Teaching Fellow in Human Geography - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences - 97795 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,942 to £40,322, with potential progression once in post to £42,792

Grade 7

Full time/Fixed time contract until 31st August 2022

Closing date: 22nd August 2021

We are seeking to appoint a Teaching Fellow in Human Geography in the School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences (GEES) at the University of Birmingham.  This is a 12 month fixed-term appointment, available from September 2021. We are particularly interested in applications from Geographers working in the broadly defined areas of Social and Cultural Geography.

The School provides undergraduate degree courses in Geography, Planning, Environmental Science and Earth Sciences, alongside a portfolio of Masters courses ranging from Urban and Regional Planning to Environmental Health and Air Pollution.  The successful candidate will join a thriving School of around 80 academic staff, alongside postdoctoral research fellows and professional services staff, and ca. 1000 undergraduate, MSc and PhD students.  Facilities include the brand new Central Teaching Laboratory, Library and Sports Centre.  Research infrastructure to enhance teaching includes air pollution and meteorological monitoring stations, the Ecological Change (ECOLAB) facility, and the £15m Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) Free-Air Carbon Enrichment experiment.
    
The role will support the delivery of our Human Geography programmes, and duties will include the delivery of lectures, workshops, field course teaching, project supervision and tutorials, alongside associated assessment and marking. The successful candidate will also contribute to the management and leadership activities of the School, including future development of our educational portfolio.  While this is a teaching-focussed appointment, we pride ourselves on providing research-intensive teaching and there is scope for personal research.

Summary of role

•    Teaching within own subject area within an established teaching programme (under the supervision from an academic member of staff) 
•    Contributions may include:  a) enhancement of the student experience or employability; b) designing CPD programmes for clients external to the University and similar;  c) delivery of CPD programmes, consulting on own specialism and the like, often under the supervision of a project leader.
•    The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and be expected to work to create environments that are inclusive of under-represented groups; demonstrate through their research, teaching, and/or public engagement multiple perspectives as the foundation of a rich learning experience; integrate diverse experiences into instructional methods and research tools; and/or provide leadership in developing pedagogical techniques designed to meet the needs of diverse populations and interests.

Main duties

•    Teach courses at a range of levels within specified subject area and within own area of subject specialism to undergraduates, postgraduates and CPD students, predominantly through allocated lectures and seminars, so that the School’s teaching objectives are met.
•    Contribute to the design of modules with other colleagues.
•    Plan and prepare own teaching, including guidance notes and handouts in accordance with the established objectives of the teaching programme.
•    Devise and supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work.
•    Develop an approach to planning and reviewing own teaching.
•    Undertake full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining.
•    Frequently update own subject expertise.
•    Undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes.  
•    Contribute to knowledge transfer on own specialism that is of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader.
•    Undertake management/administration arising from teaching.
•    Contribute to School teaching-related activities and teaching-related administration.
•    Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University.
•    Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

•    Higher degree relevant to research or teaching area or equivalent qualifications
•    High level analytical capability
•    Ability to design and deliver module materials successfully
•    Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
•    Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
•    Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.