Bournemouth University (BU) in Dorset, England, is recruiting a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost. The job is permanent and full time. You would report to the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, deputise for her, and lead the university’s academic work: the deans, education, research, the academic portfolio and the national assessment submissions. The salary is advertised only as “competitive”. Applications close on Sunday 1 November 2026.
The search is run by the executive search firm Anderson Quigley, and you apply through the link on the Times Higher Education (THE) Unijobs listing. Below I set out what the Bournemouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost role involves and who BU is looking for. I also cover how a search at this level works, how to put together an application pack that gets you onto the longlist, and the mistakes that keep strong people off it.
Bournemouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost: key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employer | Bournemouth University (BU) |
| Location | Bournemouth, Dorset, England (Talbot and Lansdowne campuses) |
| Job title | Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost |
| Contract | Permanent, full time |
| Reports to | Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer (currently Professor Alison Honour), whom the postholder also deputises for |
| Salary | “Competitive”. No figure or pay band is published |
| Search firm | Anderson Quigley |
| Confidential contacts | Elliott Rae and Aino Betts at Anderson Quigley |
| How to apply | “Apply on website” button on the THE Unijobs listing (job 416365) |
| Advert posted | 8 October 2026 |
| Closing date | Sunday 1 November 2026 |
| Interview dates | Not published in the advert |
Closing soon
The advert closes on Sunday 1 November 2026, three days after this post went up. The advert gives no closing time, so submit by Saturday if you can. If you need a short extension, speak to the Anderson Quigley consultants before the date passes. Don’t assume they will give one.
About Bournemouth University
BU got university status in 1992. Before that it was the Dorset Institute of Higher Education. Its main site is Talbot Campus, on the Poole side of the boundary with Bournemouth, and Lansdowne Campus sits near Bournemouth town centre. The advert describes a community of around 15,000 students and 1,500 colleagues. University Alliance, the group of professional and technical universities BU belongs to, gives similar figures: about 14,000 students from more than 100 countries.
The university has three faculties, and each is led by a Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean. These are the deans the Provost will lead:
- Faculty of Media, Science and Technology: home of the National Centre for Computer Animation, which is BU’s best-known specialism.
- Faculty of Business and Law
- Faculty of Health, Environment and Medical Sciences: this faculty’s dean is currently listed as interim, so the new Provost may be involved in settling permanent faculty leadership.
BU holds a Silver rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF, 2023). University Alliance says 94% of its research in the last Research Excellence Framework was rated internationally recognised or higher. It also says BU placed 59th in the world in the THE Impact Rankings 2025 and is one of only six UK universities rated Ofsted Outstanding for apprenticeships. These numbers matter for this role because the Provost will be accountable for the next TEF, REF and KEF submissions.
The strategy you would deliver is BU2035, a ten-year plan launched under Vice-Chancellor Alison Honour, who joined in August 2024. It has five pillars: Learning for a digital world, Research and innovation, People and culture, Place and partnerships, and Financial sustainability. Read the full plan on BU’s website before you write anything. Your letter should speak to these pillars by name.
When I checked on 29 October 2026, BU’s University Executive Team page still listed Professor Niamh Downing as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost. BU announced her appointment in February 2025. The university has not said publicly why the post is being filled now. If the timing matters to you, ask the search consultants in your confidential call.
Responsibilities of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost
The advert lists the duties in broad terms. In plain language, the postholder will:
- Lead the deans: provide leadership to the faculty deans and the university-level deans.
- Set academic direction: help shape where BU goes academically, and lead delivery of the BU2035 ambitions.
- Raise outcomes: champion educational excellence and improve the student experience, graduate outcomes, research, innovation and enterprise.
- Own academic performance: be accountable for academic performance and for BU’s TEF, REF and KEF submissions.
- Reshape the portfolio: develop a distinctive academic portfolio that is financially sustainable.
- Build culture: nurture a culture where staff and students can thrive.
- Deputise: stand in for the Vice-Chancellor when needed.
If you are applying from outside the UK, here is what the three acronyms mean. The TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) rates teaching and student outcomes. The REF (Research Excellence Framework) assesses research quality and drives a large share of research funding. The KEF (Knowledge Exchange Framework) measures how a university works with business, the public sector and communities. A Provost who has led a REF or TEF submission has a clear advantage here.
Requirements: who BU is looking for
The advert does not list a required degree or professorial title. It describes the person, and there are three parts to that description:
- Senior academic leadership: a strong record in higher education, including strategic delivery and leading transformational change.
- Financial and resource judgement: expertise in financial and resource planning, with sound judgement.
- Values and relationships: the ability to inspire confidence and build partnerships, and to lead with integrity, openness and a commitment to inclusion.
Taken together, the profile points to someone who has already run large academic units, and has probably already been a Pro Vice-Chancellor, Executive Dean or Deputy Vice-Chancellor elsewhere. That person should have handled budgets in hard financial times. In practice, nearly every UK appointee at this level holds a doctorate and a professorial title, even when the advert doesn’t require them. A candidate without either would need an exceptional leadership record to make up for it.
The ideal candidate would also suit a modern, applied university. BU’s strengths are professional and practice-based education, apprenticeships, health, media and creative industries, and links with regional employers. A Provost from a research-intensive university can succeed here, but should show real commitment to applied, industry-facing teaching.
What a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost does, compared with a Vice-Chancellor or President
These titles mean different things in different countries, which confuses many applicants:
| Title | Usual role | Faces mainly |
|---|---|---|
| Vice-Chancellor (UK, Australia, Nigeria and others) | Chief executive of the university, responsible to the governing body | Outward: government, funders, partners, the board |
| President (US, Canada, parts of Europe and Asia) | Chief executive; the equivalent of a UK Vice-Chancellor | Outward: trustees, donors, government |
| Provost (US model) | Chief academic officer, second in command to the President | Inward: deans, faculty, curriculum, academic budgets |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost (UK hybrid, as at BU) | Chief academic officer and formal deputy to the Vice-Chancellor | Inward first, but steps outward when deputising |
| Pro Vice-Chancellor | Leads one area (education, research, a faculty) and usually reports to the DVC or VC | One portfolio or faculty |
Put simply, the Vice-Chancellor runs the whole institution and the Provost runs its academic side. At BU, the Chief Operating Officer leads the professional services, so the Provost’s job centres on the deans, the courses, research performance and the student academic experience. The “deputy” part of the title means you stand in for the Vice-Chancellor, and the job is a common step towards becoming a Vice-Chancellor. Alison Honour herself was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Canterbury Christ Church University before BU appointed her.
How to apply for the Bournemouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost job
- Get the candidate pack: the THE listing links to Anderson Quigley’s page for this role, which has more detail on BU and the post. Download everything there and treat its stated requirements as final.
- Book a confidential conversation: the advert invites you to talk in confidence with Elliott Rae or Aino Betts at Anderson Quigley. With the deadline this close, email or call today. Their contact details are on the THE listing.
- Prepare your documents: the advert does not list them. For UK senior searches this is normally a full CV and a supporting letter, sometimes with an equality monitoring form. Check the pack for the exact list and any page limit.
- Submit through the official route: click “Apply on website” on the THE Unijobs listing, which takes you to the application route. Submit before Sunday 1 November 2026.
- Keep a copy: save the PDF you sent and the confirmation email. You will need them to prepare for interview.
How the search for a DVC and Provost usually runs
BU has not published its interview dates, so treat the stages below as the usual UK pattern, not BU’s confirmed timetable. Our post on the Aalto University President vacancy covers how a top-job search works in general. A few points are specific to a Provost search:
- Longlist: the search firm reviews applications against the person specification, then has preliminary interviews with the strongest candidates soon after the closing date.
- Shortlist: a selection panel chooses a small group. For a Provost post the Vice-Chancellor normally chairs it, which differs from a Vice-Chancellor search, where the governing body leads.
- Stakeholder sessions: shortlisted candidates often meet deans, senior staff and student representatives, and may give a presentation on academic strategy.
- Final panel interview: expect questions on portfolio decisions, financial trade-offs and how you would lead the next REF.
- Approval and offer: the appointment is confirmed through the university’s governance process, with references taken up late in the process. Senior staff often have notice periods of several months, so the start date may be well into 2027.
How to prepare your application pack
At this level the panel looks for evidence that you understand BU and have already done this kind of work. These parts of the pack carry that evidence:
- A leadership CV: open with your current post, its scale (staff, students, budget) and who reports to you. Put your academic record (doctorate, chair, a short list of selected publications or grants) after the leadership history, not before.
- A letter mapped to the advert: take each part of the person specification in turn and give one concrete example with a result, such as a portfolio review, a REF submission, a recovery from a deficit or a change in student outcomes.
- Evidence that you read BU2035: name one or two pillars and say what you would do in your first year to deliver them.
- Use numbers: “grew postgraduate taught income by a set percentage over three years” tells the panel far more than “a proven track record”.
- Referees ready: line up current and recent senior colleagues who can talk about your leadership, and tell them a search firm may call.
A sample opening line for the letter, which you should adapt to your own record: “As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at [university], I led a portfolio review that closed or redesigned [number] courses while improving continuation rates, and I would bring that experience to delivering BU2035’s ambition for learning in a digital world.”
Common mistakes
- Sending a research CV: forty pages of publications buries the leadership evidence the panel actually scores.
- A generic letter: a letter that could go to any university, with no mention of BU2035, its faculties or its applied focus, rarely makes the longlist.
- Ignoring the money: the advert asks for financial and resource planning expertise. If your letter doesn’t mention budgets, you have skipped a third of the specification.
- Skipping the confidential call: the consultants can tell you what the panel cares about most, and that should shape your letter.
- Leaving it to the last day: online systems fail, and the closing date here falls on a Sunday.
- Applying through an unofficial site: only use the THE listing and Anderson Quigley. No genuine search firm asks for a fee.
Who should apply and who shouldn’t
You should apply if you are a serving Pro Vice-Chancellor, Executive Dean or Deputy Vice-Chancellor, in the UK or abroad, with a record of leading several departments or faculties and managing academic budgets. It also suits you if you know the UK assessment frameworks, or can show you will learn them quickly, and you want to work in an applied, industry-facing university. Senior leaders from Nigeria, India, Australia or elsewhere can compete if their record is at that scale, but they should explain the size of their institution and their remit clearly for a UK panel.
You probably shouldn’t apply if your highest role is head of department or programme leader, or if your leadership is mostly in research with little budget or people responsibility. You also shouldn’t apply if you aren’t ready to relocate to the south coast of England or start within a normal senior notice period. Early-career academics will find better openings in fellowships and research posts, and our guide to the KWI International Fellowships is one place to start. For a sound CV structure at an earlier stage, see our Europass CV guide.
FAQs about the Bournemouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost job
What is the salary for the Bournemouth University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost?
BU advertises the salary only as “competitive” and publishes no figure or band. Ask the Anderson Quigley consultants in your confidential conversation.
When is the deadline for the Bournemouth University Provost job?
The deadline is Sunday 1 November 2026. No closing time is given, so submit a day early.
Do I need a PhD to become a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost?
BU’s advert does not list a degree requirement. In practice, most UK Provosts hold a doctorate and a professorship, and your senior leadership record will count for the most.
Can international candidates apply for this job?
Yes. The advert doesn’t limit applicants by country. A non-UK candidate would need the right to work in the UK, and any sponsorship question is best raised with the search firm early.
Sources and updates
I checked the role details on 29 October 2026 against the Times Higher Education Unijobs listing, which names Anderson Quigley as the search firm and links to its role page. University facts come from Bournemouth University’s own University Executive Team page, its BU2035 strategy announcement and its 2024 news release on Professor Alison Honour’s appointment, together with University Alliance’s member profile of BU. BU has not published interview dates or a salary figure. If the closing date is extended or the role is re-advertised, I will update this page.
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