Message from the Chair of the Board of Governors

Thank you for your interest in the role of Vice-Chancellor at St Mary’s University.

St Mary’s is the UK’s largest and oldest Catholic Higher Education institution.  It is also one of the newest universities in the country having been awarded full University status in 2014.  We pride ourselves on being a modern, forward thinking institution rooted in our Catholic identity and ethos, which means our Vice-Chancellor is required to be a practising Catholic. We are a Catholic institution that values inclusivity and we attract students and staff from all faiths and none, and from a wide range of socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Over the past five years, Professor Francis Campbell has led a sustained drive to enrich the student experience, achieve far-reaching structural reform and focus colleagues’ energy on excellence in all we do.  The University’s league table position has strengthened accordingly, reaching 77^th in the Times and the Guardian.

Our Institute of Education has again been awarded outstanding by OFSTED for its Initial Teacher Education provision. The University has been awarded Silver in the new Teaching Excellence Framework and is aiming for Gold by 2025. Following the recent National Student Survey, it remains ahead of the sector in terms of student satisfaction.

St Mary’s is looking to strengthen and broaden its research impact and is in the final stages of completing its application for Research Degree Awarding Powers. We also have an expanding Enterprise function to develop alternative income streams for the University.

Our primary focus has to be and always will be on the student experience. We set up the Centre for Teaching Excellence and Student Success to support excellent teaching and learning at St Mary’s and to maximise student access and participation. We have made improvements to the University’s estate to make it more welcoming to students and significant further works are planned for the future.

We are now seeking a Vice-Chancellor to maintain the momentum, consolidate the new structure, further enhance performance and deliver the strategic initiatives necessary to achieve significant growth.  We see particular promise in developing closer partnerships with like-minded universities, especially in the Catholic sector in other parts of the world.

The new Vice-Chancellor will need to be commercially minded, financially astute and an accomplished leader. The role requires an understanding of the Higher Education system and the challenges that it faces.

We believe that it is an exciting time to become Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s. We are ambitious and committed to producing students who have the knowledge and skills to excel in their chosen professions.

We have a passion to see a Catholic university flourish in England and look forward to meeting you.

The Right Reverend Richard Moth, MA JCL KC*HS, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton

Documents For Download

     

Appointment Process and How to Apply

Following a longlist meeting of the Selection Panel, successful candidates will be invited to attend preliminary interviews with Perrett Laver. The final interview will be a two-stage process and the date and format will be confirmed in due course.

To apply, please submit a comprehensive curriculum vitae (CV) along with a covering letter setting out your interest in the role and details of how you match the required criteria (no more than three pages). Please include current salary details and the names and addresses of three referees. Referees will not be approached until the final stages and not without prior permission from candidates.

Applications can be uploaded here and should be submitted by the closing date of Friday 11th October.

Location

St Mary’s University is located in leafy Twickenham, which is just half an hour by train from the heart of London. This gives both staff and students access to the best of both worlds: a dynamic, bustling city and a tranquil, homely suburb. Many staff and students choose to work and study at St Mary’s because of its prime location.

A snapshot of the local area

A leafy, suburban neighbourhood, Twickenham is a mixture of period houses, formal gardens and parks surrounding King Street, the town’s centre. Twickenham offers many traditional pubs and restaurants, many of which have an ethnic flavour. Church Street runs adjacent to the river and is comprised of cafés, boutiques, small bookshops and a church.
The lively riverside towns of Kingston and Richmond are a short bus ride away from the University. Throughout the day, the towns attract visitors who come to enjoy the shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants, live music venues, bars and theatres.

Outdoor Spaces

Marble Hill Park in East Twickenham is a charming local park and the setting of Marble Hill House, a Venetian villa built for a mistress of George II and now a local landmark. Just a short stroll along a peaceful riverside road into secluded woodland gardens is Orleans House Gallery, a stunning 18th century house and gardens which now serves as an art gallery, hosting regular exhibitions and workshops. 
St Mary’s is close to two of London’s eight royal parks. Both Richmond Park and Bushy Park offer staff and students hundreds of acres of beautiful, secluded woodland for get-away-from-it-all walks, as well as space for cycling and running. Twickenham and the adjacent River Thames also provide lots of opportunities for outdoor activities.

Culture, history and heritage

Flood Lane and Church Lane lead down to the river where you can enjoy a drink in one of the riverside pubs or cross the bridge on to Eel Pie Island. Many musicians began their careers or played sets at the Eel Pie Island Hotel and recorded material at Pete Townsend’s Eel Pie Studios. Musicians who have played at Eel Pie Island include Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton and The Who, making the area known as the home of jazz and blues.
In 2017 St Mary’s became the proud operator of The Exchange in Twickenham – a newly built community venue that boasts a 300-seat theatre, six studio rooms, a café and a bar. St Mary’s students benefit from teaching and training at the site, with drama students staging performances in the theatre.
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, museums, galleries and other historic houses open to the public are also among unique features of the local area.

Sport

The rugby capital of the world, Twickenham Stadium is the home of the Rugby Union. Seating 82,000, it is the fifth largest stadium in Europe and hosts the Six Nations matches and the Rugby World Cup, as well as the annual varsity match between rival universities Oxford and Cambridge. The prestigious matches attract fans from around the globe who celebrate in Twickenham’s pubs and bars, creating an unrivalled atmosphere.
The stadium has a state-of-the-art fitness centre attached, as well as a world-renowned rugby museum. The stadium is also regularly used as a venue for concerts by bands such as Bon Jovi, U2, Iron Maiden and R.E.M.

To find out more visit www.stmarys.ac.uk/location