| 1. Job Details
Job title: Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
School/Support Department: Edinburgh College of Art
Unit: Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA)
Line manager: Head of ESALA
2. Job Description
The appointee is expected to be actively involved in research and situate their own scholarship strategically within ESALA. Post-holders will be expected to influence research-led teaching in the professional programmes of Landscape Architecture and Architecture within ESALA.
The appointee will demonstrate an ability to respond to both theories and practices in the field of Landscape Architecture, thereby enhancing the culture of research, learning, and teaching within ESALA, ECA, and the wider University. The appointee will be expected to communicate and disseminate their work internationally, contributing to ESALA’s international reputation for excellence in Landscape Architecture.
The appointee’s teaching contribution will depend on specialism, knowledge and experience, but it will be focussed on supporting the suite of existing professional and associated postgraduate programmes within ESALA. In recent years, staff within the school have sought to advance the significance and value of innovative studio practice, placing particular emphasis on the ways in which work is shared, assembled and curated to engender a culture of meaning-making, critical thinking and knowledge sharing. The appointee will be expected to contribute to and support this important agenda within the everyday practices of their teaching delivery.
The post holder will have the capacity to supervise postgraduate research students through traditional thesis and/or through creative practice scholarship.
She/he must be able to contribute to:
• ESALA’s creative design and research culture at the intersections of landscape architecture, architecture, urbanism and the creative arts, reflecting ESALA’s distinctive position in the University’s Edinburgh College of Art
• The positive identity and influence of Landscape Architecture as a discipline within ESALA, ECA and the wider University of Edinburgh.
• Ongoing discussions and activities to promote recruitment in the UG programme of Landscape Architecture (acknowledging an identifiable shortage of graduates entering the Landscape Architectural Profession in the UK).
• Authoring and collaborating on research bids and projects, increasing ESALA’s capacity to secure research income across a range of funding sources.
• Joint PhD supervision and scholarship funding applications, increasing ESALAs capacity to supervise PGR students in their areas of expertise.
• Supervision and direction of Postgraduate taught projects across ESALA’s suite of PGT programmes
3. Main Responsibilities
Teaching:
• Contribute to leadership in the running of the professional programmes of Landscape Architecture at ESALA.
• Delivery of core UG and PG teaching in the design studio. Contribution to theory and techniques courses depending on expertise.
• Undertake UG Honours level dissertation and PG supervision in Landscape Architecture and ESALA’s other programmes
• Refining and advancing course content and delivery within the framework of subject area curricula
• Administration, assessment, presentation of work at examination period and periodic written feedback to students
Research:
• Undertake research into aspects of contemporary landscape architectural concern and disseminate that knowledge through transnational relations and international forums
4. Knowledge, Skills and Experience Needed for the Job
Essential:
• A nuanced understanding of landscape architectural practice with an ability to situate work at the intersections of research and design
• PhD or equivalent research experience in Landscape Architecture or a demonstrable practice experience that is situated within contemporary scholarship
• An ability to conceive, lead and deliver creative learning and teaching in a studio paradigm
• Demonstrable ability to design and deliver inspiring teaching, assessment and research supervision
• An ability to contribute to a specialism in landscape architectural teaching, and to innovative research-led teaching in the subject
• A commitment to collegiality and team working
• A research profile as evidenced by a track record of and ongoing commitment to high-quality published research outputs (through published academic research or design-based research outputs) for submission to the REF at 3 or 4* level, through either practice-based or theory-based research.
• Ability to lead the development of knowledge exchange and outreach activities through good working relationships with a wide variety of groups – students, colleagues in the school, the University, partner institutions, industry practitioners and representative bodies, etc.
• An ability to contribute to academic leadership and management with evidence of successful implementation of subject-related initiatives, events and/or projects.
• An ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
Desirable:
• A commitment to multi-disciplinary working inside and beyond ESALA
• A clear perspective upon social justice and environmental sustainability within the field of Landscape Architecture.
• Good practical knowledge of contemporary landscape architectural practice, multidisciplinary working, ecology, new technologies and construction practices relevant to the field, with a demonstrable understanding of how these can be translated into learning, teaching, and research.
• Ability to contribute to and author funding bids and research projects
• Experience of supervising PhD students
• Experience of mentoring or developing junior colleagues
5. Job Context and any other relevant information
The Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) at the University of Edinburgh:
Edinburgh is widely acclaimed as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the combination of medieval Old Town and Georgian New Town in combination with its key open spaces give it a unique landscape setting. The city also comprises examples of exceptional contemporary architecture, such as the Scottish Parliament by Enric Miralles. The redundant volcanic landscape of Arthur’s Seat is a Site of Special Scientific Interest owing to its unique geology and ecology. Edinburgh is a place of outstanding landscape and architectural interest and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The University of Edinburgh offers an ideal environment for the teaching and study of landscape architecture: with fascinating geological, ecological, rural, post-industrial, cultural and urban design phenomena and sites in close reach, there are fertile grounds for both work and study.
The Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) is one of the UK’s largest schools with a respected international profile. Recent growth in both the postgraduate student cohort underpins the need for this new post. Beyond the diversity of a staff that includes designers, artists, engineers, computer scientists and historians, ESALA draws on the wide academic strengths of a major teaching and research institution. ESALA students go on to achieve high levels of recognition and success, contributing to shaping the constructed environment through design, research, ideas, policy and landscape architectural practice. Students regularly win national and international prizes. The undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes are designed to support students to develop rigorous, responsive and imaginative approaches to contemporary landscape architectural practices.
There is a lively seminar, exhibition and public lecture culture featuring the work of the best regional, national and international speakers, practitioners, critics and scholars. Together with the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University, ESALA ranks first in Scotland, and second in the UK, on the comprehensive research power measure in the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, reflecting our volume of world-leading and internationally excellent research.
Our aim is to continue to develop and enhance our position as one of Europe’s leading schools of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Collaboration across the academic community of ESALA, ECA, and the wider University provides exciting research and teaching opportunities. We enjoy strong relationships with museums, galleries, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, archives, practitioners, and industry partners throughout the vibrant city of Edinburgh and beyond.
Teaching (Professionally Accredited Programmes):
The location of ESALA in a large multi-disciplinary and research-intensive University allows students to undertake courses outside the school. The University has a tradition of encouraging this inter-disciplinarily, beginning at undergraduate level.
The University of Edinburgh offers the only programmes of Landscape Architectural study in Scotland. ESALA’s four-year undergraduate MA (Hons) in Landscape Architecture, two-year postgraduate MLA programme, and two-year European Masters in Landscape Architecture (EMiLA) are professionally accredited by the Landscape Institute in the United Kingdom.
We are committed to educating designers who are creative, inventive, intelligent, rigorous and ethical in their practice as students and professionals. The professional programmes are designed to offer the opportunity to take up work based opportunities worldwide as part of an integrated practice period in Year 3.
The school is supported by a range of part-time landscape architectural practitioners particularly in the design and techniques strands of the MA and MLA programmes. A commitment to site specificity, innovative fieldwork and strong analytical thinking has seen our programmes gain international acclaim. All Landscape Architecture programmes at ECA benefit from the significant international networks of the staff. EMiLA exemplifies the trans-national opportunities of Landscape Architecture within the school for both staff and students alike, and it demonstrates the University of Edinburgh’s commitment to European collaboration.
ESALA’s postgraduate programmes support learning, teaching, and research in a diverse, but complementary set of concerns: Architectural and Urban Design, Cultural Studies, Cultural Landscapes, Architectural History and Theory, Urban Strategies and Design, Architectural Conservation, Material Practice, Design and Digital Media, Advanced Sustainable Design, and Landscape and Wellbeing. ESALA also hosts the interdisciplinary programme in Art, Space and Nature. This programme attracts applicants whose first degrees include Art, Design, Landscape Architecture and Architecture.
The School supports a thriving culture of postgraduate research. With a cohort of approximately ninety students, ESALA’s postgraduate students work on a variety of topics in architecture, landscape and architectural history, contemporary architectural theory, environment-behaviour studies, digital media, and advanced technology and research-by-design. The post holder will be expected to supervise several research students, although the number may be developed over time.
Research:
The appointee will be required to undertake research. It is expected that the applicant will already have a research profile with a publications record in the field of Landscape Architecture. This record may consist of academic publications (such as books, edited collections, scholarly articles in peer reviewed journals, etc.) and/or exhibited and published innovative design works, either as built or in the form of competition entries.
A record of successful applications for research funding is desirable. Evidence of an understanding and agile use of innovative historical, theoretical or design methodologies is strongly desirable. The appointee will be expected to develop their research profile through an ongoing programme of high-quality publications and other outputs, and potentially through collaboration and externally funded work.
The School offers strong support for developing and disseminating staff members’ existing research work and for developing new research directions through mentoring schemes, funding for conference attendance, study leave, archival- or field-work, and guidance on the submission of applications for research funding (AHRC, British Academy, EPSRC, ESRC, etc.).
ESALA enjoys many advantages from its location in one of the UK’s most successful research institutions. Our Research Alliance with the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University expands our personnel to over 60 researchers and extends expertise in Planning, Housing and Built Environment. Our combined research in Architecture, Built Environment and Planning was rated among the top Universities in the UK for volume and quality by the 2014 Research Excellence Framework panel, which described our research environment as ‘conductive to producing research of internationally excellent and world-leading quality’.
All members of the academic staff are research active. In its research methodologies and practice, ESALA research extends from large team-based funded research to individual scholarly research. Our research strengths include innovative design in architecture and landscape, hybrid design processes and digital media, health and environment, global cities and European spatial planning, cultural studies and the city, architectural theory, history and conservation. As the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh is home to many national institutions, including the Historic Environment Scotland and the National Library of Scotland – a copyright library located within a short walk of the School. The University Library is one of the largest academic libraries in the UK, with extensive holdings on the built environment, geography, and environmental and design history.
Further details on teaching programmes, staff research interests, and publications are to be found on the ESALA website (www.eca.ed.ac.uk/architecture-landscape-architecture)
Informal enquiries should be directed to the Head of ESALA, Dr Richard Anderson (Richard.P.Anderson@ed.ac.uk)
Application Procedure
All applicants should apply online via our Vacancy Website and by submitting an up to date CV and cover letter. The application process is quick and easy to follow, and you will receive email confirmation of safe receipt of your application. The online system allows you to submit a CV and other attachments.
We anticipate interviews will be held on Tuesday 30 July 2019. You will be notified by email whether you have been shortlisted for interview or not.
The closing date is 5pm (GMT) on 17th July 2019.
Right to Work
In accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and Immigration Act 2016 the University of Edinburgh, as an employer, has a legal responsibility to prevent illegal working and therefore must check that all employees are entitled to work in the United Kingdom (UK).
To do so, the University requires to see original documents evidencing right to work in the UK before commencement of employment and this is normally carried out at interview. Details will be provided in any letter of invitation to interview.
For further information on right to work please visit our right to work webpage
If you are from outside the EEA and not currently eligible to work in the UK, there are visa routes that may be available to you, for example:
- Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent): If you are an academic in the field of sciences; humanities; engineering; medicine; digital technology; or the arts, it may be possible for you to apply for a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa. This route requires you to apply to be endorsed as an internationally recognised leader or emerging leader in your particular field by a designated competent body (Arts Council England, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society, Tech City UK). However, if you are applying for a senior academic role, e.g. Professor/Reader there is an accelerated route to endorsement. Further information can be found on the UKVI website
- Tier 2: The University is a UKVI licensed sponsor and is able to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to successful candidates who are offered highly skilled roles and meet the eligibility criteria. The CoS enables candidates to apply for a Tier 2 (general visa).
Please note if you were last granted leave to stay in the UK in any Tier 2 category in the 12 months immediately preceding an application and the leave has
• ended or expired.
• the CoS which led to that grant of leave was issued for more than 3 months, and
• you are either:
o applying for entry clearance from outside the UK, or
o you are in the UK and had a previous period of Tier 2 leave, but then changed (‘switched’) into a different immigration category and now wishes to apply again under Tier 2.
You must wait 12 months before applying again.
Further information about whether you require a visa and other visa routes can be found at: www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
Conditions of Employment
Pension Scheme:
This role is grade UE08 and therefore the post holder is automatically included in membership of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), subject to the USS membership criteria, unless they indicate that they choose not to join the Scheme.
For further information please visit our Pensions website.
Salary:
The role is grade UE08 and attracts an annual salary of £40,792 to £48,677 for 35 hours each week. Salary is paid monthly by direct transfer to your Bank or Building Society account, normally on the 28th of the month. Salaries for part-time staff are calculated on the full-time scales, pro-rata to the Standard Working Week.
The University reserves the right to vary the candidate information or make no appointment at all. Neither in part, nor in whole does this information form part of any contract between the University and any individual. |
