Message from the Dean

10 May 2017

Achieving the University’s ambitions - implications for FBMH staff

I hope that by now you have had an opportunity to read the email that has been issued across the University outlining the next stage of our plans for achieving the Manchester 2020 vision, notably by realising £50 million for reinvestment in priority areas and to meet our financial challenges.

I would like to take this opportunity to explain the contribution that we in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) will be making towards delivering Manchester 2020.

FBMH is already a leading research intensive Faculty and you are all rightly proud of your many achievements.  However, to make greater progress and achieve our ambitions, we need to further advance our international reputation and competitiveness in a number of research areas, as well as ensure that we continue to deliver teaching of the highest quality, whilst being financially sustainable.

This financial sustainability includes creating significant funds for future investment, whilst also making a proportionate contribution to the wider running costs of the University - at present FBMH’s contribution rate is significantly lower than that of the other Faculties.

Faculty leaders have been reviewing all our expenditure as well as looking at the many excellent opportunities that are already being put in place to increase our income, such as with additional student numbers, where feasible.  However, the reality is that pay costs are almost 70% of the total expenditure of FBMH.

Therefore we will need to make savings as well as generate additional income. This will require a reduction of around 65 academic posts - approximately 1.5% of our total Faculty staff and about 7% of academic staff.  Our hope and expectation is that this reduction will be achieved through voluntary means.

Although there are a number of categories of staff excluded from this exercise, we have initially identified 627 academic posts that will be ‘in scope’.  This number will then be reduced to a much smaller group of around 140 staff who will be ‘at risk’, and from this group we plan to achieve the reduction of 65 posts.

We have not written to each member of staff who is ‘in scope’ because this large number will be reduced significantly once a set of criteria, which are subject to consultation, are applied.  The criteria for determining staff who are ‘in scope’ and the proposed criteria for those who will be ‘at risk’ are described in Appendix 1, but if you have any doubts, concerns or queries please talk to your Division lead, Head of School, or a member of the Faculty HR team.

We have considered carefully the scale and timing of this proposed reduction and believe this is the right approach to take to support both the Faculty’s and University’s wider ambitions. The University will, of course, be consulting with the Trade Unions about the proposals.

I fully understand that this news will be unsettling for many colleagues. Whilst we are facing challenging times, please remember that if FBMH is to ensure its ongoing success we need to continue to develop a competitive, efficient, world-leading research environment that is both well-resourced and financially sustainable.

I am always pleased to discuss issues and listen to the views of Faculty colleagues and so if you would like to contact me personally, please email me at thedeanbmh@manchester.ac.uk.

In the appendices (attached to the email and available on the Faculty intranet later today), you will find details of a series of open and personal meetings that I and other members of the FLT will be hosting, information about what will happen next, and some Frequently Asked Questions.

Thank you in anticipation of your forbearance, patience and professionalism as we support the University in the delivery of its ambitious Manchester 2020 goals.

Professor Ian Greer
Vice-President and Dean
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health