New applicants

You will need to create an online account to apply online. This will allow you to save applications which are in progress and view submitted applications.

Once you are ready to make an application, please go to Current Vacancies

Accessible

If you require this information in an alternative format please contact the Human Resources department via 01582 743390 or via email at uob.jobs@beds.ac.uk

Existing users and previous applicants

If you are already registered as a user and have submitted at least one application via this site please use the ‘Existing user login’ option.

Your personal details, employment history and referee details will automatically feed through to any further applications you make. Please check these details are still current.

To amend your applications, use theEditoption. To add additional information, use theAddoption.

Existing University of Bedfordshire staff (excluding staff on visiting contracts)

If you are an existing member of staff please login to iTrent Self Service and click on the Web Recruitment link once you have been logged in you will be redirected back to the search page.

Staff on visiting contracts cannot use the Staff Login option and must instead apply as new applicants or previous applicants.

Progress of your application

When you submit your application you will receive an automated acknowledgement.

Successful candidates selected for interview will be confirmed by email.

The selection panel will review all applications after the closing date. Please allow up to four weeks from this date for further contact from the University, when we will let you know if you have been selected for interview or not.

Due to the very large number of applications that we receive we are unable to provide candidates with feedback from their application form if they have not been shortlisted.

Using the online application form

The online application form will time-out if you do not save any data for a 60-minute period. We strongly advise you to save your application regularly by clicking on the Save & Continue button.

You may prefer to type your supporting statement in another document first and then copy and paste the text into the relevant box. Please be aware that you risk losing data if the form times-out and you have not saved your data regularly.

Criminal convictions

Some University of Bedfordshire posts require a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) disclosure check and this is specified in the advert or job description. Any subsequent job offer would be subject to a satisfactory check.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The University is committed to equity of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the population and is proud to be a Disability Confident - Committed Employer. As users of the Disability Confident symbol, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for vacancies.

If you feel that you have a disability and wish to be considered under the scheme, please confirm by ticking the box. Providing that you meet all the essential criteria for the job, you will then be invited for interview. This information will only be shared with the Chair of the shortlisting panel and the Human Resources Team.

If you are invited to interview, please respond to the HR department so that any required adjustments at the interview stage can be put in place.

Proof of eligibility to work in the UK

You must indicate if you have permission to live and work in the UK. If you are selected for appointment you will be required to verify this by prior to the start of your employment producing appropriate documentary proof and copies of relevant identification will be retained as part of your pre-employment checks to comply with Home Office requirements.

Personal information

Please include all forenames and your surname/family name. If you are known by a different forename, please enter this as your preferred name.

If you provide more than one address, please use the tick-box on the online application to indicate which one is your mailing address. In most cases correspondence will be sent by email so it is important that you also provide a valid email address.

Employment details

Please list details of your current and previous employment accounting for any gaps in your employment history.

Education and qualifications

Please provide details of all your qualifications which you believe are relevant to this application, listing the highest qualification first.

Include the name of the place of learning, the qualification type/level (eg degree, NVQ2), the date the qualification was obtained or expected completion date and details of the subject(s) and grade(s). Verification of qualifications will be required when commencing employment.

Professional memberships and occupational training

Please give details of any professional memberships and/or occupational training which are relevant to the post you are applying for. Where appropriate state your level of membership, the date obtained and expiry or renewal date and your membership or registration number.

Supporting information

This section is for you to provide any additional information which you feel is relevant to your application. 

Please read the job description and employee specification carefully before completing an application as the decision whether to shortlist you will be based on the information provided in your application.

Please provide information, examples and evidence to illustrate how you feel you meet the criteria for the job. It will not be considered sufficient just to say you do.

When providing examples or evidence, you may also refer to any relevant experience acquired outside work such as community, voluntary or leisure interests. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) alone are not accepted in place of an application but you may include one as additional supporting information. The CV should relate to how you meet the criteria outlined in the employee specification.

A maximum of two attachments, with a maximum size of 2Mb, can be accepted.

If you do not demonstrate that you meet all of the essential criteria you will not be invited to interview. Meeting all of the essential criteria, however, does not (with the exception of those applying under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme) mean you will be shortlisted for an interview. In a strong group of applicants the desirable criteria may also be used.

References

All University appointment are subject to satisfactory references.

You must include on your application the name, address, email address and telephone number of two referees who will be able to comment on your suitability for the post. One of these referees must be your present or your most recent employer. Referees should not be a relative and ideally both of your referees should be able to comment on your suitability for the post for which you have applied.

Your referees will be contacted after you have been identified as the preferred candidate for the post.

Source of application

To help us monitor the effectiveness of our recruitment process, please tell us how you found out about this opportunity.

Final declaration

You must complete this section on the form to confirm that the information you have provided is, to the best of your knowledge, true and complete and also so that we can process your application in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In the event that your application is successful the information you provide will be used to establish your personnel record. Otherwise your data is primarily held for internal monitoring and external benchmarking purposes and will not be kept longer than is required for these purposes.

Equal opportunities monitoring

The University has an Equality and Diversity Policy and Strategy that reflects the requirements of the Equality Act.

The University welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We aim to ensure that everyone who works or applies to work for our University is treated fairly and is not subjected to unlawful discrimination on grounds of their sex, age, race, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation and religion or belief.

In order to monitor the effectiveness of our Equality and Diversity procedures, you are requested to complete this section of the form. This section will be detached prior to your application form being forwarded to the selection panel.

If you are invited for interview, you will be asked to indicate whether any specific arrangements need to be made for you to attend.

Interview selection criteria

Selection criteria for interviews are based on merit only and may include one or more of these interview selection processes:

• application form
• panel interview
• written exercise
• presentation exercise
• psychometric testing

If you are expected to undertake an exercise or presentation as part of the selection process you will be notified of this in your interview confirmation.

All the information obtained during the selection procedure will be assessed and used in the final decision-making process.

Pre-employment

All offers of appointment to a position with the University are subject to satisfactory pre-employment health assessment through completion of a health questionnaire. We will make every effort to modify the job and/or to make reasonable adjustments to enable a candidate with a disability to take up a post.

Our People and Culture

We are currently hard at work implementing our new People and Culture strategy to recruit, retain and develop a high quality workforce. Launched in 2022, the strategy aims to foster a positive culture and an inclusive, diverse work environment that values the institution’s greatest asset – its people – and encourages the empowerment of staff.

We will seek to do this by providing services that promote a work environment characterised by the fair treatment of staff, open communications, personal accountability, trust and mutual respect.

Specifically, we want to:

Develop an ethos of teamwork and quality in our day-to-day operations.

Create an atmosphere that fosters challenges, fun, safety and positive wellbeing.

Seize opportunities to demonstrate excellence and best practice, adopting a caring attitude and a sense of urgency.

Reduce resource wastage and improve efficiency by vigorously pursuing continuous improvement activities.

Commit to acting openly, equitably and consistently in our pursuit of uncompromising quality.

Respect colleagues’ values that may be different from our own.

Accept responsibility for promoting ethical conduct in personal and business practices.

We recognise that a positively engaged workforce is the key to the success of our university and ultimately the future of our students. We have a number of ways that we actively listen to and engage our staff so that we can work together to continually review and improve our work environment and processes, including:

• Team Talk – a team briefing system which all colleagues participate in to deliver information, ask questions and collect feedback
• 'Ask VECG Anything' sessions – online Q&A sessions with the Vice Chancellor’s Senior Team
• Regular Town Hall meetings with the VC
• Staff Forums and Conversation Cafés on key topics and issues
• Regular Tea with the VC sessions, providing colleagues with the chance to sit down and talk openly with our Vice Chancellor
• People and Culture survey every two years and regular pulse surveys
• Staff Engagement Committee which meets quarterly to help affect and influence change
• Regular blog shared across the university from our senior leaders

Reward and recognition:

• Vice Chancellor’s Proud to be Beds Awards, is an annual awards ceremony which recognises outstanding individual, colleague and team achievements which ultimately embody our staff values and which make us ‘Proud to be Beds’.
• 'A Little Thank You'- our fortnightly staff newsletter includes a regular feature which provides colleagues with the opportunity to celebrate and thank colleagues for their contribution and hard work.

Long service

Long Service Awards are given to those colleagues in recognition of 10 and 25 years continuous service. All eligible colleagues will receive a £100 cheque upon reaching their 10 year anniversary and a £300 cheque on their 25 year anniversary. All staff receive a certificate which is presented at the staff summer party.

 

The University of Bedfordshire is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and supportive working environment for its staff and an excellent teaching and learning experience for its students, where staff are valued and respected, and students are encouraged to thrive academically.

Disability Confident

As a provider of employment and education, the University values the diversity of its staff and students and is committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for its students and staff.

The University is committed to and strives for equality of opportunity for all its students and staff (existing and prospective) and will recognise and celebrate their diversity.

As part of this commitment the University has signed up to the Governments Disability Confident

Scheme and has become a Disability Confident – Committed Employer.

As a Disability Confident - Committed Employer the University of Bedfordshire has made the following commitments:

• Ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
• Communicate and promote vacancies
• Offer an interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the job
• Anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required
• Support any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.
• Implement a job shadowing scheme

See further information on the Disability Confident Scheme

Mental Health First Aiders

The mental health and wellbeing of our staff is our priority and we want to ensure our people have access support they may need. This is also in response to the Staff Culture survey and a part of our plans to continue to grow support mechanisms for our staff and improve staff experience.

Our team of MHFAiders are committed to taking an active approach to this role, through supporting positive wellbeing and tackling stigma. The role of a MHFAider is to be a key point of contact for colleagues, who may be experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. They can provide support and signposting to available resources, when necessary.

Stonewall Diversity Champion

We have joined Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme in order to ensure we have the best resources and guidance to further progress our LGBT+ inclusion work. As part of this programme we join more than 80 HE Institutions committed to progressing LGBT+ inclusion, through sharing ideas and best practice.

The Aurora Programme

Advance HE Aurora is a bespoke programme led by an external team of leadership experts to explore four key areas associated with female leadership success:

• Identity, Impact & Voice · Core Leadership
• Politics & Influence
• Adaptive Leadership Skills

The programme is an opportunity for women in Higher Education to come together to learn through mentoring, self-directed learning and various workshop events.