Dr Dominic Cunliffe
Deputy Dean for Education and Quality Assurance
School of Health and Sport
Biography
Dr Dominic Cunliffe is a strategic and values-driven leader committed to shaping organisations where people, performance and purpose come together to deliver meaningful and sustainable impact. His leadership is grounded in strategic vision, authentic engagement and evidence-informed decision-making, with a strong focus on transformation, organisational culture, governance and continuous improvement.
Dominic brings extensive experience across Teaching and Learning Excellence, organisational development, stakeholder engagement and strategic transformation, with the ability to operate confidently across both strategic and operational environments. He translates organisational ambition into clear priorities, mobilise multi-disciplinary teams and build the partnerships required to deliver sustainable outcomes.
His leadership approach is inclusive, collaborative and purposeful. Dominic creates high-performing cultures built on trust, accountability, empowerment and continuous learning, enabling people to contribute their expertise while maintaining a clear focus on organisational priorities and measurable impact. He is passionate about developing environments where people feel valued, engaged and empowered to innovate and excel.
Dominic has strong experience contributing to strategic planning and leading change within complex and diverse environments. He combines strategic thinking with a pragmatic focus on delivery, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring transformation translates into tangible gains in performance, quality, experience and outcomes.
Governance, accountability and effective decision-making are fundamental to his approach. He advocates transparent and inclusive governance, informed by robust evidence, data-driven insight and a clear understanding of risk, opportunity and stakeholder needs. Dominic is comfortable providing constructive challenge, influencing at senior levels and ensuring decisions remain aligned with organisational purpose, values and strategic objectives.
Dominic embraces digital technologies, data and intelligence as enablers of innovation, organisational effectiveness and continuous improvement. His international academic and professional experience has strengthened his ability to work across cultures, build strategic partnerships and develop sustainable solutions within complex and evolving contexts.
Pure profile
Further information
Dominic’s specialist teaching area is in child development, and Dominic leads the Child Development pathway across the whole course (first year module in Child Development; second year module in Skill Acquisition in Children; third year module in Physical Literacy).
