As a PDR reviewer, your role is to enable staff to be effective in their jobs and fulfil their personal, professional and career development ambitions. This involves discussing their work with them, their progress in relation to work-related and developmental (personal, professional and career) objectives, giving them feedback, valuing their contributions, encouraging them to learn from their experiences and ensuring that they have the required resources and skills for their benefit and for the benefit of Brookes within a context of continuous improvement. This is done at an annual PDR (from April to July each year) which is normally supported by regular 1:1 meetings throughout the year.
Reviewer guidance
The annual PDR takes place from April to July each year*.
Once you have scheduled a meeting with your reviewee(s), send them a link to the annual PDR form one month before their annual PDR meeting and ask them to complete section 1 (their reflections on their progress in relation to their work-related and developmental objectives and proposals for their work and objectives for the coming year) and return it to you 2 weeks before your meeting(s) to give you time to prepare.
*For some areas of the University this represents a particularly busy time of the year so these areas may opt to hold their PDRs at a later time.
Preparation for annual PDR meetings with your reviewee(s)
For each of your reviewees, consider:
- Specific areas for recognition and thanks.
- Progress with work-related/developmental objectives.
- Contribution to the student/staff experience.
- Challenges faced, overcome and foreseen.
- Observed instances of role modelling the Brookes Guiding Principles and associated behaviours.
- How they incorporate enhancements in their practice to support diversity and inclusivity?
- Areas to focus on to support continuous improvement.
- The impact of past/future change.
- Whether the job description is up-to-date.
- Workload and work/life balance.
- Whether application for an ACE award is appropriate.
- Readiness/interest in promotion/move.
- Proposed work-related and developmental objectives (aligned to faculty/directorate objectives) for the coming year.
- Strengths and development areas (refer to Explore@Brookes, AUA Behaviours, Technician Commitmen).
- Feedback received and acted on (from students, colleagues or others or via NSS, Brookes’ Survey of Student Engagement, module evaluations, PETAL / peer observations etc).
- For academic and other student-facing staff, are they adhering to the Brookes Charter.
- What help and support is needed.
Supporting information to help you
General
- Your Faculty/directorate objectives.
- Last year’s PDR form and any 1:1 notes on progress and achievements throughout the year.
- Feedback from others and from you.The Oxford Brookes Strategy 2035 contained within the strategy document is sections devoted to the Guiding Principles and associated exemplar behaviours, appendices for operational plans for immediate priorities (2020-2022) and 5-year strategic plans.
- The Brookes Charter describes the mutual expectations and responsibilities of the staff and students at Oxford Brookes University.
- The Learning and career development provides a gateway to a wide variety of learning and development options for managers and staff.
- Other internal providers of learning and development include Digital Services and Learning Technology, IT Training Services, Academic Policy and Quality Office, Website Communications, (NB this is not a comprehensive list).
- The AUA Behaviours Framework is a versatile tool initiated by the Association of University Administrators that supports the career development of higher education professionals. It works on an organisational and individual level, for professionals at all career stages, and can be applied across all roles in the sector.
- Technician Commitment aims to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.
- Brookes’ Leadership Capabilities was developed to help identify strengths and development areas for managers set against the previous University strategy 2020 (these will eventually be replaced to reflect the new 2035 strategy).
- The Career Development webpage provides onward links to sources of support for individuals career development, including the student career website which Brookes staff can also access. Staff can also access Job vacancies which leads to a subsection of Job vacancies open to Brookes staff which can be accessed via individuals CoreHR portal.
Supporting Academic staff
- Academic promotions and recognition. The pay and grading landing pages has a dedicated section to promotions and ACE Applications. It outlines promotion requirements from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, Principal Lecturer (& PLSE), Reader and Professor. It also contains requirements in transferring from Associate Lecturers.
- UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) is a comprehensive set of professional standards and guidelines applicable to everyone involved in teaching and supporting learning in the HE sector. These standards have been incorporated into various development programmes offered at Oxford Brookes.
- The PSF Pathway Programme offers professional recognition for colleagues to achieve Senior and Principal Fellowship status.
- EXPLORE@Brookes is the continuing professional development framework for anyone on an academic or research contract at Brookes. It comprises tailored study routes for those in their First Three Years with time to complete granted in the annual workload plan. This can lead to gaining Associate Fellow or Fellowship status. For others, there is an on-going opportunity across the academic year to access the EXPLORE@Brookes open offer.
- Brookes’ Teaching Excellence Fellowships and Innovation Awards. This Fellowship is an opportunity for a committed Brookes teacher to dedicate time to researching an aspect of university teaching and learning over a period of 2 years. Other award schemes can be found on the Recognition and Funding page.
- The Teaching and Learning landing page offers events, resources and opportunities that enable all staff at Brookes to enhance the education of taught students and strengthen the scholarship of teaching and learning.
- Work planning Tariffs every year VCG approve workload planning tariffs for the year ahead. Reviewers should be mindful of any changes which might occur.
- NSS results, portfolio reviews, module evaluations, external examiners reports, PETAL /peer observations, staff survey results etc.
Supporting research active staff
- Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. The University signed up to the "Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers" in May 2020. The Concordat mandates that Managers of Researchers must: "Allocate a minimum of 10 days pro rata, per year, for their (contract) researchers to engage with professional development, supporting researchers to balance the delivery of their research and their own professional development."
- Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF). The Vitae RDF is a useful tool for the career development review of researchers. It can be used by researchers to carry out their own gap analysis of the knowledge, skills and experience they have acquired and to identify areas for development.
- Researcher Development Matrix. The University’s Researcher Development Matrix maps training, professional development opportunities, resources and support available to research-active staff of all career stages against the four domains of the externally-recognised Vitae RDF.
- EXPLORE@Brookes. The EXPLORE@Brookes programme provides a continuing professional development framework for anyone on an academic or research contract at Brookes, to support HE teaching practice, teaching scholarship, leadership and research, knowledge exchange and innovation.
- University Research & KE Training. The University's Research & KE training programme is open to research-active staff (academics and research-only staff) of all career stages, both within the first three years of their contract as part of EXPLORE, and as an optional refresher to all.
- Careers Centre. Fixed-term contract Research staff can access one-to-one guidance and support for job searching, applications and interviews, and a programme of training events for Researchers.
- Supervisor Training. If you intend to act as a supervisor to a research student, you must attend the mandatory supervisor training run by the Graduate College.
After the PDR meeting
Please complete section 2 of the annual PDR form to summarise your comments and feedback, identify any additional issues discussed and record agreed work-related and developmental objectives for the coming year. Also, please capture any training and development needs with a budget implication under question 5 and so that these can be easily found with the annual PDR form when faculties and directorates are making learning and development plans.