Lecturer in People and Organisations (x2)

Weekly Working Hours: 37

Contract Type: Permanent

Fixed Term Contract: End Date:  3 years from start date

Welsh Language: Not Applicable 

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

There are two positions available. One post is a permanent contract and one post will be a fixed term contract for a duration of 3 years from the start date.

We are seeking candidates who are committed to pursue a teaching and research career in the area of Human Resource Management and/or Organisational Behaviour. We are looking to appoint two individuals who can contribute to the development of our teaching portfolio, to add to our distinctive teaching methods and develop new competences. This will include teaching on our interdisciplinary undergraduate programmes, postgraduate and continuing education offer, as well as micro-credentials.

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. The Open University Business School is triple-accredited (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS), which positions us among the top 1% of Business Schools in the world. Our courses and qualifications are studied by a wide range of people from all backgrounds – we are proud to promote opportunity and social justice by making higher education open to those unable to attend a more traditional campus-based university.  

Student satisfaction is a high priority, and we are determined to deliver the best outcomes for everyone studying with us. Around 35,000 students are currently enrolled on our business, management and law programmes; about a quarter of them are based outside the UK in 80 countries. The majority of our students are employed and study part-time with us. 

We welcome applications from recently qualified PhDs who may not yet have held substantive posts since completing their doctorate and candidates with relevant teaching and research experience. 

You will join a group of research active academics located in the Department of People and Organisations and across three other academic departments and research centres part of the Open University Business School. Expertise in the department covers the subject areas of Human Resource Management, Organisational Behaviour, Organisation Studies, Management Studies, Operations Management and Supply Chain Management. Full details of our research publications can be found on Open Research Online.

You will be expected to be research active, publish in reputable academic journals and apply for research funding at levels appropriate to your academic career stage. In addition to teaching and research you will be expected to engage with policymakers, external partners and practitioner communities to increase the public impact of our teaching and research. Active membership and involvement with the CIPD is highly welcomed.

At the Open University we have a distinctive, practice-based pedagogy, delivered predominantly online. You will work in teams designing and delivering innovative, high quality and challenging learning experiences for our students utilising a wide range of media. The successful candidate will be an outstanding team player and will need to demonstrate creativity and initiative in addition to relevant specialist knowledge.

Please note that while we can be flexible on the UK location of a successful candidate, regular attendance at the Milton Keynes campus is expected.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to teams involved in the planning, development, delivery and updating of online teaching modules in our undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum.
• Preparation of materials suited to teaching and assessment of our curriculum.
• Contribute to the presentation of Open University modules – their monitoring, support for tutors and students.
• Tutoring at face-to-face and online residential schools, or other programmes and courses.
• Undertake independent and collaborative research projects, publish original research in high quality journals, and be involved in scholarship and PhD supervision that will enhance the profile of the Business School.
• Participate in external engagement events and promotion opportunities to enhance the Business School’s profile.
• Play a full part in the academic life of the Business School.

About You

Essential Criteria:

• Relevant doctorate qualification (e.g. PhD, DPhil, DBA, EdD) in business and management or related area(s) including sociology of work, organisational psychology, education.
• An established or developing research record evidenced by existing publications.
• An ability to conduct high quality research, evidenced by previous and/or current projects.
• Evidence of capability to structure and write teaching materials in an accurate and accessible manner suitable for distance learning.
• Experience of online teaching and virtual learning environments.
• An ability to work flexibly and collegially, and willingness to adapt and be responsive to other in an interdisciplinary context whether in the context of teaching or research.
• The ability to plan and organise your own work and meet deadlines.
• Communication skills, oral, written and in a variety of contexts.
• Presentation skills that demonstrate a high level of competence to deliver to varied audiences.
• Evidence of a proven track record of working with others as a member of a team in a professional manner.
• Demonstrates an understanding of equal opportunities and the need to support students from a wide range of backgrounds.
• The ability to travel throughout the UK and internationally.
• A willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
• Experience of producing online and distance learning materials.
• Successful award of external funding to support research and teaching.
• Experience of industry and community engagement.
• Higher Education professional accreditation or equivalent qualification.

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

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 campus 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 one day per week, but this could be more often if business needs dictate. There will also be the requirement to travel as part of the role.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews for this post are likely to take place in mid-April.

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 personal 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.

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.