How the University is managed

John built his career in the home shopping retail sector, leading mature/legacy companies through “seismic evolution” from catalogue to online.

He was Chief Executive of Freemans Grattan Holdings Ltd (and its subsidiaries Grattan PLC and Freemans PLC), the Bradford-based online and catalogue retailer from 2012 to 2020. His brief was to lead a turnaround, and revenues grew from £160 to £260m.

Prior to FGH, John was Marketing Director of FTSE 250 online/catalogue/financial services company N Brown Group PLC. Between 2003 and 2012, revenues grew from £410 to £750m, and profit grew from £40 to nearly £100m.

He started his career in 1983 with Damart and first worked at Grattan PLC/Freemans PLC from 1994 to 2003, reaching the board in 2000.

John is a University of Bradford graduate in Social Studies BA (Hons) (1990) and Management (MBA, 1994).

He is currently a Director and Trustee of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society, a heritage railway based in Haworth.

Contact details

Julie Clarke
Executive Assistant to the Interim Chair of Council

• j.clarke8@bradford.ac.uk
• +44 (0) 1274 234278

"Shirley’s priority is to engender a vibrant culture for staff and students reinforcing the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching & learning, research, knowledge exchange and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Having lived and worked in the Bradford City Region for ten years she is committed to positioning the University at the centre of the region’s social and economic regeneration."

Shirley is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford, leading the development of its values and strategy.  Shirley is the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is the first woman to hold the role.  Shirley has significant experience of working in higher education championing the quality of the student experience, widening participation, engagement with business and communities and advancing the quality of research and innovation.

Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Shirley’s professional and academic expertise lies within the area of health and social care, service modernisation and cultural change, research methods and evidence-based practice.  She has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked within the field of higher education for 25 years and held senior roles in three different universities.

Shirley is committed to value led leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, increasing social inclusion and mobility through widening participation in higher education; opening up opportunities and unlocking potential for people of all backgrounds. 

A tireless ambassador for students, she is committed to ensuring that they get the best possible education and support that leads to a rewarding career after they graduate.  Her number one priority is to place the student experience at the heart of all aspects of University activities.

Shirley is the Executive Board champion for Religion/Belief issues.

(View full profile)

Contact details

Helen Hague
Senior Executive Services Support Manager/Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (external).

• h.l.hague@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 3012

Michelle Kenyon
Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (internal) 

• m.kenyon2@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 3007

Professor Zahir Irani is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic, Innovation and Quality) and previously Pro-Vice Chancellor and has also been the Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences, University of Bradford.

He studied Manufacturing Engineering and then working as a Project Engineer before then doing a PhD in Investment Decision Making at Brunel University London (UK). He started his academic career in a Department of Computer Science at Brunel University. Five years later securing his Chair followed by becoming Head of Department, where he championed industry-academia partnerships. His research interests at that time explored investment decision making in Engineering organisations, expanding to focus on Public Sector Investment Decision Making as local and central Governments started to invest in their eGovernment infrastructures. Much of his work at that time is now considered normative, where it also attracted funding from UK research councils, Qatar Foundation NPRP-6, 7 and 8), industry and from the EU as part of the FP 6-7 and H2020. A move into the Business School saw his research interest broaden, along with changes in his methodological approaches to include techniques such as Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) which is an AI based technique. He remains research active, graduating 31 PhD students and has a H-index of 83.

His interdisciplinary background has allowed him to publish across Engineering, Information Systems, Operational Research and Business-related journals. His professional development has seen him complete his leadership and financial management training at Harvard Business School and University of Cambridge respectively. Having completed a 7-year tenure as Head of a Business School where he won the Times Higher Education (THE) Business School of the Year award, he accepted an invitation to work in Government, where he was seconded to Whitehall to become a Senior Policy Advisor in the Cabinet Office during the UK coalition Government. On completion, he returned to academia, to become the Founding Dean of the newly established College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences at Brunel University London. Later headed to the University of Bradford where, as the Dean of Faculty (Management and Law) he led the merger with the Faculty of Social Sciences. He is an active proponent of the Civic University and is the chief architect of the 5-year Bradford District Council Economic Recovery Plan that was developed in response to Covid and through the Bradford Council Economic Recovery Board where Professor Irani was Chair.

Zahir is the Executive Board champion for Age issues.

Zahir Irani Tweets: @ZahirIrani1

Contact details

Sabina Adam
Executive Assistant to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic, Innovation & Quality) and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning, Teaching & Student Experience)

• s.adam3@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 4371

Professor Chris Gaffney is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research

Professor Gaffney leads the University’s research and innovation strategy to deliver internationally leading, interdisciplinary research and innovation that will shape and benefit future societies.

Professor of Archaeological Science and an archaeological geophysicist, Professor Gaffney has established a strong track record in research and led the internationally renowned archaeological prospection group at the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences. His work includes the development of technologies and techniques to obtain and use geophysical data to better understand the life and culture of ancient peoples.

With his significant research achievements, he is an ambassador for research at the University of Bradford and a key contributor to our global reputation for research impact. Chris will work to enhance the reputation of our research and further develop our research environment.

Paul joined the University in November 2017. He has overseen the creation of the Directorate of Learning, Teaching & Quality Enhancement which brought together the previously dispersed functions of educational development and quality assurance. His team provides support to Faculties in all aspects of programme design, delivery, and enhancement including the operation of the new Bradford:Fellowships scheme recently accredited by Advance HE.

Before joining Bradford, Paul was the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching in the Faculty of Design, Arts and Humanities at Teesside University, and before that Head of their English Studies Department. His research interests focused on the issues of popular culture and the politics of representation and he is widely published in the area of music video, cinema, and gendered identity.

Paul is an Executive Board champion for Gender Equality.

Contact details

Sabina Adam
Executive Assistant to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic, Innovation & Quality) and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning, Teaching & Student Experience)

• s.adam3@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 4371

Professor Rob James joined the University of Bradford as Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences in July 2022.

Rob is a muscle physiologist who obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Leeds. After four years of postdoctoral research at the University of St Andrews he started as a lecturer at Coventry University. His teaching was focused on biomechanics and muscle physiology. He undertook various leadership roles at Coventry including Dean of Faculty, overseeing substantial growth in programmes and student numbers, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Research).

Rob is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a chartered scientist (CSci) and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB). Rob was the Society for Experimental Biology lead for Biomechanics. His main research focus is to utilise physiological techniques, such as the work loop technique, to better understand the effects of temperature, obesity, ageing or drugs on muscle performance.

Rob is also the Executive Board advocate for Wellbeing and Mental Health.

Contact details

• r.james8@bradford.ac.uk

Kate Bedford
PA to the Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences

• k.j.bedford@bradford.ac.uk
• +44 (0) 1274 233231

Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE, UK), Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3, UK), Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE, USA) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA, UK). Martin is an experienced academic leader and practitioner, and an expert in the multidisciplinary field of tribology (study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear). Prior to joining the University of Bradford in 2015 he held the Jost Chair of Engineering Tribology at the University of Leeds (UK), where he was based from 1987, and before that he worked for British Gas Research and Development (London, UK).

Martin is the Dean of a Faculty comprising the engineering disciplines, computer science and media design and technology (technological aspects of the media industry). To enable and incentivise interdisciplinary working, which is core to the future success all the specialist subjects in the Faculty, he conceived and led a fundamental restructure of the Faculty. Formal schools were removed and replaced with a much more flexible and agile discipline group structure, with leadership and management focussed at the Faculty level.  The Faculty is now committed to deliver the multidisciplinary technology solutions required in the 21^st Century and the people with the skills to lead such innovations. Students develop clear discipline depth but also breadth through extensive collaboration with students in other disciplines, as a formal part of their programme. Research also nurtures core discipline strengths but flexibly reorganises over time into multidisciplinary teams in response to external drivers. Faculty members across the disciplines worked very effectively together to secure the award of an Athena SWAN Bronze Award (Advance HE, UK, framework to support and transform gender equality within higher education) in 2021 at the first attempt.

As an academic practitioner Martin has an established international track record and a long history of successful collaboration with UK and international industry.  He is very proud to have been awarded the 2015 Tribology Silver Medal by the Tribology Trust (IMechE, UK). The award citation read “In recognition of his outstanding contribution to tribology especially in the area of transference of tribology facility research to practical applications”. He is Associate Editor of the academic journals Tribology Transactions (STLE, USA, Taylor & Francis) and the Journal of Engineering Tribology (IMechE, UK, SAGE). Martin highly values interaction with students and still maintains a role as a lecturer, tutor and supervisor for engineering students in the Faculty alongside his duties as Dean.

Martin is the Executive Board champion for Marriage and Civil Partnership issues.

Amir M. Sharif is the Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences and Professor of Circular Economy. Before joining the University of Bradford in 2017 as Associate Dean (International and Accreditations), Amir held several senior academic leadership positions including as Head of Brunel Business School, Associate Head, Director of MBA Programmes, and Director of Learning and Teaching (at Brunel University London). 

Prior to academia, Amir worked for several years as an industry practitioner in the financial services and professional services sector including for JPMorgan, UBS Investment Bank and KPMG, gaining deep experience across technology, manufacturing and the public sector as a result.   Starting his academic career as a researcher within the field of artificial intelligence, Amir rapidly developed his research interests to apply his knowledge to addressing complex societal challenges in the areas of food security, circular economy, healthcare, operations / supply chain management, decision-making and humanitarian logistics. His specific area of interest is in the application of systems thinking, causal and cognitive models to explore human decision-making behaviours in complex environments.

Contact details

Michelle Kenyon
Executive Assistant to the Chief Finance Officer

• m.kenyon2@bradford.ac.uk
• 01274 23 3007

Marian Hilditch is the Academic Registrar and Director of Registry and Student Administration.

Marian leads the directorate of Registry & Student Administration, ensuring that the University of Bradford has a sector leading student administration through student centred development and innovation of service from enrolment to graduation. She is also the senior responsible officer for the integrity and quality of student data.

Marian began her career in Higher Education in May 2008 as a temp at the University of York, importing marks into SITS and cleansing data for HESA returns. Since then, she has worked across roles in student systems, records and data, serving as Head of Data Quality at Teesside University before joining Bradford in 2019 as Deputy Academic Registrar.

Marian is the 2020-2023 chair of SROC (Student Records Officers' Conference) and sits on the Academic Registrars' Council (ARC) executive committee. She’s been active nationally, advocating collaboration and knowledge-sharing across registry areas and talking extensively about best practice on all things data.

When not behind a keyboard, Marian can be found holding a gamepad, reading fanfics and collecting toys. On occasion, she takes her DSLR out for a walk.

Marian is the Executive Board champion for Parents and Carers.

Steve Gilley joined the University as Director of Infrastructure in July 2022.

A Chartered Surveyor, Steve has over thirty years’ experience in property, gained in the public and private sectors. He is joining us from the University of Leeds, where he has worked for the past fifteen years, most recently as Director of Estates and Facilities. In this role, he oversaw two major campus transformation programmes, with capital investment resulting in the construction of over twenty new buildings and extensive refurbishment of the existing Estate. He oversaw the acquisition of new land and property to widen the opportunities for additional commercial and research activity.

Committed to sustainability, Steve most recently led the Estates response to the University of Leeds’s ambition to becoming a Net Zero organisation by 2030 and will oversee the strategy for Bradford to fulfil its own de-carbonisation strategy.

Steve is passionate about placemaking and the impact of landscape and public realm to support a positive sense of wellbeing at work. Whilst at Leeds, he also directed strategic change within the Estates function, developing a programme office to support project delivery, led reviews to improve and develop the services, and introduced significant structural change to modernise the service to harness the benefits of Digital Transformation.

Prior to his time in Higher Education, Steve worked for HBOS Group Property managing the delivery of new retail banking facilities, major office developments and data centre projects in the UK and Europe for over five years. Steve initially trained as a Quantity Surveyor working in a large UK consultancy for over a decade, moving through the organisation and diversifying into project and programme management for a wide range of blue chip companies, property developers and leisure developments.

When he is not working, Steve is a passionate landscape photographer and is often to be found happily snapping away somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales.

Steve is the Executive Board champion for Disability matters.

Contact details

Jackie Hall, Executive Assistant to Director of Infastructure

• Email: j.hall16@bradford.ac.uk
• Telephone: 01274 233091

Riley joined the University as University Secretary in 2019.

Riley is a highly experienced corporate governance professional with an extensive background in UK higher education governance, policy development and public and administrative law.

Riley was previously the Head of Governance at Glasgow Caledonian University, leading the delivery of effective and comprehensive governance support for the University and its governing body. Prior to this, Riley worked with Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, supporting the governing body through the delivery of effective governance support and advice.

Before moving to the UK from Australia in 2012, Riley was a senior lawyer with the Australian Tax Practitioners Board and was an auditor for the Australian Taxation Office.

Riley is the Executive Board champion for Neuro Diversity issues.