dear seeba advisory board--here it is (eventually)--any help well received
in directing it to the right people, very well received--martin
South of England Environmental Business Association (SEEBA)
Regional Development Officer
1. Statement of Purpose
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) is seeking to appoint a Regional
Development Officer. The Centre is based within the Faculty of Design at
The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College’s Farnham campus.
The post is for a fixed term period of 3 years.
2. Background CfSD & SEEBA
The Centre for Sustainable Design is internationally recognised and
collaborates with a wide range of academic and other bodies in Europe and
beyond. It undertakes research often on behalf of Government departments
and the EU. It originated and now edits an international quarterly
journal, The Journal for Sustainable Product Design, published by Kluwer
Academic Publishers in Holland. It has held 5 annual international
conferences the last two in Stuttgart and Brussels and will hold its sixth
conference later this year in Amsterdam. The Centre is a research member
of the DTI’s SIGMA project and has been a sponsor of the Design Museum’s
Design Sense competitions. The Centre for Sustainable Design is led by
Professor Martin Charter, with two-full time researchers and a number of
associate researchers who work on a project basis.
The advertised post builds upon the successful development of SHEBA, the
Surrey & Hampshire Environmental Business Association, which has operated
out of the Faculty of Design for the last ten years. With the advent of
the Regional Development Association for the South East (SEEDA) and the
Centre’s increasingly European interests, the Centre has reformed SHEBA as
SEEBA (the South of England Environmental Business Association) operating
on the same regional borders as the RDA. The recent launch of SEEBA widens
its geographical scope, particularly in Kent and the South-East, whilst at
the same time focussing its concerns into areas where the CfSD has
strengths, in Eco-Design, Recycling initiatives, End-of-life strategies
and Producer Responsibility.
The Centre seeks an appropriate person to develop its SEEBA’s regional
role as a trainer for regional industries. The post builds directly upon
CfSD’s highly successful EU-funded project, ETMUEL, which has piloted the
delivery of training and has worked closely with regional companies to
provide case studies of changes in product thinking and delivery. The
successful candidate will work under the direction of Professor Charter to
devise, organise and assist in the delivery of bespoke training packages
for both corporate and SME sectors.
Research undertaken by CfSD indicates a need for education and training if
the region is to remain competitive with countries on mainland Europe.
This is echoed within SEEDA who themselves have a Sustainable Development
panel. The aim of SEEBA is to help companies prepare for and respond
positively to the increasing demands of European legislation in the
environmental field as of new product innovators. This is particularly
significant for SMEs in the region.
SEEBA aims to work with companies across its region to:
- improve their awareness and understanding of sustainable design
issues
- allow them to anticipate the effects of EU environmental directives
on
their businesses
- develop their capability in the design of sustainable products
- use their understanding to maintain and enhance their
competitiveness
For more information please visit:
www.cfsd.org.uk
www.cfsd.org.uk/seeba
www.cfsd.org.uk/etmuel
Wider Background The Surrey Institute and the Faculty of Design
With more than 3,000 full-time students, the Surrey Institute of Art &
Design University College is one of the largest specialist art and design
higher education institutes in Europe. As a University College it is
authorised by the Privy Council to awards its own first and postgraduate
degrees. Indeed students can study specialist subjects at all levels from
Foundation Studies to PhD. The Institute is an international community
counting amongst is population students from 56 different countries.
Through the Faculty’s initiatives, the Institute is a leader in the field
of sustainable design and is currently one of twenty Universities
throughout the UK involved in the Higher Education Partnership, a
collaborative project between a group of UK Universities committed to
developing aspects of sustainability Higher Education, the Higher
Education Funding Councils for England and Scotland, and Forum for the
Future.
The Faculty of Design currently operates three research centres:
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD)
The Crafts Study Centre
The Anglo-Japanese Textile Research Centre
The Centre for Sustainable Design is the longest-established of these, now
in its seventh year of operation.
The Crafts Study Centre was acquired by the Institute in 2000 and will
open in a new-custom built £2m centre in 2002 on the Farnham campus
The Anglo-Japanese Textile Research Centre will be created from September
2001 under a research fellowship from the Arts & Humanities Research Board
and the Daiwa Foundation. This will promote developments in the field of
textiles between the Institute and similar universities in Japan.
The Faculty of Design, one of the Institute’s three Faculties, is located
on the Institute’s main campus at Farnham. It has approximately 1200
full-time students and operates a large Foundation course plus BA Honours
Degrees in the following subjects:
BA (Hons) Design Management
BA (Hons) Graphic Design (Visual Communication)
BA (Hons) Three-Dimensional Design (Ceramics:Glass:Metals)
BA (Hons) Textile Design
BA (Hons) Interior Design
BA (Hons) Packaging Design
BA (Hons) Product Design Sustainable Futures
This last degree course started in 2000 as a direct result of the research
undertaken b y CfSD. The majority of these subjects are also offered up
to MA level including a Master’s in Sustainable Design.
The Faculty also maintains wide links with industry, particularly with the
Creative Industries in London and the region, and through CfSD’s networks,
with a wide sector of manufacturing industry
The Faculty also maintains a business development unit for the development
of collaborative activities in other fields. A business liaison officer
and researcher form part of this unit.
For more information on the work of the Institute visit:
www.surrart.ac.uk
3. Mission Statement
The Institute describes its mission as follows:
The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College is
committed to
the provision of a broad range of teaching, training and applied research
programmes in art, design, media and communications.
Its aim is to create for its students a distinctive institutional
style
and ethos by maintaining an educational environment where quality higher
education is at the heart of institutional endeavour.
Its learning environment is characterised by the promotion of
enterprise
and working links with industry, commerce and the professions. Vocational
outcomes and the employability of students are emphasised, as is a
creative, enquiring and analytical approach that encourages individual
judgement and critical self-awareness. These qualities, founded upon a
tradition of respect for scholarship, combine to define its central
objective of achieving the highest standards."
Principles
The mission statement develops a number of principles for the Institute
To be a specialist organisation dedicated to the provision and development
of high quality art, design, media and communications higher education.
To be a national and international centre of excellence and to exercise a
regional dominance in its specialities.
To measure quality of education in terms of all of the elements which
comprise the total student experience.
To identify good teaching and learning support as the defining
characteristic of the organisation.
To emphasise the vocational outcomes of all educational programmes.
To recognise a corporate duty to the student as customer, and the taxpayer
as funder, to ensure the employability of graduates.
To be sensitive to the view that flexibility of access and investment in
capability for life long learning should be guiding principles for the
Institute.
To uphold and espouse the academic principles of its peer institutions of
scholarship, critical enquiry and individual judgement.
To sustain solvency (and by implication be less dependent on public funds)
and to provide value for money by seeking at all times the best academic
return on investment in pursuit of its mission.
Strategic Aims
In order to secure its mission the Institute aims to
Pursue and establish an operational platform of approximately 4000 full
and part-time students.
Offer choice and flexibility of study mode for students within a
comprehensive modular framework.
Make provision for all forms of post compulsory education within the
chosen subject range.
Undertake research which informs the Institute’s teaching emphasis and
reflects its subject strengths.
Develop further collaborative links with industry.
Establish collaborative links with other institutions especially
progression environment.
Sustain a responsive, appropriately aligned, and fully utilised resource
environment.
Develop a full understanding of the nature of the educational market place
and the application of appropriate marketing strategies.
Extend existing degree awarding powers to embrace research.
Ensure student and staff selection policies and strategies accord with the
mission, and that the student and staff community understands and supports
the mission.
Develop an information environment which supports appropriate access to
information, speed and accuracy of communication, and facilities
independent enquiry and learning.
Establish processes and procedures which are easily understood, reliable,
audit sensitive, and that reflect individual and corporate appreciation of
responsibilities and accountabilities.
Establish educational, behavioural and environmental standards which
accord with those at the best of its peer institutions.
4. Main Purpose and Duties of the Post
Job Title SEEBA Regional Development Officer
Vacancy ref. Des Pro 1-29
number
Location Based at Farnham, Surrey
Hours of work As reasonably required
Salary £24,000
Grade spot salary
Reports to Dean of Faculty
Fixed Term This appointment is made on 3 year fixed
term
Job Description & Indicative Duties
The post is based at the Faculty of Design, the Surrey Institute of Art &
Design University College Farnham. Reporting finally to the Dean of
Faculty the postholder will work under the CfSD to devise, and where
appropriate deliver, training programmes, seminars, workshops and
conferences on relevant environmental topics. These will be delivered at
the Institute, at other educational and non-educational venues and
importantly, in the workplace. In the longer term use of the internet,
e-mail and other electronic technologies may be possible as part of a
wider delivery strategy.
The postholder will be responsible for generating, directly or indirectly,
professional materials to support these deliveries. He/she will be
supported by appropriate expertise budgeted into delivery costs.
The postholder will support the research objectives of the CfSD and will
liaise with industry and appropriate regional bodies such as the Regional
Development Association (SEEDA), the office of the Government South East
(GOSE), the Learning & Skills Council and employer organisations, to
ensure the relevance of training to all stakeholders.
He/she will be expected to generate significant income through funded
projects, training, research and consultancy, with the ultimate objective
of making the post self-financing. The postholder will be expected to
devise and submitting appropriate funding bids to UK-based organisations
and to the EU, subject to the agreement of the Dean.
As a membership organisation, an important part of SEEBA revenues is from
membership fees. The postholder will be expected to increase company
involvement in SEEBA’s activities and thereby increase membership income.
By networking with industry and with educational institutions, the post
holder will be expected to develop and grow SEEBA as a regional resource.
This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious individual to develop a
regional organisation already firmly established in its field. The post
will require a significant amount of travel around the region for which
expenses will be paid but a driving licence is essential.
5. Person Specification
Education
A First Degree in an appropriate discipline
Other qualifications:
An understanding of the role of design in product development
An understanding of the issues of sustainable development (preferred)
A sympathy with the aims and objectives of sustainable development
IT literate (word-processing, spreadsheets, presentation programmes eg
Powerpoint as a minimum)
Experience
Ability to present to a range of clients from small businesses to company
board level, organisations, academics, etc..
Ability to be convincing and to build and maintain sound relationships
with clients and colleagues
Ability to master information quickly
An ability to commission design and printed materials for training
purposes is an advantage
An interest in distance learning and the ability to develop appropriate
learning materials is an advantage
Personal Qualities
Articulate with a confident personal manner and good presentation skills
Ability to work independently, as part of a team, and to lead initiatives
as required.
Self-motivated/ self-starter
Well-organised with good administrative skills
Must hold a clean driving licence and have access to a vehicle.
Summary of Terms & Conditions of Employment
(i) Place of The post will be based at the
Farnham campus of the
Employment Surrey Institute.
(ii) Hours of Work Normal working hours are on an as and when
required
basis
(iii) Salary The post will be paid at a spot
salary of £24,000 per
annum
(iv) Period of Two month's notice is required on
either side.
Notice
(v) Fixed The appointment will be made for a 3 year
fixed term
Term
(vi) Pension The postholder will be entitled to join the
Local Government
Scheme Superannuation Scheme, administered by
Surrey County Council.
Employee contributions are 6% of their salary.
(vii) Leave 25 days per annum in addition to statutory
public holiday.
Entitlement Two extra-statutory public holidays per
year have been
agreed, to be taken over the Christmas/New
Year period,
at dates set annually by the Institute. A
further additional day
during the Christmas period is also usually
granted by the
Institute.
7. Statement of Equal Opportunity in Employment
1. The provision of equal opportunity in employment is an objective
for
the Institute and it is the intention that the Institute, as a responsible
employer, will conduct its affairs in a manner which will not cause
disadvantage to any employee or job applicant on the following grounds:-
age
colour
disability
ethnic or national origins
gender
marital status
membership or non-membership of a trade union
nationality (including citizenship)
race
religion
sexual orientation
2. In meeting its legal obligations under the Race Relations Act 1976,
the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995,
the Institute will ensure, in so far as is reasonably practicable, that
with reference to the above grounds:
2.1 no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment
than
another;
2.2 no job applicant or employee is placed at a disadvantage
unjustifiably
by requirements or conditions which have a disproportionately adverse
effect on a particular group.
3. In respect of disabled persons, the Institute will not treat a
disabled
person less favourably than any other employee or applicant for reasons
relating to his/her disability, and will make every reasonable adjustment
to ensure employees and applicants are given equality of opportunity.
4. To these ends, management will ensure in particular that:
4.1 advertising and recruitment are not confined unjustifiably
to
publications, agencies, job centres etc. which, because of their
particular source of applicants, provide only mainly applicants of a
particular group;
4.2 transfer, promotion and training opportunities and the
application
procedure are made known to all eligible employees, and not in such a way
as to exclude, or disproportionately reduce, the numbers of applicants
from a particular group;
4.3 selection criteria for appointment, transfer, promotion and
training
are strictly related to the job or training requirements and consistently
applied to all applicants;
4.4 terms of employment, benefits, facilities and services are
afforded
equally to all employees in the same or similar circumstances;
4.5 grievances concerning discrimination, victimisation and
harassment
are dealt with in accordance with the Institute's normal Grievance
Procedures and will not subsequently result in the complainant receiving
less favourable treatment than other employees, in the same or similar
circumstances;
4.6 criteria for dismissal will be solely those consistent with
the
provisions of the Institute's Disciplinary Procedure.
5. Individual employees at all levels have responsibilities too for
ensuring the provision of equal opportunity to all fellow employees and
job applicants. In particular they personally must not:
5.1 discriminate in the course of their employment against
fellow
employees or job applicants, or harass them;
5.2 induce, or attempt to induce, other employees to practise
unlawful
discrimination;
5.3 victimise individuals who have made allegations or
complaints of
discrimination, or provided information about such discrimination.
6. Management and supervisors at all levels are expected to set an
example
in non-discriminatory behaviour and to ensure, as far as reasonably
practicable, that subordinates act in accordance with this policy.
7. This policy statement will be brought to the attention of all
employees.
N.B. Exceptionally a person's sex may be a genuine occupational
qualification for a job in accordance with Section 7 of the Sex
Discrimination Act 1975.
8. Positive About Disabled People
In order to encourage a higher number of applicants with disabilities, the
Institute will offer an interview to all such applicants who meet the
essential criteria within the person specification.
9. How to Apply
Application Forms. The application form must be completed in all
circumstances. Application forms which are only partially completed may
not be considered. Curriculum vitae should only be enclosed to expand
upon points within the form. Please quote the job reference and your name
on any attachments.
Job Ref: Des Pro 1-29
(ii) Completed Applications should be returned to:
Personnel Department
The Surrey Institute of Art & Design
Falkner Road
FARNHAM
Surrey
GU9 7DS
Closing date for receipt of completed applications is Friday 11 May 2001.
(iii) Acknowledgement. Applications are not usually
acknowledged, due to
the high cost of postage. If you would like confirmation that your
application has been received, please enclose a stamp-addressed postcard,
which will be returned to you on receipt. If you have not heard from us
within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume you have
not been
successful on this occasion.
(iv) Interview expenses are normally met, and will cover travel
either at the Institute mileage rate or second class rail travel. Other
expenses, such as hotel stay, should be discussed with the Personnel
department prior to interview. Relocation is not available for this post.
The Institute has a free car park (parking spaces are not, however,
guaranteed).
(v) The successful applicant will receive the formal offer of
the
post in writing following the receipt of satisfactory references and
medical clearance.
Thank you for your interest in The Surrey Institute of Art & Design,
University College.
We look forward to receiving your application in due course.
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