Shape UNSW’s research strategy for the future

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Research and Enterprise is responsible for overseeing and driving the strategic direction and excellence in research, innovation, and enterprise initiatives for UNSW. The DVC will play a pivotal role in shaping and advancing the university's research agenda and cultivating strategic partnerships to enhance the institution's research output and industry engagement.

As a senior academic position and a member of University Leadership Team, the DVC will shape UNSW's impact on the global research and industry collaboration. The role will be responsible for growing UNSW’s reputation as a leading university for industry engagement and translating and communicating the wider economic and social benefits of our research to society.

The DVC Research and Enterprise reports to the Vice-Chancellor and President and leads a team promoting a culture of research excellence and collaboration across UNSW.

Accountabilities

Specific accountabilities for this role include:

• Operate as a member of the University Leadership Team, contributing to decision-making and ensuring the effective management of the university.
• Provide strategic advice to the Vice-Chancellor and President, and where appropriate to the University Council, on all aspects of research and enterprise activity and planning across UNSW.
• Develop and implement UNSW’s research and enterprise strategy in alignment with university wide goals and industry trends.
• Work with the President of the Academic Board, Faculty Deans and Associate Deans on strategic and operational matters relating to research and enterprise.
• Drive research translation and knowledge exchange to achieve societal and economic impact.
• Lead the facilitation of cutting-edge research initiatives, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative research projects.
• Take a leading role in the debate on matters relating to research and innovation in Australia, implementing strategies and support processes which ensure UNSW's reputation as a leading research-intensive university is continually enhanced.
• Oversee the effective management and administration of research funding, ensuring compliance with regulatory and funding bodies' requirements.
• Ensure the university maintains high standards of research integrity, ethics, and compliance with regulatory frameworks and government policies.
• Foster and maintain collaborative relationships with industry, government, and community partners to enhance research opportunities and technology transfer initiatives.
• Cultivate strategic alliances to support commercialisation efforts and foster entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Implement a distinctive recruitment and retention strategy that attracts and retains world-leading researchers and high-quality postgraduate researchers.
• Lead, inspire, and mentor a multidisciplinary team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Represent the University at a local, national, and international level and on boards and committees through interactions with Government, industry, and other major University stakeholders.
• Align with and actively demonstrate the UNSW Values in Action: Our Behaviours and the UNSW Code of Conduct.
• Cooperate with all health and safety policies and procedures of the university and take all reasonable care to ensure that your actions or omissions do not impact on the health and safety of yourself or others.

Skills

• A distinguished academic background with a PhD or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Significant experience in senior academic or research leadership roles within a higher education or research institution.
• Proven success in driving research strategies, building partnerships, and fostering innovation.
• Excellent negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage and influence diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated capacity to contribute to the university's agreed strategic direction. 
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal and people management skills.
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to consult widely to reach negotiated agreed outcomes. 
• Significant senior level experience conducting, analysing and/or making decisions and recommendations.
• A demonstrated capacity to represent the University effectively in a variety of external settings through networking, partnership building and influencing skills.
• Extensive experience leading and maintaining international and national partnerships and collaborations.
• Demonstrated ability to make sound and balanced decisions on complex problems in the context of governance and/or regulatory requirements.
• High level communication skills with a highly developed capacity to liaise and consult with senior stakeholders and the ability to write and present reports and papers at an Executive and Council level.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgets and department financial performance.
• An understanding of and commitment to UNSW’s aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines.
• Knowledge of health and safety responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training

Pre-employment checks required for this position

• Verification of qualifications

As places of great inspiration and innovation, Australian universities are crucial intellectual environments where knowledge is created, communicated and challenged. In partnership with government and business, academic research and technologies help to develop vital industries. In addition, Australian universities provide students with the skills to compete in increasingly global workplaces and are ourselves major employers.

Universities are key to Australia’s economic success. In 2018, Australian universities contributed $41 billion to the economy and supported a total of 259,100 full-time jobs. In addition, 1,426,594 students studied at Australia’s 39 universities in 2018. Of these, 71 per cent (or 1,014,027) were domestic students and the remaining 29 per cent (or 412,567) were international students. In the same year, 325,171 students completed their degrees.^[1]

When it comes to world university rankings, Australia has a strong, proven track record. Across all global ranking systems, criteria and fields of study, Australia ranks highly for quality of education, student satisfaction and global reputation. The latest ranking shows more than eight Australian universities are ranked in the top 200 universities and almost two-thirds of Australia’s 39 universities are in the top 500.^[2] In addition, Australia consistently ranks highly in the Universitas 21 Report – in 2020, it ranked ninth.^[3]

Australian university students pursue a wide range of academic disciplines, from health and education to engineering and information technology. While the majority of students study full-time, others balance a part-time load with family or work responsibilities and, in the current environment, many combine on-campus and online study for maximum flexibility.

International education is Australia’s fourth-largest export and the largest services export industry. In 2019, the industry generated $40.3 billion in export income. The higher education sector contributed around 70 per cent (or $27.8 billion) of international education export income in 2019.^[4]

The 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) national report, which provides information of the quality of research undertaken by Australian universities, assessed that more than 90 per cent of Australian university research was performing at, or above world standards in 2018.^[5]

UNSW is a founding member of the Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, and the prestigious Universitas 21 international network. In world rankings Go8 universities are consistently the highest ranked in Australia. Seven of the Go8’s members are in the world’s top 100 universities and all Go8 members are ranked in the world’s top 150 universities: in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Times Higher Education Rankings (THES) and the QS World University Rankings (QS).^[6]

^{[1] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[2] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[3] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[4] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[5] 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018 report, produced by the Australian Research Council (ARC
[6] Group of Eight, Australia, opens in a new window}

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Coastal living

It’s easy to see why the sunshine and coastline of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs beaches attract so many visitors, and UNSW’s Kensington campus sits right next door. It’s less than 30 minutes from campus to Bondi by car or bus, or just 10 minutes to Coogee.

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Sydney was ranked as the eighth best student city in the world in the QS Best Student Cities Index 2022. Our large and inclusive student community benefits from Sydney’s unique blend of outdoor and metropolitan lifestyles. Sydney offers a diverse range of opportunities for employment after graduation.

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