Assistant Professor (Education) in Student Success

Job title:                                 Assistant Professor in Student Success     

Vacancy reference:                22001738

Department:                           Durham Centre for Academic Development 

Responsible to:                     Deputy Director (Student Success)

Salary Range:                        Grade 7 £35,333 - £42,155 per annum  

Working arrangements:       The role is full-time, but we will consider requests for flexible working arrangements including potential job shares 

Open date: 27th October 2022 

Closing date: 25th November 2022 

Preferred start date: Successful candidates will ideally be in post by January 2023 

Working at Durham University  

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career while enjoying a high-quality work/life balance. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Durham? information page.  

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following Total Rewards – Grade 7  

The Department 

Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD) at Durham University seeks to appoint talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor (Teaching) in Student Success.

We welcome applications from those with teaching interests in the broad field of academic language and literacy/ English for Academic Purposes and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants with an understanding of the needs of both international students and students from non-traditional backgrounds.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a contribution to the development of DCAD’s student-facing teaching and curriculum, while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution.  

For more information, please visit our Department pages at Durham Centre for Academic Development - Durham University

Assistant Professors (Education) at Durham 

Assistant Professors (Education) contribute to teaching, innovation and citizenship whilst fully focussing on the key skills which will secure their progression.  Teaching quality and innovation is critical to ensure a first-class learning environment and curricula for all of our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise and to engage in teaching innovation to embed our student experience. 

Assistant Professors (Education) are encouraged to engage in wider citizenship to enhance their own development, to support their department and wider discipline, and to contribute to the wider student experience. 

You will be expected to engage in scholarship related to pedagogy, noting that any other independent research (beyond pedagogy) is not part of this post. The appointment will be on the University’s ‘Education Track’ career path, which provides clearly defined opportunities for progression against defined criteria.  

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best international talent to Durham. We therefore offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors (Education) and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent 

Assistant Professor (Education) in Student Success

Applicants must demonstrate teaching excellence in the field of academic language and literacy/English for Academic Purposes, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University. The University provides a working and teaching environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process. 

Key responsibilities:  

• Design and deliver academic language and literacy/EAP provision on our cross-institutional Academic Language and Literacies (ALL) and Pre-sessional provision and on our widening-participation Foundation programme.
• Engagement in pedagogic activity at Departmental level that supports a high quality, academic professional community of practice within the Department and beyond.
• Maintain an active membership and engagement with a professional body (e.g. BALEAP, Foundation Year Network, HEA or other discipline-specific bodies);
• Contribute to ongoing curriculum development, demonstrating innovation in educational practice to enhance the quality of the educational environment in the Department and wider University in support of the Department’s continuing emphasis on international excellence;
• Demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.
• To fully engage in and enhance the values of the Department with regard to its commitment to its vibrant and international postgraduate culture.
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department. 

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  

As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values  and our Staff Code of Conduct.   At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI. 

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including disabled people, women, and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  

We are committed to equality: if for any reason you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of research outputs, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application.  We also understand that the Covid-19 pandemic will have had differential impacts on different people and welcome information on this if you wish to share it. The selection committee will recognise that this may have reduced the quantity of your research accordingly 

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role 

Person Specification - External

Person Specification  

Education 

Candidates must demonstrate the development and delivery of high-quality teaching that contributes to providing a supportive and enabling learning environment and curricula which encourage students to achieve their potential. 

Essential Education Criteria – Grade 7 

Scholarship and Educational Impact

Candidates will have the ability to engage in scholarly activity which contributes to pedagogical practice and understanding within the department, faculty and University.  

Essential Scholarship Criteria – Grade 7

Candidates must be able to discuss work undertaken (or which would be undertaken) in preparation for teaching and keeping up to date with developments in the subject area.

The format will depend on the discipline and the candidate’s career to date but evidence of scholarship and educational impact may include some of the following (or similar) activities:

Service, Citizenship and Values 

Candidates may be required to undertake some administrative duties within the Department related to the delivery of teaching, mainly related to taught programmes:

• Active engagement in the administrative and citizenship requirements of the Department.
• Positive contributions to University values  and to fostering a respectful environment as well as demonstrating their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Essential Service, Citizenship and Values criteria – Grade 7 

Desirable Criteria – Grade 7 

The desirable criteria for this post (for which candidates should provide evidence of some if not all criteria) are: 

Contact Information 

Department contact for academic-related enquiries 

DCAD Louise Greener, Deputy Director (Student Success) [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application 

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email.  Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]  

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.  We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).  

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process 

[email protected]

How to Apply  

We prefer to receive applications online.    

Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data.  We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system, please get in touch with us on [email protected] .  

What to Submit 

All applicants are asked to submit: 

• A CV  
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above; 
• A statement of no more than two pages that sets out your ethos and approach to academic language and literacy/EAP work across different academic disciplines, levels and student groups;
• A personal scholarship plan of no more than two pages which outlines your key goals for the next three years;
• An EDI & values statement – (of no more than 500 words) which outlines work which you have been involved in which demonstrates your commitment to EDI and our values. E.g. involvement in quality, diversity, and inclusion activities such as mentoring, volunteering, or attending conferences.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.  

Referees 

You should provide 3 academic referees.

References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process. 

As part of your application, you will be asked whether you give your consent to your academic references being sought should you be invited to attend an interview. We will only request references where permission has been granted.  

Next Steps 

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the Department to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates.   

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.  

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date. 

Applicant Guidance  

For further guidance on your application please see Here