Dean of the University College

Utrecht University is looking for a strong representative of interdisciplinary education, who embraces TRIPLE and appreciative leadership and vast experienced in the day-to-day integral management of a complex organisation, with proven success in managing finances.

Chasse Executive Search leads the executive search for the new Dean of University College Utrecht. Take a look at the Chasse website for the full profile.

Your job
The dean is a member of the UCU Management Team (MT) alongside the managing director, the director of education and the student-assessor. The MT has the decisive mandate regarding policy development, finances, and monitoring the performance of the organisation. The MT is supported on strategic issues by a policy adviser. The dean is the direct supervisor of the managing director and the director of education. The dean is also the direct supervisor of UCU's five cluster chairs and manages and works closely with them.

The dean reports and is accountable to the Executive Board of the university via the Rector Magnificus. The Executive Board of Utrecht University bears the ultimate responsibility for all the processes within the university, and the University Administration supports the Executive Board. The deans of the faculties and UCU are partly responsible for the design and implementation of the university's strategy. They contribute to this by meeting on a regular basis with the Executive Board.

UCU's strategy and the educational policy are embedded in the wider strategic plan of Utrecht University's educational model. The UCU dean has the overall responsibility for UCU’s strategy and educational policy and maintains internal and external contacts.

The dean and managing director are jointly responsible for leading UCU. The dean is mainly responsible for:

• executing the UCU strategy and ensuring that this aligns with UU strategy;
• strengthening and maintaining the leading position of UCU in the Netherlands and beyond;
• ensuring the financial health of the college by maintaining organisational flexibility to respond to fluctuations in funding;
• strengthening connections between UCU and the broader Utrecht University organisation at all levels, with a particular emphasis on UCU's role as an institution of educational innovation and an interdisciplinary breeding ground;
• keeping the close-knit, residential community unified and safeguarding community diversity and inclusion of its members;
• fostering development of academic leadership at all levels;
• fostering a culture and practice of continuous development and innovation throughout the UCU organisation.

We are looking for:

A figurehead:

• a strong representative of interdisciplinary education, who understands the pedagogy and didactics of a residential liberal arts and sciences programme;
• an ambassador for liberal arts and sciences education within the Utrecht University and on a national level with a clear vision on its dynamics and developments and knows how to implement this vision;
• a networker with a strong outreach, taking UCU’s community engagement further, from the city of Utrecht to all corners of the world;
• an authoritative scholar (full professor) who fosters a broad definition of scholarship, is sensitive to the needs of the staff in this respect, and who is able to further develop the teacher-scholar model at UCU.

A leader:

• who embraces TRIPLE and appreciative leadership or has experience with new forms of recognition and appreciation within a higher education context;
• a natural, empathetic leader with ample experience and good social and intercultural skills, who stays calm under pressure and makes use of a trust-based leadership style to stimulate bottom-up innovation;
• with the ability to keep a close-knit international community together in times of increasing polarisation, who creates an environment in which everyone can share their opinion;
• actively engaging and visible, communicating with students, staff and alumni effectively, with a focus on collaboration and finding the right balance between listening to all interests and setting boundaries;
• with proven commitment to diversity and inclusion and able to actively represent these in the UCU community.

An executive:

• a hands-on executive, vast experienced in the day-to-day integral management of a complex organisation, with proven success in managing finances;
• at the same time, the dean has deep knowledge of what constitutes a residential liberal arts and science programme and is able to preserve this in times of budget reductions;
• shows the ability to manage complicated issues, such as work pressure and housing;
• who is fluent in Dutch and English.

• A permanent employment contract for 0.8-1.0 FTE, with a four-year term as a Dean of UCU, and with the possibility of reappointment for an additional period;
• a salary in accordance with the position of dean as stipulated in the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU);
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

Utrecht University is a broad, high-quality international research university. Creating a better future for everyone is the ambition that motivates our scientists and scholars in their cutting-edge research and inspiring teaching.

University College Utrecht (UCU) is a renowned international (English-language) Bachelor Honours college for Liberal Arts and Sciences at Utrecht University. It offers students a residential academic setting for laying the foundation of their academic and professional careers. UCU is a selective programme with approximately 750 enrolled students from a wide range of nationalities. UCU selects and educates students for societal and community engagement. It offers roughly 230 courses per year. Among the special characteristics of the college are small classes and individual attention for students’ personal and academic development. UCU provides an environment that encourages intellectual exchange among students and teachers in a friendly and informal atmosphere. An important part of the UCU education is the tutorial system that provides individual guidance to UCU students.

We prepare our students to contribute to solutions for the challenges of the 21st century, shaping them into the leaders and thinkers of tomorrow. Collaboration from different disciplines and with social partners is a key pillar of our activities. We are also highly involved in all four of Utrecht University’s strategic themes: Pathways to Sustainability (for which we serve as coordinator), Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Dynamics of Youth.