Lecturer in Psychology

Change your career, change lives

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About the Role

Please note we may need to close this vacancy early (see below for full details and applicant support information).

The post holder will work in teams that produce and deliver innovative and exciting learning resources across the School of Psychology & Counselling, focusing on the development and teaching of the British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited psychology qualifications, with a particular focus on forensic psychology.

The Open University offers distance learning at scale, with modules taught via a combination of core textbooks, VLE materials and online tutorials delivered by associate lecturers/tutors. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to work as part of teams of fellow academics, editors and producers to create innovative teaching and learning materials using a variety of media. You will also join teams working on existing modules, to offer support to students and associate lecturers.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

The Faculty is the largest and most diverse at The Open University, with some 50,000 students studying our modules and consistently outstanding student satisfaction ratings.  Rated Gold in our recent TEF submission and noted for the strength of our interdisciplinary approaches, our scholars of international standing teach and research a very wide range of topics and themes in specific subject areas, which has a direct and profound influence on our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

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

The School of Psychology & Counselling

The Psychology programme in the School of Psychology & Counselling is Europe’s largest provider of university-level education in Psychology, offering undergraduate, postgraduate and research qualifications. The School has a vigorous research culture with strengths in Cultural and Social Psychology (CuSP), Psychology of Health and Wellbeing (PHeW), Forensic Cognition (FCRG) and wide-ranging multidisciplinary collaborations.  Our general orientation is specifically multi-perspectival and interdisciplinary.  This is reflected in both our teaching and research - our students are trained in methodological concepts and techniques, understand fundamental conceptual and philosophical issues in psychology, and develop a critical understanding of the different ways in which psychological knowledge can be constructed and applied.

Members of the School also work in close collaboration with psychologists in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS), the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) and the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in research, teaching and curriculum provision.

For an overview of the School’s research approach please visit: http://fass.open.ac.uk/psychology/research

For information about our research clusters please visit the School’s Open Psychology Research Centre

The post-holder will be expected to conduct independent research (appropriate to career stage) and contribute to future REF exercises (or equivalent). They should undertake research that aligns with, or extends, the School’s established research profile, and in particular with the Forensic Cognition Research Group (FCRG). The FCRG has an established reputation for excellence and impact across a broad array of forensic and cognitive domains. The current post is aimed at broadening both our research and teaching in forensic psychology. As such, candidates should have demonstrable experience and a keen interest in contemporary trends, debates and practices in forensic psychology.  

Key Responsibilities

The person appointed will be expected to contribute to the teaching, research and administration of the School, Faculty and University in the following ways:

Teaching 

• Contribute to teams producing, presenting and updating relevant modules and qualifications for the School of Psychology & Counselling.
• Play a leading role in the teaching of forensic psychology across UG and PG curricula.
• Support teaching and learning activity appropriate to online and distance education and qualifications for The Open University.
• Take an active role in School and Faculty activities and groups, developing innovative curricula and pedagogies.
• Contribute to the production and delivery of interdisciplinary curricula involving psychology within The Open University curriculum more broadly.

Research 

• Engage actively in research and produce high-quality research outputs that have the potential to be entered in a future REF exercise (or equivalent) for Unit 04 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience.
• Demonstrate a research synergy with, or extension to, areas investigated by members of the Forensic Cognition Research Group.
• Contribute to research activities and events complementary to ongoing research in the School, Faculty and the Open Psychology Research Centre, and take an active role in research communities.
• Engage actively in making external research grant applications.
• Supervise research students.

Academic Management 

• Contribute to academic management within the School, Faculty and University, as required by the Head of School.

About You

Essential:

• A PhD or equivalent in psychology or a cognate discipline.
• A developing profile of teaching excellence in psychology.
• Evidence of understanding contemporary issues and trends in forensic psychology.
• Evidence of understanding the issues involved in supporting and delivering distance learning in Higher Education.
• Evidence of interest in and commitment to online teaching and learning.
• Experience in teaching at a range of levels in psychology.
• Writing skills which demonstrate the ability to produce written material for students appropriate to their level of study.
• A developing profile of research excellence in an area of psychology with research synergy, or extension to, the existing strengths of members of staff within the Forensic Cognition Research Group within the School of Psychology & Counselling Members | Open Psychology Research Centre
• Evidence of high-quality research outputs appropriate for career stage.
• Evidence of potential for securing research funding.
• Commitment to the value of open and engaged research, interacting meaningfully with various stakeholders.
• A track record of being able to work collaboratively with others, and of working successfully in teams.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with and producing distance-teaching materials. Note: This approach differs from delivering lectures/seminars online. 
• Experience in using and developing online and multimedia teaching materials.
• Experience in supervising student dissertations and projects.
• Experience of additional research activity (e.g. knowledge exchange, impact activities) appropriate for career stage.
• Research activity with a clearly applied dimension.
• A teaching qualification appropriate to HE.
• Be HCPC eligible in forensic psychology.
• Experience working in forensic psychology settings.

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.

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office some attendance in the office will be required in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be at least once per month, but this could be more often as business needs dictate.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews are likely to be held in mid 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 has 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 that includes details of academic qualifications, teaching and research experience, grants received and publications.
• Supporting Statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your supporting statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the essential and desirable criteria for this role as detailed above. You may find it helpful to list each point and give an example for how you meet that requirement.

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.

Contact us

If you have any queries or questions about the recruitment process, or regarding your application, please contact: Careers@open.ac.uk.

Looking for Associate Lecturer (AL) roles?

Please use our AL home page to find AL vacancies.

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.