Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Taxation

Weekly Working Hours:  37

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

About the Role

We are seeking to recruit a full-time or part-time Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Taxation. The successful candidate will make a significant contribution to the Department for Accounting and Finance and to our multi-accredited Accounting and Finance degrees. Applications are particularly welcome from candidates with experience in taxation and auditing.

The Faculty of Business and Law is one of the four faculties of The Open University. It brings together two Schools – The Open University Business School and The Open University Law School – and has a strong reputation as a high-quality and innovative provider of management and legal education. Our courses and qualifications are studied by a wide range of people from all backgrounds – we are proud of our strong social mission; to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We promote social justice and social mobility via genuine access to university education for all.

The Open University Business School is triple accredited (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). Student satisfaction is a high priority, and we are determined to deliver the best outcomes for everyone studying with us. Our students return some of the highest satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey – they have ever since the NSS began.

Key Responsibilities

A successful candidate will have the following responsibilities:

• Teaching, by preparing module material (including writing module units and designing assessments) as a member of a module team contributing to the presentation of modules and monitoring teaching quality.
• Undertaking disciplinary scholarship and knowledge exchange that informs curriculum.
• Contributing to the general academic and professional life of the School as agreed.
• If applying and appointed as a Senior Lecturer: mentoring early career academics, providing academic leadership in module and qualification development, leading or co-leading scholarship or knowledge-exchange projects, contributing to strategic planning and enhancement of teaching, taking on leadership roles such as programme lead, pathway lead or committee chair where appropriate.

About You

The successful candidate is expected to have a PhD in accounting or relevant professional accounting/tax body qualification (e.g., ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, ATT, CIOT) to support teaching and knowledge exchange in accounting and taxation. A list of essential/desirable criteria is given below:

Essential:

• A relevant professional accounting/tax body qualification (e.g., ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, ATT, CIOT).
• A track record of excellent teaching in the general areas of accounting and taxation, including curriculum and pedagogical design and development and a commitment to the provision of quality service to students.
• A good understanding of developing complex accounting or taxation teaching materials.
• A commitment to professionalism as a colleague and proven track record of working with others as a member of a team.
• A strong commitment to excellence in inclusive learning and teaching for a diverse student population.
• Ability to communicate complex and conceptual ideas to a range of groups.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including networking and relationship building skills.
• Ability to teach at residential schools or other direct student contact as required.
• Ability to work with competing priorities and to tight deadlines.
• Additionally for the Senior Lecturer role: Evidence of leadership in teaching, scholarship and/or knowledge exchange in the areas of accounting, taxation, or auditing.
• Additionally for the Senior Lecturer role: Evidence of supporting others to succeed with achieving objectives

Desirable:

• Evidence of successful supervision of MA/MSc and/or PhD students.
• Evidence of working with professional accounting bodies.
• Experience relevant to internet-based teaching materials or virtual learning environments.
• Experience with work-based or practice-based learning.
• Understanding of the role (or potential) of accountancy in meeting the UN sustainable development goals.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Working Location: 

Working Location: It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes site, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be at least once per fortnight, but this could be more often if business needs dictate.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews will likely be held in early March 2026.

Early closing date notification

We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.

How to apply

To apply for this role please submit the following document(s):

• CV
• A Supporting Statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for this role as detailed in the job description. Please also begin this statement by expressing whether you are applying for the Lecturer post or Senior Lecturer post.

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.