Professor, Director of Converge

About Converge and York St John  York St John University is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.  Converge is a partnership between the University and mental health service providers which provides courses for adults who use mental health services. Our courses help develop skills in a supportive educational environment. Courses are taught by staff, students and people with particular expertise and their own experience of mental ill health. This post of director will lead and manage the strategic work, will collaborate and lead the Converge project, which provides courses for adults who use mental health services, and will be expected to contribute to the research development and dissemination and some delivery of the work. It provides a model with which to address issues of social justice and equality of access within education and mental health services. Converge is clustered within the school of the arts and works closely with the Institute for Social Justice. https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/converge/ The Role  We are seeking a strategic, reflexive and innovative leader, with experience in mental health work, with emotional intelligence and a strong ethical core, to lead Converge on the next stage of its development. The director will manage the projects and staff in Converge, work with project partnerships with the NHS and within YSJU, and the director will provide and develop research and dissemination of research in thew area. The director will be proactive in leading and raising the funding required to ensure the viability of the project. It is crucial that the new director foster research links and facilitate engagement between community mental health users, providers, academics and educators. Part of this partnership development will include managing the growth of the new international partnerships. In addition, the director will take an academic leadership role in enhancing student engagement within Converge. To this end the role will model and lead interdisciplinary approaches of participatory, inclusive and community research in the context of mental health. It will actively seek external research funding to deliver high-quality and impactful projects and activity; foster research links that facilitate the engagement and impact of co-productive research in mental health; supervise and provide training for PGRs and community researchers and provide leadership to the Converge Evaluation and Research Team. Key Requirements  Candidates will have a strong record of working in mental health services, working in co-productive inclusive environments, with a track record of leadership, management and a strong grounding in risk assessment and health and safety. The successful candidate will be somebody who grasps the challenges and opportunities of the Converge project with leadership, innovation, emotional intelligence, compassion and imagination. We are looking for somebody for whom identification with a set of methodological and ethical principles is at the forefront of their research practice, which might be located in a range disciplines from across the arts, humanities and social sciences. It is essential that candidates hold a doctoral level qualification. Further Information For informal enquiries please Professor Helen Julia Minors, Head of the School of the Arts, h.minors@yorksj.ac.uk This role is eligible for Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship. For further information regarding this visa route please visit Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).