President - Mary Immaculate College

Mary Immaculate College (MIC) is an autonomous, university-level, Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts.

Founded in 1898, and linked academically with the University of Limerick, MIC is the oldest higher education institution in Limerick.

Significant expansion in recent decades has seen the College's suite of educational programmes expand across two impressive campuses, one based in the heart of Limerick City and one in Thurles, Co.

Tipperary.

The diverse student community is made up of more than 5,000 learners, participating in fourteen undergraduate degree programmes and a wide range of postgraduate programmes up to and including doctoral level.

Academic staff members engage in professional research activities, and research underpins all teaching and learning at the College. MIC seeks to prepare its students for professional excellence and to nurture their capacity to lead flourishing lives.

Role Summary

The role of President of MIC is a critical appointment as the President will provide leadership in upholding the values of the College and will be strongly committed to promoting and sustaining the ethos and values of MIC as a Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts.

Appointed by (and reporting to) the Board of Trustees, the President (An tÚachtarán) is the Chief Executive Officer of the College and is ultimately responsible, within the framework of policy set down by the Governing Authority (An tÚdarás Rialaithe), for the leadership and executive management of the College, including academic, administrative, and financial affairs.

The President is a member of the Governing Authority and is Chairperson of the College's Academic Council (An Chomhairle Acadúil).

The College President will be accountable to the Governing Authority and the Trustees for institutional leadership and corporate governance.

The President will be proactive in providing the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), the Higher Education Authority (HEA), other sectoral partners, funders and the public with the highest levels of confidence in the College's governance practices and compliance.

They will prioritise quality and the necessary practices in continuous quality assurance to ensure that the College maintains its excellent reputation as a leading university-level institution.

They will be strongly committed to promoting and sustaining the role and importance of the Irish language within the College in addition to the principles and objectives set out in the MIC Mission Statement.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

To provide executive management and leadership of the College, including academic, administrative, and financial affairs so as to ensure the effective and efficient management of the College and its resources;

To discharge the functions of the President as set out in the Instrument of Government including inter alia: to be a member of An tÚdarás Rialaithe; to act as, or nominate a person to act as, Chairperson of the Executive Team, An Chomhairle Acadúil, An Bord Agaillaimh and any sub committees that may be appointed by these bodies or by an An tÚdarás Rialaithe; to report to meetings of An tÚdarás Rialaithe on atters relating to the affairs of the College; to nominate the membership of promotions boards and to make appointments in a manner approved by An tÚdarás Rialaithe;

To give expression to the vision, mission and values of the College;

To lead the development and ensure the implementation of the College's strategic aims, objectives and related policies;

To champion a culture of academic and professional excellence across the College, underpinned by the strongest commitment to quality assurance principles and procedures;

To innovate, seize opportunities and create new initiatives;

To lead the advancement of the College through fundraising activities and the development of relationships with local and international partners including the business, commercial, cultural and voluntary sectors;

To sustain the College's commitment to a diverse and inclusive campus community and

To enrich the College's contribution to local, regional, national life and society and to promote and lead positive social change.

Duties pertaining to the post are broadly defined and the list of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive.

The performance of the entire list of duties is not necessarily confined to any one individual and the appointee will be required to function in a flexible and collegial manner.

The appointee will be responsible to the Trustees and An tÚdarás Rialaithe for the performance of the duties set out.

The appointee will work with members of College Management, Heads of Department, Course Leaders and other College personnel and with relevant College and external bodies in carrying out the duties attaching to the post.

The Person

The successful candidate will have experience, skills, knowledge and personal attributes necessary to lead and manage the College, adhering to the fundamental principle that the holistic flourishing of the student is at the centre of its mission and activities.

They will have the capacity to formulate a shared vision for the College as an independent and autonomous, university-level, higher education institute.

The President will have the necessary skills to optimise the human and functional resources of the College and to ensure that it benefits from an organisational culture that fosters professional and academic collegiality and innovation, as well as a coherent and cohesive operational structure that is appropriate to the needs of its continuing growth agenda.

The President will have the capability to foresee opportunities for the future development of the mission and strategy of the College and the essential attributes for triggering and managing complex change.

They will have established wide-ranging networks during their career as an academic and as an effective and respected leader, and will be a person held in the highest regard by their peers.

They will have a deep understanding of the academic culture, with appropriate research experience and a strong commitment to the continued development and enhancement of the College's research profile.

They will have strong entrepreneurial acumen and financial awareness and will have previous experience of raising revenue from a multiplicity of sources - a key responsibility of the College President.

The President will be particularly attuned to the internationalisation agenda in the Irish higher education sector and will have the knowledge and abilities to situate MIC in a strong strategic position to capitalise on its rich potential in this context.

The President will be a role model exemplifying the very best values of Mary Immaculate College.

They will have outstanding interpersonal and communications skills and will be an engaging, confident and convincing public speaker and communicator.

They will have the proven talent to form strong professional and collegial relationships, both internally and externally.

They will be an effective influencer within the higher education sector and the broader professional and civic landscapes locally, nationally and internationally.

The President will be committed to partnership-working and skilled in championing and driving the process of collaboration.

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate evidence of:

Have a doctoral degree, preferably in Education and/or the Liberal Arts, and a peer-recognised track record of engagement in academic research;

Have a minimum of five years' senior-level academic leadership and management experience in higher education with a passionate commitment to the achievement of excellence in teaching, learning and research;

Ability to demonstrate significant corporate governance experience, including an ability to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the position of MIC within the Irish higher education landscape as well as the regulatory instruments that underpin the governance of the College;

Be able to demonstrate the ability to articulate a compelling strategic vision and to leading processes of complex strategic change by consensus;

Be able to demonstrate commitment to the principle of a holistic, student-centred approach to higher education and an ability to articulate a strong understanding of contemporary issues of relevance to student participation and student success in higher education;

Be able to show a firm commitment to preservation of the Catholic ethos of the College, together with the values contained in the MIC Mission Statement - especially the importance to the institution of the Irish language - with demonstrable evidence of the ability to give practical expression to these across all dimensions of the College's activities;

Be able to provide evidence of leadership in equality, diversity and inclusion, with demonstrable experience of stakeholder management.

The successful candidate may demonstrate evidence of:

Have proven credentials as an empathetic leader defined by a personal commitment professional accountability, transparency of decision-making, the forging of collegiality, communication, and the promotion of a partnership-based organisational culture;

Ability to demonstrate a track record of success in fostering a global outlook at institutional level and developing opportunities for international mobility in a higher education setting;

Commitment to building strong institution-level relationships in both multi-sector and community-based contexts;
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