Assistant Professor (Education) in Bioinformatics Education - Department of at University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

18 Jun, 26

Salary

56535.0

Posted On

20 Mar, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Bioinformatics Education, Machine Learning, Health Data Science, Postgraduate Programmes, Module Coordination, Teaching, Assessment, Student Supervision, Bayesian Learning, Probabilistic Modelling, Multimodal Analysis, Data Visualisation, Explainable Models, Curriculum Design, Knowledge Transfer, Enterprise

Industry

Higher Education

Description

Position Details Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606 Grade: 8 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to May 2029 Closing date: 9th April 2026 UK and International travel may be required for this role Interviews Scheduled to take place between 5th and 8th May The post is available immediately and is one of four to support our Masters education at Jinan-Birmingham Joint Institute. Details of the related posts are can be found below: Assistant Professor (Education) in Bioinformatics Education 107116 [https://edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_6001/job/8990/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share] Assistant Professor (Education) in Health Data Science Education 107113 [https://edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_6001/job/8993/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share] Assistant Professor (Education) in Health Data Science Education 107117 [https://edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_6001/job/8995/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share] Academic Development Programme - new Assistant Professors will undertake a development programme. The programme consists of a variety of development opportunities and the time to reflect and develop. Background An opportunity has arisen to become part of the University of Birmingham (UoB) and to join our mission to deliver a world-class University education as part of the Jinan-Birmingham Joint Institute (JBJI) MSc Bioinformatics. We are looking for an academic to join our education team to create and disseminate knowledge through developing and delivering postgraduate programmes; and to contribute to the activities of UoB through management, leadership and enterprise activities, as appropriate. The University has a large and successful portfolio of Bioinformatics Masters programmes, which includes courses at the University of Birmingham campuses in Birmingham and in Dubai and 100% online in our Distance Learning programme. We are now extending our portfolio to deliver the MSc Bioinformatics programme in collaboration with Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, and are seeking to recruit an Assistant Professor in Bioinformatics Education to support teaching across our portfolio. It is expected that the post-holder will support teaching in Machine Learning related modules. The post-holder will be expected to contribute towards administration in the Bioinformatics and Health Data Science section within the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences in the School of Medical Sciences. Management and administration are likely to involve contributions at the Department level, and/or making an important contribution to some managerial/leadership activities e.g. working groups within the University. This may include developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, school outreach, or similar activities at School or Department level, or further within the University. Role Summary The post-holder will be based within the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences in the School of Medical Sciences on the main University of Birmingham campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham but will primarily coordinate and deliver teaching in our joint institute (JBJI) in Guangzhou, China. We anticipate that the post-holder will travel to China twice per year and spend approximately one month in China each time. The post-holder will organise and coordinate key modules and deliver teaching, particularly in the area of Machine Learning. In addition, the post-holder will be expected to contribute to the whole range of teaching and administration across the University’s data science programmes, including management of programmes and supervision of individual research projects. Teaching also includes a substantial contribution to: (a) the management, development (including programme/module review) and delivery of teaching and assessment; and (b) enhancement of the student experience or employability. The role will typically also involve developing and advising others, including: (a) providing expert advice to staff and students, (b) supervising and examining PhD students, and (c) developing and advising others on learning and teaching tasks and methods. Given the education-focused nature of this role, all candidates must include details of the level and nature their teaching experience (including topics taught, teaching and assessment strategies) at undergraduate and/or postgraduate levels, both listed in their CV and described in a cover letter limited to 500 words. Main Duties Learning and Teaching The post-holder will: * Lead key modules in the Bioinformatics JBJI programme – specifically modules related to AI and Machine Learning * Provide substantial contributions to other teaching duties, as assigned by the Head of Education and/or Head of Department * Teach and examine courses * Develop and manage approaches to teaching and learning that are innovative to the subject area or institution * Undertake and develop a full range of responsibilities in relation to research supervision, marking and examining * Advise others on aspects of learning, teaching and assessment * Deliver (where appropriate to the discipline) specific professional programmes * Advance the practice of teaching in their modules, and play an important role in student academic support * Inform their teaching practice by discipline-based research * Frequently update their own subject expertise, and undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes * Typically carry a higher teaching load than those staff who carry out both education and research In addition, they will play an important role in the recruitment and admission of students. Management/Administration To contribute to the UoB administration or have a high level of responsibility for others. This may include: * Contribute to the administration/management of research and/or teaching across the Data Science programmes * Lead and manage a team to devise and implement a new and/or revised process (e.g. new programme or a recruitment drive) * Advise on personal development of colleagues and students * Make a major contribution to some administrative activities within the University (e.g. appeals panels, working groups) * Manage enterprise, business development, and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the Department, College and University * Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, school outreach. * Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour Person Specification * PhD or equivalent experience in Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline * Depth of expertise in modern Machine Learning for biological data, covering supervised and unsupervised learning, and able to explain methods clearly to mixed background cohorts * Demonstrable teaching expertise in several of the following areas: * Bayesian learning and probabilistic modelling * Multimodal and integrative analysis, including multi-omics settings * Data visualisation and exploratory analysis for complex biological systems * Explainable models and model interpretation in applied contexts * Robust analysis of real-world data, including missingness, low quality samples, and noise * Proven ability to devise, advise on and manage learning and research * Skills in managing, motivating and mentoring others successfully at all levels * Ability and willingness to travel twice per year to China for approximately 1 month per visit Teaching * Substantial teaching experience in Machine Learning and data analytics at postgraduate level, including curriculum design and delivery that connects computational methods to biological questions * Proven ability to design authentic assessments that evaluate method choice, scientific reasoning, and real-world problem solving, not only technical recall * Experience and success in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity that enhances the student experience or employability * Experience leading or contributing to practice based learning, for example project led workshops, data challenges, group presentations, or similar formats * Effective supervision and mentoring of students and staff, with evidence of positive outcomes and an inclusive approach to supporting diverse learners Management Administration * Ability to contribute to Departmental/School management processes * Ability to assess and organise resources effectively * Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes * Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area * Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied * Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action OH & DBS required The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Occupational Health and DBS clearance prior to appointment. Further particulars can be found here [http://www.download.bham.ac.uk/vacancies/jd/MDSFPs.pdf] Informal enquiries to Richard Tuxworth, email: r.i.tuxworth@bham.ac.uk [r.i.tuxworth@bham.ac.uk] and Dr Anas Ahmad Rana, email: a.a.rana@bham.ac.uk [a.a.rana@bham.ac.uk] Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/about/equality/index.aspx].

Responsibilities

The role involves leading key modules, particularly those related to AI and Machine Learning, within the Bioinformatics Joint Institute programme in Guangzhou, China, while also contributing to the broader teaching and administration across the university’s data science programmes. Responsibilities include developing and managing teaching approaches, supervising research projects, and contributing to management and leadership activities within the department.