New responsibility following mat leave.

[T4Opal]

Hi there I could do with some advice, I returned to work on Friday after 11 months off and came back to the news my line manager wanted me to apply to be the programme leader. This is a big compliment but I’m totally torn what to do.

Brief background, it is for an undergraduate degree programme plus another course that splits off into an integrated masters. There’s about 350 students and 40 modules attached.

Why I should go for it...
I am ambitious and want to progress my career.
Other members of staff who are newer than me have acquired stage leader and assistant programme leader roles and I don’t wish to be left behind.
It would be doing new things I’ve not been exposed to before and I think I would be good at some elements.
I have not set up a routine yet so returning to work but with more to do, I wouldn’t know any different compared to being on full time mat leave.
I have been assured can do the role on the 0.8 contract I have returned on.
My boss and other colleagues believe I can do it.
I can have an assistant to support me, on the basis that another member of staff would be willing to do that.

Why I shouldn’t go for it...
My daughter is 10 months old and I have no idea how logistically being a working mum will go. My husband works full time and commutes to the next city so it would still be down to me if she had sick days etc. My parents live local but also both work full time.
I had in mind having an easy year to ease myself back into work.
I’m scared about elements of the role such as NSS and OFSTED accountability and doing the programme timetable which is a massive headache.
The two people who have done this role before have both suffered massively with stress.
There is not any financial reward and that will not change - I have already asked the question.
I don’t know half of the responsibilities involved in the role such as attending boards and what else it would entail.
It would take time away from me doing other things such as research.

What would you do in my circumstances? Is anyone a programme leader/ new mum with any experience to share?
Thank you in advance x

Even if I wasn't returning from maternity leave, there's not a chance in hell I would take on that role!
The only reason for doing it seems to be for progression. Is programme leader a requirement for promotion at your workplace? Are there also other requirements that you wouldn't be able to meet if you did take on the role (eg more research focussed)?

Why on earth would any sick days for your baby be down to you, because your dh works one day more than you and a bit further away? You can still take it in turns.

Thanks for your replies, Potatopia, unfortunately it is the only step to progression. I think if I was PL they wouldn’t have much of an expectation for me to research and we are more of a teaching university.
Pandaintgeporridge, not really the point of my message but anyway. The university is 4 minutes drive from the nursery and I have the car, my husband’s work is an hour from the nursery and he goes on the bus. So realistically, if she needs picking up from being ill, it will be me. However he’s off Monday’s and would help where possible.

It's not just picking up when ill though (and I know you don't want this advice, but I've been through it with two dc and it really is important to maintain as much equality as you can, from the start). Say dc vomits and is then sent home from nursery, with you leaving work to collect her. She won't be allowed back the next day either - so her father can notify work that he needs to be off to look after her.
In my work some returning parents seem to not be held back at all by their other responsibilities - I might be wrong but having family to help seems to make a big difference, which I don't have. I was sidelined at work when I returned (not in academia) so I do think the fact that they are offering you this seems very positive.

If you're after promotion sooner rather than later then it makes sense to go for it. But HE is currently trying to pull in its collective belt and saving money pre Brexit. So what is expected now could well escalate over the next year(s) as professional services and academic posts are reduced and student numbers increase. Make sure you have the headroom to manage that before committing

It's a horrible role and there's no way you would get it done in .8. From the places I've worked in anyway. I hated being PL.

And I'm sure your peers think you could manage it without finding it too much...it means they don't have to! If you must take it I'd ask to share it with another staff member.

If you take it and can't do it, or can but at by sacrificing your health/home life, what would their plan be? To take you through performance management or do remove the additional responsibilities and take you back to the original JD?

I have found going back full time so much harder than I ever dreamed I would. I went back when mine was 10 months too, felt so ready to stop being a SAHM and she's nearly 18 months now. I am ambitious and have amazing childcare, husband works shifts so is home some days during the week. It's tough. I didn't think about the strain of full time working, being a parent and having no real 'down time' like I did before kids (I know not everyone without kids has down time and may care for elderly relatives etcetc!). I spent weekend catching up with friends, watching films, going in walks, swimming, reading the paper, baking. Now at weekends I just pile endless washing into the machine and take my daughter to soft play or to the park and batch cook and tidy up and then go to work Monday.

I took on extra responsibility of line managing when I went back to work and wish I hadn't as when I struggled, I then had to discuss it with my boss, who was understanding luckily. In hindsight, the easy year back into it would have been better for me!

To add though, I'm also went back knocked up and have a 2 hour commute each way, so that plus a baby and husband working weekends and no local family... It may have been too much. If you have local family or friends to help with illness (and totally second the poster mentioning your husband pulling his weight - you'll often know in the night/morning that they have temperatures or vomiting so can't go in, you won't need to pick her up necessarily) and aren't up the duff like me with a local job, it may be doable.

Working out whether you'd be performance managed if you find it tough is probably worth it though as with my line managing, they luckily just took it back off me without it impacting long term.

No pay incentive and high stress? Definitely not. You dont want to have a toddler and be overly stressed. Hope things work out for you. :)

I don't think this is a 0.8 job and you will end up working 6 days a week on it. I wouldn't take this on now, unless there was a guaranteed deal at the end of it- so promotion or pay. I have friends to whom such deals were dangled but they ended up with nothing, so unless it's in writing then I wouldn't bother,. I know old Cheryl Sandberg would tell you to lean in, but leaning in without money or guaranteed promotion means that you'll be doing all the grunt work at a time where you may be wanting a bit more time off/time with your child.

I wouldn’t do it solely because there’s no pay rise - everything else doesn’t really come into it.

After being programme leader for years, and having two periods of sickness due to stress etc, this was a big factor for my application for working fractionally after mat leave, because I knew the programme leader role required someone who was full time, or near enough. So I dropped down to 3 days to avoid it....

I am glad I did it for a stint, as it looks good on CV, useful learning curve etc, but hope to avoid it again. It’s a beast of a role and a thankless task in my experience.

Sorry to be so glum about it!

I agree with all the sentiments above. They’re being very cheeky asking this of you. Any decent employer would ease you in during your first year back rather than giving you a responsibility that you cannot easily walk away from. (Where I am the actually take away teaching so you can focus on catching up on research publications - though I’m sure not entirely altruistically at a research focussed university). Think on this: promotion will come in good time. There’s no point rushing, though I appreciate the promotion is important for all sorts of reasons, but not at the expense of your health.

Are you research active? Because this kind of role can hammer into research time, so that would be my main concern. If you take it on only take it on for a short period and make a plan to ditch the role ASAP - do enough to get the promotion and then move on from it, have someone else in mind to pass it to.

In terms of returning to work, I actually found I was more productive. Now I know I can only work until the nursery shuts, so I'm far more focussed and have found writing now comes more easily now I can't procrastinate all day.

I'd consider it if you want promotion and this is something you need to tick off in order to get it. If you don't take it, how long might it be before you can do it, and are you ok with that timeframe.

What I would do, if you're minded to do it, is say you can't do it unless something else is dropped in exchange. Get the exact details of what the job involves and how much support you would get. What would this assistant do? How much of his/her time would you have?

100% advise against this.