Chair/Professor in Rehabilitation and/or Physiotherapy Sciences

Job id: 086405. Salary: Competitive salary.

Posted: 15 March 2024. Closing date: 14 April 2024.

Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. Department: Department of Population Health Sciences.

Contact details:Professor Josip Car. [email protected]

Location: Guy’s Campus. Category: Academic & Teaching.

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional academic leader in rehabilitation and/or physiotherapy sciences to join the School of Life Course & Population Sciences at King’s College London. The Chair would lead a vibrant research and education team. This role offers an exceptional opportunity to work with King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre across academic, clinical and other partners developing an agenda for the future of rehabilitation and physiotherapy research and education. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of world-leading experts in multiple synergistic and complementary disciplines and specialties. Our major healthcare partners include Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital, and SE London ICB as well as a multitude of other partners.

The School of Life Course & Population Sciences is committed to enhancing health, both nationally and internationally. Through pioneering research, innovative education and advocacy we contribute to the future of precision personalised population health. Partnerships are at the heart of our activities as we tackle complex health challenges across diverse populations. Your research and teaching will have a direct impact on training the next generation of physiotherapists and improving population health outcomes.

The post holder will lead an interdisciplinary group of researchers and educators and promote interprofessional learning, student involvement and blended learning initiatives along with existing teams in the School and wider Faculty to enhance our research and education excellence at an international, national and local level.

The two successful pre-registration physiotherapy programmes at King’s were redesigned in 2021 and prepare over 250 graduates for leading and working flexibly across the changing health and social care environment to provide high-quality, person-centred and population sensitive, responsive services where individual choice is paramount. The curricula adopts a blended approach to learning with an integrated and inclusive approach to curriculum delivery to reflect the NHS Long term plan, contemporary research and to prepare students to consider, prevent and address health inequalities.

Areas of research interest and strength in the School and Faculty include:

• Rehabilitation & Health Research
• Complex interventions trials in long-term conditions/prevention
• Long-term conditions and multiple mental and physical morbidities (e.g., Stroke, MSK,COPD, falls and frailty)
• Sports science
• Respiratory physiology
• Cardiovascular and muscle physiology
• Developing and implementing methods to evaluate the complexity of system changes in health and social care
• Developing and executing Public Health interventions in multi-ethnic populations
• Health data science
• Inequalities and ethnicity

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a full-time post – 100% full time equivalent.

Key responsibilities

Leadership & Planning

• Provide academic vision and leadership
• Prepare and drive the delivery of an internationally competitive research programme with external grant funding to produce high-impact publications
• Nurture a culture which enables staff to develop their leadership skills
• Collaborate widely across the Department, School, College and with our partners

 Academic Leadership

• Oversee and guide staff and students to achieve an excellent quality of education and research
• Support the Faculty and university in Research Excellence Framework and Teaching Excellence Framework submissions and other formal submissions
• Using the academic performance framework, maximise impact and innovation across the Department for Population Health Sciences

Research & Knowledge Transfer

The post holder will grow a programme of research in rehabilitation and/or physiotherapy sciences. They will collaborate with existing teams across the Department, School and Faculty to:

• Develop an internationally competitive research programme with external grant funding to produce high impact publications
• Manage multi-disciplinary teams of researchers
• Evaluate markers of impact of research; for example, on patient outcomes, clinical policies
• Identify sources of funding and contribute to the process of securing funds
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at peer-reviewed conferences and other relevant events
• Supervise PhD students and engage with King’s doctoral studies strategy
• Continually update knowledge and understanding in one’s field or specialism
• Promote and foster a stimulating research environment, identifying collaborative research activities across the School of Life Course and Population Health, Faculty, university and partner organisations
• Facilitate peer review and/or other support mechanisms for research grant applications working to allocate appropriate resources (including staff, space, facilities)

Education

• Contribute to the development and delivery of courses, teaching and learning support techniques and materials
• Deliver relevant education at undergraduate and postgraduate (taught and research) level
• Take an active role in further developing the King’s educational portfolio in the area of physiotherapy and population health
• Link research with teaching
• Supervise students, identify their learning needs and define appropriate learning objectives; advise on study skills
• Contribute to the setting, marking and assessment of assignments and examination questions, provide constructive feedback to students and supervise student research projects
• Periodically reflect on teaching design and delivery and obtain feedback as self-assessment of performance
• Collaborate with the relevant education leads to oversee the Teaching Department for Physiotherapy’s contribution to the Faculty’s and the School’s education programmes, including looking at staff contribution
• Be instrumental in driving improvement and innovation in education in the School
• Actively engage in activities to ensure the student targets are met

Management & Citizenship

• Provide mentorship and academic leadership
• Contribute as appropriate to School management, for instance in taking on department lead roles and responsibilities
• Engage with the clinical community, patients and the public
• Contribute to the enactment of King’s strategic priorities to ensure that we deliver an extraordinary student experience and serve the needs and aspirations of society both locally and globally

 The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

PhD or equivalent qualification in relevant discipline

Proven ability to attract competitive research funding

Evidence of leadership capability or promise

Evidence of successful independent, high-quality research, including evidence of publications of high-quality, peer-reviewed papers

Proven track record in education, research and professional achievement, showing a commitment to high-quality and innovation

Track record of national and international collaborations

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of inspiring staff and students

Organised and systematic approach to research and teaching

Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias

Desirable criteria

Track record of work with industry

Applications comprise the submission of a full academic CV and a supporting statement/covering letter, outlining your interest in the role and how you meet the person criteria.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service clearance.