Dean of faculty

Deans of faculty lead and manage a collection of related academic departments and work with the post-secondary school principal and the different heads of department to deliver the agreed faculty and university strategic objectives. They promote the faculty in associated communities and market the faculty nationally as well as internationally. Deans of faculty also focus on achieving the faculty’s financial mangement target.

The following job titles also refer to dean of faculty:

head of faculty
faculty dean
director of faculty
university head of school
faculty director
university head of faculty

Master’s degree is generally required to work as dean of faculty. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Dean of faculty is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to dean of faculty.

university department head
secondary school department head
further education principal
nursery school head teacher
special educational needs coordinator

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of dean of faculty. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of dean of faculty with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of dean of faculty.

Curriculum standards: The governmental policies concerning educational curricula and the approved curricula from specific educational institutions.
Organisational policies: The policies to achieve set of goals and targets regarding the development and maintenance of an organisation.
Financial management: The field of finance that concerns the practical process analysis and tools for designating financial resources. It encompasses the structure of businesses, the investment sources, and the value increase of corporations due to managerial decision-making.
Project management: Understand project management and the activities which comprise this area. Know the variables implied in project management such as time, resources, requirements, deadlines, and responding to unexpected events.
Budgetary principles: Principles of estimating and planning of forecasts for business activity, compile regular budget and reports.
University procedures: The inner workings of a university, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Curriculum objectives: The goals identified in curricula and defined learning outcomes.
Education administration: The processes related to the administrative areas of an education institution, its director, employees, and students.

These skills are necessary for the role of dean of faculty.

Cooperate with education professionals: Communicate with teachers or other professionals working in education in order to identify needs and areas of improvement in education systems, and to establish a collaborative relationship.
Assist in the organisation of school events: Provide assistance in the planning and organisation of school events, such as the school’s open house day, a sports game or a talent show.
Represent the organisation: Act as representative of the institution, company or organisation to the outside world.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
Provide education management support: Support the management of an education institution by directly assisting in the managerial duties or by providing information and guidance from your area of expertise to simplify the managerial tasks.
Provide information on study programmes: Provide information on the different lessons and fields of study offered by educational institutions such as universities and secondary schools, as well as the study requirements and employment prospects.
Show an exemplary leading role in an organisation: Perform, act, and behave in a manner that inspires collaborators to follow the example given by their managers.
Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
Manage educational institution’s administration: Administer multiple activities of a school, university or other educational institution such as daily administrative operations.
Supervise staff: Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.
Maintain contract administration: Keep contracts up to date and organise them according to a classification system for future consultation.
Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of dean of faculty. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Assessment processes: Various evaluation techniques, theories, and tools applicable in the assessment of students, participants in a programme, and employees. Different assessment strategies such as initial, formative, summative and self- assessment are used for varying purposes.
Funding methods: The financial possibilities for funding projects such as the traditional ones, namely loans, venture capital, public or private grants up to alternative methods such as crowdfunding.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of dean of faculty. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Guarantee students’ safety: Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.
Evaluate education programmes: Evaluate ongoing training programmes and advise on potential optimisation.
Assess employees’ capability levels: Evaluate the capabilities of employees by creating criteria and systematic testing methods for measuring expertise of individuals within an organisation.
Promote education course: Advertise and market the programme or class to potential students and the education organisation with the aim of maximising registration numbers and allocated budget.
Monitor educational developments: Monitor the changes in educational policies, methodologies and research by reviewing relevant literature and liaising with education officials and institutions.
Provide feedback to teachers: Communicate with the teacher in order to provide them with detailed feedback on their teaching performance, class management and curriculum adherence.
Identify education needs: Identify the needs of students, organisations and companies in terms of provision of education in order to aid in the development of curricula and education policies.
Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
Make improvements to work activities: Make recommendations for improvements to work activities
Work with virtual learning environments: Incorporate the use of online learning environments and platforms into the process of instruction.
Develop professional network: Reach out to and meet up with people in a professional context. Find common ground and use your contacts for mutual benefit. Keep track of the people in your personal professional network and stay up to date on their activities.
Create a financial report: Finalise project accounting. Prepare an actual budget, compare the discrepancy between the planned and actual budget, and draw final conclusions.
Advise on teaching methods: Advise education professionals on the proper adaptation of curricula in lesson plans, classroom management, professional conduct as a teacher, and other activities and methods related to teaching.

1345 – Education managers

 

 

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References

1. Dean of faculty – ESCO