Hours: Full Time. Approximately half the role is Quality Lead work and half is Course Leader Work
Reports to: Head of Faculty (Bristol), working closely with the Head of Campus (Manchester)
Specialism: The Course Leader element may be in any one of: Electronic Music Production; Music Performance / Vocal Artistry; Songwriting; Music & Sound for Film & Game / Sound Design; Event Management. Electronic Music Production and the Performance / Songwriting area are the most likely. Specialism confirmed at offer stage.
About this document
This descriptor sets out a single full-time post at dBs Manchester combining two established academic roles: Quality Lead and Course Leader. Full details of each role are provided in the accompanying Quality Lead Job Description and Course Leader Job Description. This document explains how the two functions are combined so candidates can clearly understand the scope of the post.
About dBs
dBs Institute of Music is a specialist higher education provider working at the intersection of creative practice and contemporary industry. We teach electronic music production, music production and sound engineering, sound design, music and sound for film and games, music performance, songwriting, vocal artistry, live sound and event management. Our teaching staff are practising professionals; our curriculum is shaped by the industries it prepares students for.
Our three campuses in Bristol, Manchester and Plymouth operate as a single faculty. Academic quality, curriculum design, and student experience are developed through cross-campus collaboration including weekly meetings, discipline working groups, and faculty governance. Course Leaders, Module Leaders and lecturers work across campuses to ensure consistent, high-quality provision for all students
The role
This is one full-time post, held by one person. Approximately half the role is Quality Lead work, the campus-level academic quality function for dBs Manchester, and approximately half is Course Leader work, leading one course in the postholder’s area of disciplinary specialism.
As Quality Lead, you are the local academic steward for quality at Manchester: implementing the institutional quality framework on the ground, monitoring academic quality indicators across all courses at the campus, including module delivery quality, assessment practices, and student feedback, supporting Course Leaders and Module Leaders, and ensuring the campus is well connected into faculty-wide processes. You line manage the campus Course Leaders.
As Course Leader, you lead one course in your specialism: holding the academic coherence of the student journey across all years, line managing the Module Leaders for that course, and contributing teaching in your discipline.
The Course Leader specialism is open and will be confirmed at offer stage in line with confirmed student numbers and specialist area of the successful candidate; Electronic Music Production and the Performance / Songwriting area are the most likely. In the first year the postholder may lead a course for first-year students only, depending on the course area.
How the role is supported
This is not a role where the postholder carries the campus alone, and it is not two full jobs in one. It is one full-time hybrid post, set within a well-established cross-campus system and a clear support structure. Three relationships sit at the heart of how the role works:
Head of Faculty (line manager, based in Bristol) owns the faculty-wide academic system, including quality frameworks, the CPD programme, faculty governance, Assessment Boards, and parity of standards across campuses, and provides direction and supervision.
Head of Campus (Manchester) holds operational responsibility for the campus, including timetabling, student feedback processes, and the joined-up student experience. The postholder works alongside the Head of Campus as the academic counterpart to those operational responsibilities.
Cross-campus colleagues, namely Quality Leads, Course Leaders and Module Leaders at Bristol and Plymouth, collaborate through standing governance meetings and discipline-based working groups. Manchester is not expected to design or run quality processes in isolation.
The full Quality Lead and Course Leader Job Descriptions describe each role at its fullest extent. The point of this descriptor is to make clear that, for this post, the two are combined into one full-time role within the support structure above. The balance of the role and how it works in practice will be discussed with candidates through the recruitment process.
What we are looking for
Disciplinary credibility: a postgraduate qualification, or equivalent professional experience, in one of the specialist areas listed above, with a record of practice or teaching that would allow you to lead a course in that discipline.
Academic leadership or coordination experience in higher education, with responsibility for quality processes, team management, or both.
A working understanding of UK HE quality frameworks (OfS conditions, the UK Quality Code), or the appetite and capability to develop this quickly with structured support from the Head of Faculty.
Strong collaborative and interpersonal skills. You will work in a cross-campus team, line manage Course Leaders, support Module Leaders, partner with the Head of Campus, and remain accessible to students.
A commitment to inclusive, industry-connected higher education.
A higher education teaching qualification (PGCert HE, FHEA or equivalent) is desirable; where not yet held, the institution will support attainment within an agreed timeframe.
dBs Institute of Music is committed to building a diverse and inclusive creative community, among our students and among the staff who teach and lead them. We know that the music and creative industries, and higher education itself, have not always been equally open to everyone, and that the people who shape a course shape who feels able to belong on it.
We particularly welcome applications from women, from Black, Asian and minority ethnic practitioners, from LGBTQ+ creatives, and from people with lived experience of underrepresentation in music and education. If you are weighing up whether this role is for you, we would rather you applied and had a conversation with us than ruled yourself out.
We are happy to discuss flexible working, reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, and any access needs at any stage. Please raise these with us whenever feels right for you.
How to apply
Applications should include a CV and a covering letter outlining your relevant experience and the specialism(s) you would be willing to course-lead. Please read the accompanying Quality Lead and Course Leader Job Descriptions alongside this descriptor. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview. We are recruiting against likely demand at the campus and will confirm the Course Leader specialism and course allocation at offer stage.
