Director of English Language Centre

THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

With over 85 years of rich heritage, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has evolved alongside society and made pivotal contributions to the development of Hong Kong, the Nation and the world.  The University pursues world-class excellence in education, research and knowledge transfer to nurture socially responsible leaders and professionals, as well as to drive impactful research and innovation.  PolyU will strive to continually excel as an innovative world-class university that makes a positive impact on society, living up to the University’s motto: “To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind”.

Ranked among the top 100 universities globally by well-known ranking organisations such as Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Times Higher Education (THE) and U.S. News & World Report, PolyU offers a wide range of world-class educational and research programmes in seven faculties (including the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences to be established on 1 January 2025) and three independent schools.  PolyU has furthermore achieved remarkable results in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 – it is ranked in the global top 20 for five subjects, is first in Hong Kong for four subjects, and is in the global top 100 for 21 subjects.

For further details about the University, please visit PolyU’s website at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE

Director of English Language Centre (Ref. 241104004-IE)

The English Language Centre (ELC), with a strong commitment to quality learning and teaching, aims to enhance student’s communication skills, foster students’ independent, life-long English language learning and whole-person development. ELC, currently one of the constituent units of the Faculty of Humanities, will be housed under the new Language Education Institute with effect from 1 July 2025.

ELC is mainly responsible for offering English subjects for Language and Communication Requirements which are mandatory to all undergraduate students of the University, Discipline-Specific Requirements subjects tailor-made for more than 20 professional fields of the University’s programmes, and numerous electives designed to enhance students’ communicative competencies. The Centre currently has around 80 teaching staff members, and about 25 technical, research and administrative personnel. Please visit the Centre’s website at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/elc/ for more information.

In the light of transformational development of digital learning platforms and technological tools in today’s language education, we are looking for a Director of English Language Centre who possesses the knowledge and/or expertise in technology-enhanced pedagogies to steer the Centre towards this direction in alignment with the strategic goals of the University.  The successful candidate will be appointed to a senior academic/teaching position commensurate with his/her qualifications and experience and will hold a concurrent directorship appointment, which is normally for a three-year term of office on a renewable basis. Other suitable candidate(s) from the search, if deemed appropriate by the University, may be appointed senior academic/teaching position(s) if not Director of the Centre.

Job Functions

The position calls for a visionary leader with responsibilities of ensuring the smooth and successful operation and development of the Centre.  Reporting directly to the Director of Language Education Institute, the appointees will be required to:

(a)    provide effective leadership in the strategic development and plans of the Centre, in alignment with the University’s Strategic Plan, and provide leadership, coaching and support to all staff members in the Centre in pursuit of planned objectives in a high-quality and cost-effective manner;

(b)    take a leading role in the Centre’s curriculum-design and pedagogical functions, and other academic and scholarly initiatives, including promotion of pedagogic innovations in relation to English language education (including technology-enhanced pedagogies), scholarly investigation of educational needs of students, etc.;

(c)    oversee and manage all businesses of the Centre including the delivery of subjects that it offers;

(d)    ensure optimal deployment of human, financial and other resources in the Centre;

(e)    represent the Centre to liaise with the Centre’s stakeholders for the planning and delivery of the Centre’s educational missions;

(f)     ensure the quality and relevance of the Centre’s teaching activities with the aim of enhancing students’ communication skills;

(g)    develop and lead initiatives that enable and encourage the sharing and promotion of good teaching practice; and

(h)    undertake other duties as assigned by the Director of Language Education Institute or the Central Management Team of the University from time to time.

Qualifications

Applicants should have:

(a)    a PhD or a professional doctorate in Applied Linguistics, Educational Research, Language Education or a related field;

(b)    substantial years of relevant post-qualification experience in a senior academic/teaching position in higher education;

(c)    proven administrative and management capabilities, excellent leadership, interpersonal, communication and team-building skills;

(d)    a proven track record in leading innovation in education, particularly with knowledge of and/or expertise in technology-enhanced pedagogies;

(e)    a proven track record in teaching excellence that creates deep and lasting impact on student learning and development;

(f)     outstanding contribution to programme development leading to substantial enhancement in the quality of educational provision; and

(g)    a proven track record in scholarship of teaching and learning as evidenced by teaching development grants or other funding obtained related to teaching and learning projects, and impactful scholarly works or publications in educational research.

Preference will be given to those with good knowledge of the higher education environment in Hong Kong.  

Conditions of Service

Terms of appointment and remuneration package are negotiable and highly competitive.

Application and Nomination

The University invites applications and nominations for this appointment.  Please submit an application through PolyU’s career website (https://jobs.polyu.edu.hk/deans_heads).  Candidature may also be recommended by nominations via email to the Chairman of the Search Committee for recruitment of Director of English Language Centre at hrscelc@polyu.edu.hk.  Consideration of applications and nominations will commence on 9 December 2024 until the position is filled.  General information about the University is available at http://www.polyu.edu.hk or from the Human Resources Office [Tel: (852) 3400 3520].  The University’s Personal Information Collection Statement for recruitment can be found at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/careers/pics_for_recruitment.

PolyU is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to fostering an environment that embraces diversity and demonstrates inclusion of people from all backgrounds, cultures, identities and experiences where all members of the University are treated with fairness, dignity and respect.  To learn more about the University’s “Statement on Equal Opportunities, Diversity, and Inclusion”, please visit our website at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/equal_opportunities_diversity_and_inclusion/.