Lecturer in Developmental Psychopathology (Education) [Maternity Leave Cover]

About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity for a Lecturer to join us to contribute to the postgraduate educational programme at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London (IoPPN, KCL). The appointment will be made on the Academic Education Pathway, where the primary contribution is to education (80% of role) and only secondary contribution to research (20%). We are seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated colleague who can make a distinctive contribution to education and link with collaborative high-quality research. We are particularly interested in recruiting someone with a background in developmental psychology/psychopathology, with a current programme of pedagogical research activity. You should have excellent teaching and communication skills and be able to inspire and inform students.

Education and training of the next generation of scientists is a priority at the SGDP Centre. As post holder, you will provide educational leadership on our MSc in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology. This would include programme and/or module leadership, course delivery, assessment, research project supervision, and personal tutor roles. You may also support other undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses within the School and Faculty, for example with project supervision. You should be able to demonstrate suitable teaching skills and experience including curriculum development and assessment design, along with an ability to supervise student research dissertations.

You should have an area of research in either a pedagogical area or one that complements the existing interdisciplinary research in the SGDP Centre, ideally with a focus on developmental psychopathology, on the role of social risk factors, or with a life-course perspective on mental health. Our expertise includes developmental psychology, epidemiology, behavioural genetics, statistical genetics, lifespan approaches, digital phenotyping and the integration of administrative and biomarker data. Inter-disciplinary research collaboration with existing SGDP Centre research programmes will be encouraged. The SGDP is home to a wide array of longitudinal cohorts and twin studies of both population based samples and disorder based cohorts. We encourage open science practices in data, software and publishing.    

SGDP Centre webpage: www.kcl.ac.uk/mental-health-and-psychological-sciences/about/departments/social-genetic-and-developmental-psychiatry

MSc in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/developmental-psychology-psychopathology-msc

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a maternity cover contract from December 2026 for 1 year, or until the substantive postholder returns.

About you:

Essential criteria

• PhD in an area relevant to the SGDP Centre and to the MSc programme in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology. 
• Experience of designing and delivering excellent teaching and assessment for postgraduate and/or undergraduate students, in person and/or online
• Ability to supervise postgraduate taught and undergraduate research projects.
• Track-record of excellent scientific research, as evidenced by peer reviewed publications.
• Evidence of high self-motivation and ability to organize, plan and prioritize workload.
• Commitment to fair, accountable, consistent and transparent (FACT) practices in research, teaching, supervision and leadership, supporting the participation and success of people from all backgrounds.

Desirable criteria

• Fellow (or higher) of the Higher Education Academy (or equivalent). 
• Background and/or current programme of pedagogical research.
• Experience of providing pastoral support and guidance to postgraduate and undergraduate students.
• Ability to contribute to the Department’s teaching strategy

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