Associate Professor in Clinical Exercise Physiology (Research and Education) - College of Life and Environmental Sciences - 103638 - Grade 9

Position Details

College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £56,021 to £64,914 with potential progression once in post to £84,644

Grade: 9

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 17th April 2024 

Background

The School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences is a world-leading School that performs innovative and translational research in all aspects of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation. Ranked 6th in the World in the latest QS Subject rankings and in the top 5 in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework our research allows us to address societal challenges from multidisciplinary perspectives and enriches our degree programmes.

We are seeking to appoint a full-time Associate Professor in Clinical Exercise Physiology who will substantially contribute to research, education, and administration. The role holder will be expected to show excellent academic citizenship, likely to be demonstrated through generous, mutually respectful, and supportive working relationships with all staff and students.

We would welcome applications from individuals who can evidence involvement in applied health research on physical activity/exercise in a clinical setting. We welcome applicants who can clearly articulate how their research and scholarly activity informs and shapes their teaching. In addition, we are keen to attract and support people working at the top of their field and able to demonstrate high quality research outputs and impacts.

This position is linked to our new Centre for Movement and Wellbeing (MoveWell), with the role holder expected to make substantial contributions to our new MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology starting in September 2025. We would welcome applications from individuals who can evidence expertise in the development and maintenance of physical health and wellbeing through physical activity and exercise training across the lifespan, particularly to those with clinical conditions. We invite individuals who can demonstrate a strong theoretical knowledge base and practical experience working with clinical cohorts, both performing appropriate clinical evaluations and prescribing interventions. Experience in health care assessment, particularly cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CEPT), and experience working with at least one of the following broad conditions would be desirable; cancer, cardiovascular, frailty, renal, mental health, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory. 

You will be joining a thriving community of physiologists, physiotherapists, health psychologists, and sports scientists with access to excellent research and teaching facilities. We work closely with clinical centres of excellence and are excited to extend our research and impact for the communities we serve via MoveWell our new state-of-the art Exercise and Rehabilitation Facility due to open in March 2024.

Role Summary

You will have a clear research vision, a strong and growing international reputation, and a track record of internationally excellent research in an area aligned with lifestyle and health. This includes but is not limited to physical activity, exercise, and behaviour change in the context of interventions for disease prevention, management, or rehabilitation. Your research will have clear translational or applied elements that generate impactful outcomes in the relevant context (e.g., health/quality of life improvement, clinical, policy or economic impact). Through collaboration across disciplinary areas within the School, University and beyond, you will deliver impactful outcomes within the field of health, public health and lifestyle and generate considerable research income through external and/or commercial funding. 

In education, you will be an inspiring educator, able to communicate your work to researchers, students, and the public. You will contribute to programme delivery, leadership, and enhancement in exercise and health sciences, ensuring an excellent educational experience for your students.

In management and administration, you will lead, support others, and manage areas of activity in the School with the potential for University wide involvement – working collaboratively this might be through sustained high value research, knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, and public engagement or similar activities. 

We encourage applications that evidence research and teaching experience in clinical exercise physiology, specialising in the prescription and delivery of evidence-based exercise interventions to optimise prevention, treatment, and long-term management of acute, chronic and complex conditions. This might include but is not limited to any aspect of: developing, implementing, and evaluating physical activity/exercise interventions, and promoting healthy lifestyles within different populations (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular, frailty, renal, mental health, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory), and a range of settings (e.g., community, online/digital, workplace, healthcare, multidisciplinary clinics and leisure services). 

In our diverse community where we believe in integration and support for everyone with different abilities, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, faith, and gender, you will actively respect and uphold these values.

The School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, having been awarded Athena SWAN Silver status, is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity, and therefore welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds to join our global community.

The University of Birmingham holds Advance HE Race Equality Charter and Athena Swan Charter bronze awards and is a Stonewall Global Diversity Champion. Further information about working at the University of Birmingham, including information about employee benefits and childcare provision is at

Main Duties

Research

• Planning and publishing high quality research in the field of Clinical Exercise Physiology, including winning sustained funding support.
• Project managing research activities, and/or supervising other research staff.
• Presenting findings in publications and conference proceedings.
• Effectively supervising and mentoring PhD students.
• Providing expert advice and leadership to staff and students within the discipline.
• Leading in research-related enabling activities such as adding value to a cross disciplinary network.
• Applying knowledge in a way that develops new intellectual understanding.
• Developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, and enterprise (including business engagement, public engagement) and similar activity.

Education 

Using a variety of methods in teaching and taking on leadership to support groups of undergraduates, postgraduates, or CPD students, including (as appropriate).

• Teaching, examining and developing courses at a range of levels.
• Planning your own teaching approaches and supporting others to do the same.
• Designing contemporary, inclusive, engaging and academically challenging curriculum content.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues to design and deliver teaching, learning and assessment.
• Using digital resources/environments effectively to support learning and assessment.
• Developing programme proposals and making substantial contributions to the design of teaching programmes more widely.
• Where appropriate, undertaking the full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining.
• Developing and advising others on learning and teaching tasks and methods.
• Developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement activities or similar on own specialism that enhances the student experience or employability, and which benefits the College and University.
• Devising and supervising projects, student dissertations and practical work.

Management/administration 

Contributing to Departmental/School administration, including:

• Leading on aspects of administration/management of research and/or teaching across the Department/School;
• Leading and managing a team to devise and implement a new and/or revised process (e.g. new programme or a recruitment drive).
• Leading on activities related to the personal development of colleagues and students.
• making a major contribution to key administrative activities within the University (e.g. research theme lead, ethics lead).
• managing and developing enterprise, business development, and public engagement activities.
• Developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, schools outreach.
• Actively promoting equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring, evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.

Citizenship

• Contributing towards and fostering an inclusive working environment.
• Leading a variety of activities supporting University life (e.g., participation in graduation, Departmental/School committees);
• Supporting and mentoring colleagues, such as sharing resources, providing advice, professional development reviews. 
• Volunteering for one-off duties (such as supporting School, Institute, and Departmental projects);
• Positively engaging in and developing School strategic initiatives.

Proactive support and involvement in activities specifically contributing to a positive and inclusive community spirit across the School/College/University.

Person Specification

• Doctoral qualification in an area related to the role.
• An AHCS Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist or working towards registration. 
• Experience of working in clinical exercise physiology environments, with at least one of the following broad conditions: cancer, cardiovascular, frailty, renal, mental health, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory.
• Extensive experience conducting physiological assessments; e.g. cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CEPT), electrocardiogram (ECG), respiratory function tests and other functional capacity tests, such as six-minute walk test, muscular strength, and fitness testing.
• Experience and achievement reflected in an established reputation in a research area related to clinical exercise physiology.
• Evidence of having led on externally funded research projects.
• Experience and demonstrated success in post-graduate supervision at masters and doctoral level ideally in projects related to clinical exercise physiology.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Experience in design, delivery, assessment, and revision of teaching modules.

From below demonstrated excellence in at least Research, with competence in Learning and Teaching and Management and Administration.

Research requirements

An excellent national reputation and a strong, developing international profile in the field of clinical exercise physiology shown through significant original research work and a clear record of impact. Evidence of success under the following headings:

• High level peer esteem as evidenced by
  • Excellent reputation in the UK and often internationally, reflected in sustained high quality output, level of innovation, impact on subject and recognition
  • An excellent and sustained record of peer reviewed research publications
• Successful and sustained supervision of doctoral students to completion
• Substantial and sustained research income generation, e.g., through research grants, contracts, research consultancy or other external funding
• Substantial high value impact knowledge transfer and enterprise activity

Learning and teaching requirements

An excellent teaching profile and performance in terms of both impact and quality. The teaching quality demonstrated to be informed by an appropriate level of scholarship. 

Where appropriate, evidence of success under the following headings:

• High national reputation for the development of teaching and learning excellence within the discipline
• Successful and sustained use of a range of appropriate teaching methods, and assessment strategies that promote high quality learning, including learning that is flexible, distinctive, and current and stimulates learners’ natural curiosity
• Significant and sustained contribution to one or more of the following: strategic development of new programmes; approaches to learning; the development of learning resources
• High quality and sustained contributions to fostering excellence in teaching activities more widely, i.e., in the Department/School or College and/or externally
• Track record of substantial and sustained high value impact on the enhancement of the student experience, and/or employability
• Mentoring and expert advice which develops the skills of colleagues in teaching and in fostering learning

Management and administration-related requirements

Demonstrated significant achievement in management and administration-related activities, which may include leadership of activities/initiatives. Evidence of success under the following headings

• Successful and sustained performance in significant administrative/managerial role (s) (e.g., exams officer)
• Significant and sustained high quality innovative contributions to the management/administration of the Department/School/College or University
• Successful and sustained contribution to the corporate life of the School/College/University, displaying willingness to contribute actively to committees, collaborative teaching, and administrative tasks
• Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal and external stakeholders
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues
• Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues

DBS required  

Pre-employment OH&DBS

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Informal enquiries to Professor Leigh Breen   and Dr.Sam Lucas 

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy . You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone  on our website .