Our Work

What we do to promote quality, diversity and inclusion.

Staff Recruitment & Development

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, and wish to particularly encourage applications from those who are currently underrepresented, including (but not limited to) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, women, and candidates identifying as LGBT+. We strive to be a team from diverse backgrounds, who have found themselves welcomed into our community and respected for their skills.

The School is committed to aiding the well-being and professional development of all staff. To this end, you will be offered training and development opportunities during your probation period and time in post. Hybrid working patterns will also be available at the discretion of your line manager. We are a interactive, cooperative, and creative team, and are looking for a motivated individual to contribute to our goals.

All staff involved in recruitment, promotion, line management and committees receive full training and support regarding Equality and Diversity, HR regulations and best practice.

Work-life Balance

 The School of Economics aims to support flexible and family-friendly working and to recognise and value diversity across all our staff and students. We have a work allocation model (WAM) that is committed to the fair, reasonable and equitable allocation of work. The WAM adheres to the guiding principles of the University Policy and is monitored and reviewed regularly by the School WAM Management Group. Additionally, we actively offer support and professional development for all staff ⁠by providing mentoring, training, and networking opportunities.

View the guiding principles on Work Allocation Models.

Caring Fund for Travel

The department offers support for colleagues with caring responsibilities to ensure they are not disadvantaged in undertaking training or research work. The Caring Fund for Travel is is part of our vision for creating an equal and and fair working enviornment.  

Creating Equal Access to Opportunities 

As well as many College and University wide initiatives for Student Support, the School has multiple Peer Support groups available for all of our students to access. EconClans is designed specifically for our first year students and offers peer support from students in older years that can gives them a network to interact, socialise and attend fun events.  

Our EconPals gives students the opportunity to attend multiple curriculum-focused sessions weekly led by experienced higher-year students covering material from the previous week's lectures and tutorials. 

The School has also adopted the new model for student support, offering students better access to support from staff via their own assigned Student Advisor. The new model of student support was developed from the ideas of students and staff, as well as national and international benchmarking across the sector. The model will be rolled out as part of a phased approach from the beginning of the 2022/2023 academic year, with the majority of students currently studying at the University moving to the new model of support from 2023/24.

Athena SWAN 

The Athena SWAN Charter supports women in science, engineering and technology, and in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law and in professional and support roles. 

Athena SWAN awards (formerly the Gender Equality Charter Mark, or GEM) recognise and celebrate good practice on recruiting, retaining and promoting women in STEMM in academia, and work undertaken in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law. Universities must achieve at least a Bronze award before individual departments can apply for recognition at bronze, silver or gold level in their own right.

The logic behind this is that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for a department to sustain the level of e.g. a Silver award without university support and underpinning university good practice policies and processes.

Membership of the Charter also can help universities fulfil their public sector equality, duty, work towards sustaining equitable working environments and identify themselves as employers of choice, not only to their staff, but to students, funders, Research Councils and industry.

The School of Economics is now in receipt of the Athena SWAN Bronze award.