A role of academic influence and strategic impact

As Academic Dean, you will serve as the Chief Academic Officer of the campus. Reporting jointly to Lancaster University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Global (Digital, International and Sustainability) and the CEO of TAG Ghana, you will oversee the academic direction and quality assurance of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

You will lead and inspire a committed academic team, fostering a culture of teaching excellence, research ambition, and professional growth. You will also play a central role in enhancing the student experience, approving admissions, chairing academic boards, and guiding programme development, all within the frameworks of both Lancaster University and Ghanaian regulatory standards.

Your responsibilities will extend beyond campus, engaging with industry, government, and other academic institutions to shape meaningful partnerships.

In this role, you will work as part of Lancaster University’s global network of transnational Academic Deans. You will demonstrate a commitment to shared academic leadership by supporting a collaborative approach to thematic priorities, fostering alignment across campuses, and contributing to institutional cohesion. By sharing best practice and engaging in joint initiatives, you will help build a cohesive, supportive, and globally connected academic community that embodies Lancaster’s values and advances our international ambitions.

Person specification

We are seeking an accomplished academic leader who brings credibility, strategic insight, and a collaborative ethos to this important role. You will have a strong track record in transnational education and the ability to foster excellence across teaching, research, and institutional development. Specifically, we are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• A record of academic leadership and achievement in teaching, research, and professional contribution, ideally in a discipline offered at Lancaster University Ghana

• The ability to develop and articulate strategic vision, motivate others, and lead innovative academic initiatives that support institutional growth and impact

• Experience in planning and managing complex academic operations, including prioritisation, risk management, and alignment with quality assurance frameworks

• A commitment to working as part of Lancaster University’s network of transnational Academic Deans. Supports a collaborative approach to thematic leadership, sharing best practice and aligning strategic academic priorities across campuses.

• The ability and drive to build a cohesive, supportive, and globally engaged academic community that reflects Lancaster’s values and international ambitions.

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to engage, influence, and collaborate with diverse internal and external stakeholders

• A sound understanding of financial and resource management, ideally in a transnational education context, including experience in budgeting and income generation

• A leadership style that is inclusive and empathetic, with experience supporting the development of academic staff and nurturing high-performing teams.

• Strong analytical and decision-making skills, including the use of evidence and stakeholder input to address challenges and drive improvement.

• Experience or solid understanding of the UK and Ghanaian Higher Education Regulatory Frameworks with specific reference to Ghana Tertiary Education Commission standards. https://gtec.edu.gh/standards

• The ability to build productive partnerships with industry, government, and other academic institutions to support research, student employability, and academic collaboration.

• Experience in academic programme development and implementation, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and external requirements.

• A clear understanding of the wider higher education landscape, including the opportunities and challenges facing institutions in Ghana and globally.

A full job description and person specification is available on the Lancaster University recruitment portal.

Recruitment Statement

We want to provide you with full information at an early stage to enable you to make an informed decision as to whether you are committed to pursuing this position and to outline the University’s expectations of all candidates taking part in our recruitment process.

Once you have reviewed the information below, and in fairness to everyone concerned, we would ask that you give serious consideration to proceeding further with this process if you think you may not accept the position should it be offered to you.

The role will be located on the Lancaster University Ghana's Accra Campus, is based at Tantra Hill in Accra, and there is a requirement that the successful candidate will live within reasonable commuting distance of the campus. If this might involve a re-locationfor you, it is of course important that you consider how the move might affect anyone who may accompany you (for example, early consideration may need to be given to local schooling, housing and other employment opportunities where other family members are involved, as early as possible). We will support you as much as possible with this and are happy to discuss any concerns you may have.

We would ask you to agree to undertaking a positive, open, and transparent dialogue with us throughout the recruitment process, raising questions and any concerns as early as possible.

Lancaster University engages in a variety of domestic and international benchmarking exercises to ensure we are extremely competitive in the levels of reward and recognition we provide, therefore we are confident that any offer made will be strong and competitive.

Contract and contact:
If you are happy to continue in your application for the position in light of the above expectations, we would very much look forward to hearing from you.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the opportunity, please do contact the Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Simon Guy:via his Executive Assistant XXXX@lancaster.ac.uk

This post is offered on a 3 year contract with the ability to extend to 5 years subject to performance reviews. We are happy to discuss time allocation for continued pursuit of academic research interests of up to 20%