Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Production Animal Veterinary Practice

Harper & Keele Veterinary School

Harper & Keele Veterinary School is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced production animal veterinary clinician who can lead on the delivery of a contemporary programme of teaching and learning designed to inspire and equip veterinary graduates to enter the production animal veterinary sector. The role will involve a range of teaching modalities including on-farm clinical education, lectures, interactive tutorials and wet/dry lab practicals, especially in the later years of the BVetMS programme. The School has an explicit ambition to integrate the teaching of production animal medicine, veterinary public health, state veterinary medicine and veterinary pathology, and this lectureship will play a key role in this integration of veterinary education on the food supply chain as part of the wider academic team.

The role will be primarily situated on the Harper Adams University campus, where 120 years of agricultural education have shaped generations of graduates’ careers in the agri-food sector. With the Future Farm at Harper Adams hosting dairy, pig, beef and sheep enterprises operating commercially but also providing a platform for teaching and research, the Harper & Keele Veterinary School is ideally placed to educate the production animal vets of the future. An exciting new Harper Adams facility for animal diagnostics and health is also at an advanced stage of design. In addition to the access to excellent facilities, the Veterinary School is advantageously located in a region known for its livestock farming, particularly dairy production. 

Reporting to the Deputy Head of School, the successful candidate will be a creative and forward-thinking member of the BVetMS programme team who can bring their collective experience of production animal practice and expertise to ensure that veterinary students develop comprehensive, holistic, transferable, relevant, and informed capabilities and attributes, optimising their preparedness for entering the veterinary profession. Working with other colleagues across the School, and set within a culture of competency-based education, the appointee will ensure that their respective discipline and area of expertise is fully integrated as part of the wider student development of professional competences, championing a student-centric, outcomes-focused, and developmental approach to training veterinary graduates.

The role will require academic leadership to coordinate resources and expertise across various facilities and both Harper Adams and Keele universities, and to engage with key strategic educational partners and other relevant stakeholders across the veterinary profession.  Opportunities to develop institutional and national collaborations and scholarship in an area of interest will be available, informing individual academic career development and the potential to shape the future direction of the School’s research and engagement strategies across the veterinary sector.

A unique partnership between two outstanding universities, the Harper & Keele Veterinary School brings together two distinctive institutions with a track record of excellence in teaching and student experience to provide an exciting new opportunity for veterinary students to train within rural Shropshire and Staffordshire. Together, Keele and Harper Adams universities have 186 years of heritage in the animal and human health areas. Both institutions are recognised for their strengths in employability, student satisfaction and first-class teaching, and have a shared commitment to research in food security and sustainability. The joint Veterinary School provides students with the opportunity to take advantage of both institutions, with a common commitment to excellence and complementary skills. The appointee will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the School’s aim of widening access to the veterinary profession for students from all backgrounds, and to embrace and engage in the School’s culture of innovation in teaching and learning. 

To be successful, the successful candidate will require a degree in Veterinary Medicine, be a member (or eligible to become a member) of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, have a broad range of experience and understanding of veterinary general practice in production animals, and evidence of a subject or discipline focus via postgraduate work or education. Previous involvement in knowledge transfer and training with farmers or other relevant stakeholders will be required. Relevant postgraduate veterinary qualifications are desirable.  

The appointee will be primarily based at Harper Adams University however the role will require some travel between Harper Adams and Keele University and local farms for delivery of teaching and learning activities, collaboration with staff across the school, and for relevant administrative and student recruitment duties.  

The Harper & Keele Veterinary School is committed to operating flexible working practices wherever possible. The Harper & Keele Veterinary School values equality and diversity across our workforce and to ensuring our staff community is reflective of the diversity of our student population. In support of these commitments, we welcome applications from individuals of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds for all roles. 

For full post details and to find out more about working at Keele please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies 

For informal enquiries: Prof. Philip Robinson, Deputy Head of School  Email: p.robinson3@hkvets.ac.uk

Closing date for applications:   11th December 2023

Post reference: KU00003766