Lecturer in Law, Early Career

Weekly Working Hours:  37

Contract Type: Permanent

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

Applications are sought from candidates able to contribute to the growth of The Open University Law School. This is an ideal first academic post for someone looking to pursue a career in teaching and research, so we especially welcome applications from candidates who have recently successfully defended their PhD, or who have not held substantive academic posts since completing their doctorate. The post-holder will develop excellent teaching and research in law.

The post-holder will work in a team producing and delivering innovative learning resources across the foundations of legal knowledge (England & Wales), contributing to teaching on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as required. In addition to contributing to teaching within the Law School, the post-holder will be expected to conduct independent research and knowledge exchange in law at a level appropriate for their career stage.

The post-holder is expected to have the ability and willingness to teach across the foundations of legal knowledge (England and Wales) and candidates with teaching expertise in one or more of the following areas of law are particularly encouraged:

• Criminal Law
• EU Law
• SQE

The roles are contractually based at the Milton Keynes campus, but applications will be considered from candidates based in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Regular attendance on campus is required, with both the cost and travel time incurred being the responsibility of the employee and not compensated by the University.

Key Responsibilities

You will be required to:

• Contribute to the creation of online teaching modules (undergraduate, postgraduate, and short courses).
• Contribute to the presentation of teaching modules (undergraduate, postgraduate and short courses), including setting and overseeing of assessment materials which are clear, accessible and inclusive.
• Undertake research and produce publications relevant to University research, scholarship and knowledge exchange strategies.
• Contribute to supervision of PhD students.
• Contribute to income diversification to support research and teaching.
• Participate in external engagement events and promotion opportunities to enhance the Law School’s profile.
• Contribute to monitoring of the quality of tuition, assessment and online student support.
• Play a full part in the academic life of the Law School.
• Serve as requested on Law School, Faculty and University committees.

About You

Essential Criteria:

• A PhD completed (‘'completed' is defined as having successfully defended your thesis) in Law or a closely related subject.
• An undergraduate law degree or equivalent.
• A postgraduate qualification or equivalent.
• Teaching experience in higher education reflects the ability to teach modules across the OU Law School’s LLB and LLM programmes.
• Clear evidence of the ability to structure and write complex law teaching and assessment materials in English for online asynchronous delivery in an accurate, accessible and engaging manner suitable for students with a wide range of prior learning experiences.
• Evidence of a capacity to develop a trajectory of 3* (REF standard) publications.
• A commitment to conducting high-quality research, evidenced by current and/or planned projects, a pipeline of relevant research outputs and/or evidence of applying for external funding and / or knowledge exchange activity.
• An ability to work effectively both with other academics and with academic support staff in module and project teams, forming good working relationships.
• The ability to work proactively and independently and to manage own workload to meet tight deadlines.
• The understanding of, and ability to work in a manner which aligns with equal opportunities and accessibility, reflected in an approach that makes learning open to all.
• Digital literacy and IT competency in teaching as well as organisational administration.
• The willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends.

Desirable Criteria:

• Professional qualification and experience in legal practice (e.g. solicitor, barrister).
• Fellowship of Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) or PG CERT.
• Teaching experience in a distance learning setting.
• An ability to contribute to the development of one or more of the Law School’s existing research clusters.

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.

Work location

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 it is expected that attendance on our Milton Keynes campus will be required. It is likely that you will work from our Milton Keynes office on average for 1 day per month, but this role requires flexibility to attend campus according to business need and so there will be occasions when attendance more than once a month is required.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews are likely to be held online on 19 and 20 November 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.

Contact us

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

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.