• Welcome
• About the College
  • College redevelopment
  • The Board of Management
  • Student enrolments
  • College review 2009
  • Annual accounts
  • Strategic development plan
• Living in the region
• The role
  • Job description
  • Person specification
  • Terms and conditions
• How to apply

Job description

Job Title:
Principal

Reporting to:
The Board of Management

Direct Reports:
Members of the Senior Management Team

Responsible for:
All College staff (through the College’s Senior Manager structure)

Job purpose

The Principal will provide effective leadership to the College in fulfilling its mission and aims as determined by the Board of Management, inspiring and motivating those engaged in the provision or support of learning and teaching. The Principal will serve as Chief Executive.

An important element of the Principal’s role will be to lead the development of the College’s provision across North Aberdeenshire and further afield, ensuring that it supports the College’s aims whilst responding positively to the dynamic local and national context.

Accountable to

1. The Board of Management - The Principal is an ex-officio member of the Board of Management and its Committees (not including the Audit Committee) and works with the Chair of the Board to ensure positive and effective relationships between the Board and the College management and staff. The Principal advises the Board of relevant educational, political and socio economic developments.
2. The Principal, in his / her role of Chief Executive is also directly accountable to the Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Funding Council for the College’s proper use of funds deriving from Scottish Ministers and its compliance with the Financial Memorandum effective from January 2006.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Direction and Planning

• Continually develop proposals to the Board of Management about the Vision, Mission, strategic development and educational character of the College.
• Develop a strategic development plan for the Board of Management’s consideration, in consultation with the College’s stakeholders, and taking account of the Board of Management’s decisions and Scottish Ministers’ priorities as expressed in the Scottish Funding Council’s further education policies.
• Ensure the effective implementation of the strategic development plan, supporting operational plans and strategies, providing regular progress reports to the Board of Management as well as providing the College Annual Report for publication.
• Ensure that there are effective internal systems in place to allow for the accurate and robust reporting of the College performance against a range of criteria and standards, thus ensuring that the College remains amongst the leaders of the sector.

Financial Accountability

• Develop and propose strategies to ensure the financial stability of the College in compliance with the Scottish Funding Council’s Financial Memorandum (January 2006) and the College’s financial regulations and procedures.
• Present an annual budget and financial forecast in support of the strategic plan, for consideration by the Board of Management.
• Demonstrate prudent and effective budgetary management, ensuring that proper and effective financial, planning and management controls are in place within the College and that best value is achieved.
• Provide regular financial reports to the Board of Management of income and expenditure and the management of budgets and resources.

Leadership and People Management

• Achieve organisational change and transition in line with strategic objectives, through strong but sensitive management and effective communication, maintaining harmonious employee relations, through the College Partnership Forum, with Trade Union and Staff Representatives.
• Ensure that the College becomes an employer of choice by establishing an effective management structure, underpinned by a culture of continuous improvement and excellence, fostering the leaders and managers of the future.
• Ensure that best employment practices are followed in the recruitment, retention and development of all College staff.
• Ensure that effective arrangements are in place for negotiating pay and conditions of service for all College staff.
• Directly lead, manage and monitor the work of the Senior Management Team, agreeing targets, objectives and encouraging professional development and succession planning.
• Ensure the continuing professional development and welfare of all College staff.
• Ensure that equality and diversity are firmly embedded in all the College’s activities, policies, procedures, over and above its statutory obligations as an employer and provider of a service.

Students, Curriculum Development and Quality

• Determine, with the support of the Learning and Teaching Committee, an appropriate College curriculum, which has been developed in line with the direction of the College, and supports innovative approaches to learning, and takes account of the needs of employers, and of the different communities the College serves
• Further develop and maintain effective partnerships and liaison arrangements with schools and universities to facilitate articulation and progression for students
• Introduce effective strategies for the recruitment, retention and progression of students, maintaining an inclusive, student-centred College in which a culture of continuing improvement and of successful learning and achievement thrives.
• Maintain a welcoming, accessible, supportive and safe learning environment for students and staff, in which stimulating and effective learning takes place.
• Provide a range of services to support students with additional requirements to ensure equality of opportunity and inclusion
• Ensure that quality assurance and quality improvement systems are in place which reflect the HMIe quality framework for Scotland’s colleges and report regularly to the Board of Management on the quality of provision as well as student success and achievement.

External Relations and Partnership Collaboration

• Seek out and establish innovative development opportunities for the College, including business and community partnerships
• Work closely with schools and other educational providers to develop the most effective provision for the local community
• Develop effective partnerships with employers to provide a wide range of education and training opportunities
• Ensure that the College is effectively represented and promoted in local, regional and national forums and that the information from external sources is disseminated widely throughout the College
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of effective communication within and beyond the College and act as the ambassador for the College and a powerful advocate of its interests

Property and Accommodation

• Ensure effective management of the whole college estate.
• Lead new development and initiatives with regard to the College estate.
• Ensure the effective delivery of the Estates Strategy and more generally, advise the Board of Management on the most effective use of resources.
• Ensure that the College develops, implements and promotes effective health and safety policies and practices.

Risk

• Ensure that risk is effectively identified, assessed and managed.

This is not a complete statement of all duties and responsibilities of this post. The post-holder may be required to carry out other duties in keeping with the nature of the post as directed by, and agreed with, the Board of Management.