BIOS Director of Education – 19th December 2024

The deadline for this role has passed

You can find the current vacancies at BIOS here.

We are currently looking for a BIOS Director of Education, who will be responsible for managing and leading the education and professional development activity for BIOS. This role is for 1 day per week.

Role Purpose:

Responsible for managing and leading the education and professional development activity for BIOS. The post will oversee all pre- and post-registration education developments and chair the Education and Professional Development Committee (EPDC). The post holder will also link in directly with the Chair, Vice Chair and BIOS Programme Manager (where appropriate) in the strategic planning and delivery of projects relating to education and workforce reform. The post holder will contribute to the delivery and development of the BIOS strategic plan and link with other BIOS officers as appropriate to ensure that education and professional development activity is at the forefront of the profession’s development. As Director of Education, the post holder will initially be invited to sit as a non-voting member of the BIOS Board of Trustees with a view to the role potentially becoming a Trustee position pending a vote at the AGM in 2025.

Application Process:

CV and supporting statement to be submitted to [email protected]
Informal inquiries to be made to [email protected]
Applicants should expect to be interviewed by members of the Board

Application Deadline: 5pm 19th December 2024

Responsible to: Board of Trustees

Role Scope:

• The appointment will be for a 3 year term with the option to undertake a second term of office as per selection of BIOS Trustees and Council members.
• The post can be taken as a secondment from the individual’s substantive post or as a paid post based on the individual’s level of experience/employment via a written contract for supplying services to BIOS
• The post holder will Chair the BIOS Education and Professional Development Committee. If the post holder holds a substantive post as one of the HEIs who have a permanent seat on EPDC, then the post holder will also therefore act as the representative for that institution at EPDC and there
• Anticipating, influencing and responding to key issues relating to professional practice
• Using a variety of means including establishing expert working groups, holding round-table events, influencing senior policymakers and/or oversight of the development of new professional guidance and resources.
• Attend and represent BIOS at external meetings which have an education focus, for example HCPC/NHSE.
• Responsibility for the delivery and development of the BIOS Clinical Tutor Course in conjunction with the Lead Tutor Representative to EPDC
• Responsible of the audit of clinical placements to ensure a standardised approach between HEIs as well as the central collection of data relating to placement quality by BIOS
• Oversight of escalated complaints by the National Equitable Allocation Team by students or HEIs regarding specific clinical placement sites
• Horizon scanning for potential future developments in pre-registration education and post-graduate/professional development
• Present options for BIOS/EPDC to consider the development of resources for members to aid in their professional development (AI and orthoptics – pulling together existing material for BIOS)
• Contribute to the development of BIOS policy positions concerning education and professional development and work with the Communications and Policy Officer to disseminate these effectively
• Lead on the strategic delivery of education and workforce reform projects as appropriate in conjunction with the Chair and Vice Chair

Responsibility as a Trustee:

• Trustees are subject to the Charity Commission’s code of conduct and as BIOS Trustees are urged to familiarise themselves with these guides https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-what-you-need-to-do
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-trustee-welcome-pack/charity-trustee-welcome-pack
• Trustees are asked to be aware of the latest BIOS Articles of Association, which state that Trustees cannot be remunerated by BIOS for services rendered. https://www.orthoptics.org.uk/governance/
• Articles also state that Trustees may be asked to step down if two consecutive planned Trustee or Council meetings are missed (excluding teleconference or extraordinary meetings)

Person Specification