University of St Andrews

Advance HE, Diversifying Leadership programme 

Diversifying Leadership is Advance HE's leadership development initiative for staff from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to develop leadership and networking skills.

Since 2016, the University has been supporting BAME staff to develop themselves and advance their leadership journey through the Diversifying Leadership programme and it is included in the University's Race Equality Charter Action Plan for addressing racial inequality.

The external programme is aimed at academics and professional services staff from minority ethnic backgrounds who are taking their first steps into leadership roles. It explores themes of power and influence, demystifying leadership, cultural identity and cultural capital, increasing your visibility and authentic leadership, and features leadership stories from high-profile higher education leaders. Participants will have time and space to reflect on their leadership goals and focus on the issues that they are facing.

Further information on the programme is available on the Advance HE webpage.

Programme overview:

The Diversifying Leadership programme combines instructor-led development activities, self-directed learning and facilitated action learning sets. Delivery takes place over 4 months via four online one-day modules, two in-person workshops and access to online resources. Each participant will have a sponsor. The sponsor will be a senior experienced St Andrews staff member who will support the participant's development throughout the programme.

The programme fee plus travel expenses in attending the in-person workshops are centrally funded by the University with no cost to the school/unit.

2024-25 cohort dates:

Eligibility:

To be eligible to participate in the programme, applicants must:

• identify as Black, Asian, minority ethnic or mixed background
• be a salaried St Andrews staff member working in a role at grade 6, 7 or 8

Staff on fixed-term contracts should have an end date after the end date of the programme.

Expectations of programme participants:

The Diversifying Leadership programme is a prestigious development programme that bears a considerable funding cost for the University. Therefore, programme participants are expected to:

• Commit to managing your own workload in such a way as to allow you to fully participate in the programme
• Commit to attending the four online modules and two in-person workshops delivered by Advance HE
• Commit to completing all assigned pre-work and self-directed learning
• Commit to engaging with their sponsor for the duration of the programme

Expectations of programme participant's line manager:

Given the considerable commitment for the participant in terms of time and resource to participate in the programme, there is an expectation on the participant's line manager to support their colleague in fully participating in the programme. Therefore, line managers of programme participants are expected to:

• Commit to allowing the participant to attend all required scheduled events and activities
• Commit to taking all reasonable steps, alongside the participant, to ensure that the participant's workload or duties does not prevent them for fully participating in the programme's activities and events
• Include participation in the programme in the participant's RDS/ARDS record
• Commit to supporting the participant in finding opportunities for them to practice their learning and development from the programme, where possible

How to apply:

A call for applications will be made by the central EDI Team in advance of the programme. Applicants will be requested to complete and application form giving personal information and explaining why they wish to participate in the programme and how they will use the programme to support their career and professional development.

Applicants must give contact information for their line manager in the application. The EDI Team will contact the line manager for their endorsement and statement of support.

Recruitment for the 2024/25 Diversifying Leadership Programme is now closed (deadline for applications was 31 October 2024). Please contact diversity@st-andrews.ac.uk if you would like to register your interest for future calls.

How participants will be selected and the next steps for participants:

All eligible applications received by the deadline will be reviewed by a panel, convened by the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Paulette Nhlapo. Up to five St Andrews staff will be offered a place on the programme for 2024-25.

The EDI Team will match participants with a sponsor.

Participants will confirm to the EDI Team which cohort they will attend (Birmingham or Manchester) and the EDI Team will book them on the programme. All participants must complete and online onboarding form, including a personal statement and a statement of support from their sponsor once a booking has been made. Information on the requirements will be sent with the offer to successful applicants.