first line manager for curriculum delivery and an active member of the Curriculum Leadership Team reporting to the Nuclear Skills Academy Centre Manager.

You will be responsible for one or more subject groupings linked to either tier 2 sector subject areas or course types. The responsibility extends to the development of curriculum, the management of delivery staff, the achievement of income targets, compliance with pay and non-pay cost criteria and the achievement of statistical performance targets.

You may also be required to undertake teaching duties, depending on the needs of their teams. This may include regular timetabled delivery or ad-hoc delivery to cover sick absences or holidays.

The role is critical in working with colleagues at the Nuclear Skills Academy to ensure further strategic development and growth. You will ensure that teaching staff have high expectations, contribute to creative and engaging schemes of work, and deliver high quality teaching and learning opportunities to apprentices of our Level 3 and 4 pathways.

Curriculum Leaders operate across all Nuclear Skills Academy (NSA) delivery sites, including where provision is based in the workplace, with individuals through distance or online learning or where students are engaged through subcontractors. 

Potential interview date - 7th March 2025

This role is employed by University of Derby but works in partnership with Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd. Due to the nature of work that Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd conducts and the protection of certain assets, some roles within the Nuclear Skills Academy (NSA) require post-holders to hold a Security Check (SC) clearance.  

This role does not currently require SC clearance, and this will not be a condition of appointment to this role. However, please be aware that there may be a future requirement for the successful candidate/s to undertake a SC check should any change in circumstances render this necessary due to development of the NSA over the coming years.  

You will have professional experience in Further Education, preferably having led a curriculum area in Engineering or a related field. The role is critical in working with colleagues at the Nuclear Skills Academy to ensure further strategic development and growth. You will have experience of managing subcontractors and ensuring high standards are consistently met. You will have a keen eye for detail and stakeholder management skills will enable you to be responsive to requests from partners and work flexibly.

1. Deliver and promote the best possible teaching, learning and assessment experience for all students, aligning with the published Education and Training Foundation (ETF) teaching and learning standards where relevant.
2. Contribute to the management of the College as an active member of the Curriculum Leadership Team, promoting and modelling a culture where responsibility and accountability are open, accepted and solutions focused and where blame or retribution are not
3. Ensure the student voice is at the heart of each stage of the learner journey and leads to positive impact within each area of curriculum responsibility, including closing the loop through the active promotion of ‘you said we did’ communication.
4. Practice and facilitate open and solutions-focused communication, avoiding rigid hierarchies to ensure that those with a problem seek those with the solution, minimising upward
5. Ensure that teachers and other staff in the curriculum teams comply with prescribed or agreed systems of working, including (but not exclusively) delivery planning, attendance and progress recording systems, review and evaluation processes and electronic learning systems.
6. Encourage and facilitate the use of innovative and experimental teaching, learning and assessment practice, evaluating its effectiveness, sharing and celebrating success.
7. Support the maintenance of a culture of continuous improvement to realise the College’s ambition to be outstanding.
8. Establish and maintain a vibrant and productive learning community, where staff and students operate in a safe, supportive and diverse environment.
9. Work with relevant members of the Curriculum Leadership Team to design, update and implement an efficient, progressive and attractive curriculum offer informed by market insight and community demand that leads to successful outcomes and progression to employment or further study.
10. Where relevant, coordinate the cross-college integration of specialist curriculum activities within study programmes, ensuring consistency, high quality and a coherent student experience, including where delivery is supporting enrichment or other activity.
11. Deliver an annually agreed teaching, instruction or assessment load and/or cover for staff sick or holiday absence as required.
12. Undertake internal verification activities, ensuring that all relevant stages of delivery and assessment are compliant and that an appropriate evidence base exists to support direct claims status where possible.
13. Manage, review and evaluate the performance of all staff within the curriculum teams including target-setting and review (DPR), graded and ungraded lesson observations as part of a systematic quality assurance This will also require more informal ‘learning walk’ reviews of incidental teaching, instruction, assessment and facilitation activities.
14. Participate in internal quality assurance and self-assessment activities organised by the Assistant Principal to support continuous improvement and inspection readiness.
15. Represent the College externally linked to your curriculum subject areas as
16. Develop and maintain supportive links to key employers and commercial/industrial practitioners relevant to the curriculum area(s), in order to continually test the relevance of course content, to grow direct employment sector involvement in the delivery of the curriculum and to source opportunities for work placements for both students and delivery staff.
17. Provide leadership and management of agreed cross-college activities or initiatives, reporting to relevant senior managers.
18. To undertake any other reasonable duties within the overall function, commensurate with the grading and level of responsibility of the post.
19. To comply with the requirements of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults, Health and Safety, Quality and other University policies including Risk Management.