Senior Lecturer in Photography

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

This is an exciting opportunity to join The Open University as a Senior Lecturer in Photography in the School of Creative Industries. We are looking for a dedicated individual to join and lead a team developing innovative and vocational online learning resources in Photography and image making. This role will take on the leadership position of Qualification Lead in the new BA (Hons) Photography.

You must be enthusiastic about our unique mission and about working in teams to develop new and inclusive curriculum which embraces the opportunities of distance learning. We welcome applications from those with teaching, research and industry experience who understand the various needs of students looking to study and work within Photography and wider digital media industries.

The successful candidate will have a strong research profile including evidence of traditional and/or practice-based research outputs and involvement in social impact or knowledge exchange projects. They will demonstrate contemporary expertise in Photography across analogue, digital, moving image and emerging media platforms. 

You can live anywhere in the United Kingdom, but the role is based contractually at the Open University’s Milton Keynes campus and involves attendance there at academic community and module team meetings, for which travel and subsistence are not provided.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

FASS is the largest and most diverse faculty at The Open University, with some 50,000 students studying our modules with excellent completion rates and consistently outstanding student satisfaction ratings. Noted for the strength of our interdisciplinary approaches, our researchers and scholars of international standing, teach and research a very wide range of topics and themes in specific subject areas, recognised as world class or internationally excellent in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021, and having a direct and profound influence on our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

FASS is organised into four schools:

• School of Arts and Humanities
• School of Creative Industries
• School of Psychology & Counselling
• School of Social Sciences and Global Studies

Students are supported by Student Support Teams. These teams offer specialist study support to students undertaking qualifications across the University. Members of academic staff, including academics based in all four nations of the UK, form part of these teams in sustaining and improving student progression and retention.

The Faculty works closely with major and influential organisations and institutions in the UK (most notably the BBC) and other parts of the world in a range of validated partnerships and collaborations, and is engaged in world-class, agenda-setting research tackling the most difficult challenges facing us in the 21st Century, with work in numerous subject-based and interdisciplinary research groups and projects.

With around 1800 members of staff, comprising academics, associate lecturers, support staff and full-time research students, working across the locations of the University, and combining originality and innovation in research and curriculum, FASS is a vibrant and exciting place to study and work.

To find out more about the Faculty’s teaching, learning and research, please visit: http://fass.open.ac.uk/

Key Responsibilities

Teaching

• contribute to, and lead, the delivery of high quality, distance-learning curriculum in photography at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• develop engaging and accessible online module content engaging with a range of photographic practices and visual communication theories.

• support student learning activity through the preparation of assessment materials and participation in Quality Assurance and examination processes.

Industry & research experience

• draw upon professional experience to develop vocational learning materials with an emphasis on digital techniques and future-facing workflows.
• enhance the School and Faculty research culture through the development and delivery of a quality research and impact portfolio. 
• provide leadership and support in the development of practice-based research and KE activities in Photography.
• strengthen the School’s links with the creative industries to enable collaborations and facilitate knowledge exchange.

Administration, Management and other duties

• qualification Lead for BA (Hons) Photography.
• line-management responsibilities for academic members of the Photography academic team.
• engage with appropriate academic administrative tasks and play an active role within the School, Faculty and wider University, as required by the Head of School.

About You

Essential Criteria:

• A PhD in Photography or a related subject.
• Substantial experience of developing and delivering photography curriculum in an HE setting.
• Experience of leadership roles within either Higher Education and/or the creative industries.
• A research profile in Photography or related area with a track record of publications or equivalent practice-based work.
• Experience of sustained professional practice in photography as demonstrated by a portfolio of creative work.
• A professional network which can be mobilised to develop collaborations, enhance curriculum design and support research and knowledge exchange.
• Evidence of communication and organisational skills, including the ability to work to deadlines, which are appropriate to an academic role at this level.
• An understanding of the ethos and values of The Open University including the principles and practice of equality and diversity, and the ability to work in a manner which aligns to these.

Desirable Criteria:

• Evidence of working with, and producing, innovative distance learning materials that demonstrate practical and vocational skills.
• Experience of building ethical and sustainable photography practices across a range of genres.
• Understanding of AI-assisted and synthetic image creation and digital post-production workflows.

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 Office, 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 once per month on average. Full-time working based from our Milton Keynes site is also supported if this is preferred by the candidate. Expenses associated with travel to our Milton Keynes site are not reimbursable. 

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews are likely to be held in the week commencing 20th July 2026.

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit the following documents:

• CV
• Supporting statement of up to 1000 words clearly demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria for the role

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.