Your personal growth
At York St John University, we are committed to supporting your personal and professional development.
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Learning, development and career progression
As a university we believe in inspiring and supporting each other to succeed. We offer you a range of options, so you are able to access the relevant development, training and further qualifications needed, to help you succeed in your role today and achieve your career goals in the future.
Internally, our Learning and Organisational Development team offers a variety of opportunities which includes YSJ Inspiring Leaders, a comprehensive leadership development programme, and Management Essentials courses for those new to a line management role.
Our Teaching and Learning Enhancement team and our Research Office both provide a range of opportunities for our academic staff to further develop their careers.
Learn more about our schemes below.
Staff induction
When you start working at York St John, we provide a full induction programme of resources and information to help you settle in.
This includes a central staff induction programme and specific induction plan for academic staff. You will also be able to access key training to enable you to work safely in your new role.
Performance development reviews
Performance development reviews are an important way of tracking your progress against performance expectations and making sure you are fulfilled in your role.
These conversations will take place regularly throughout the year. You will then have an annual summary of the last 12 months, focusing on your achievements, learning, and wellbeing.
Strategic programmes
We are part of several strategic programmes focused on development for specific groups:
The Aurora Programme supports women and their institutions to fulfil their leadership potential. The programme provides thought provoking activities, collaborative problem-solving exercises, and motivating stories supported by inspirational female role models. The programme creates networks of women across the higher education sector to share best practice, insights and experiences.
The North East and Yorkshire Action Learning Programme is a cross-institutional initiative which aims to support female academic and professional support colleagues from York St John University, alongside the Universities of Durham, Leeds Beckett, Northumbria, Huddersfield, Bradford, and Leeds Trinity.
The Yorkshire Accord Coaching and Mentoring Scheme is a partnership between various public sector organisations in North Yorkshire which matches coaches and mentors with staff looking for support.
The Diversifying Leadership Programme with AdvanceHE supports early career academic and professional support staff from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to move into their first leadership roles. The programmes demystifies leadership and explores power, influence, cultural identity and cultural capital. It increases visibility and authentic leadership.
The You Connect programme is a partnership with other universities in Yorkshire which offers a diverse mentoring scheme. It is aimed at colleagues who do not see themselves represented at a senior level and want to take their first steps towards a leadership role.
Recognising Success
We all want to feel valued and recognised for our successes at work. Our Leading YSJ Framework is helping to embed a consistent culture of appreciation and recognition across the University, setting an expectation for us all that “We recognise, value and champion strengths and expertise in teams and individuals and support diverse ways of contributing to our community.” How we put this into action will depend on our role in the organisation. We also offer more formal recognition through the following schemes:
Our Academic Promotion Scheme helps YSJ acknowledge, recognise and reward excellence in teaching and research, providing individuals with the opportunity to progress through the academic grade to Professorship.
Every year, the YSJ Students' Union recognise and celebrate the fantastic achievements of the YSJ community at the YSJ Awards.
