The Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new system for evaluating the quality of research in UK universities and higher education colleges. Through a process of expert review, discipline-based panels will assess the quality of research outputs, the wider social and economic impact of research and the vitality of the research environment

The four UK higher education funding bodies wish to appoint a Main Panel Chair Designate for each of the four REF Main Panels. Initially the Main Panel Chair Designate's role will be to provide advice to the REF Manager on the further planning and development of the framework, before taking up their role as Main Panel Chairs once the panels have been appointed later in the year. The four Main Panels will broadly cover: medicine, health and life sciences; physical sciences, engineering and mathematics; social sciences; arts and humanities.

The deadline for applications to the roles is midday, 22 April 2010. For further information, and instructions on how to apply for a role, please follow the link below.

HEFCE REF page (link to role description near bottom of page)