Lectureship in International Relations (with specialism in the Middle East) - Department of Politica

Position Details

The Department has a unique opportunity to employ a lecturer who will help us shape the future of POLSIS at Birmingham.

Social Sciences at Birmingham

Thank you for your interest in working in Social Sciences at Birmingham. The College is a welcoming and collegiate place to work, and it is also highly successful - with good student satisfaction, an excellent record on employability of our graduates, and carrying out thought-provoking research which impacts on all areas of society. Our influence on society dates back to the University's civic roots. A century ago we pioneered business and social work education. More recently, we founded the UK's first University secondary school and will continue to expand our global reach as we take pride in being at the very heart of the University's new campus in Dubai.

The College has an exciting and ambitious growth and diversification plan over the next 10 years. This includes investment in new academic posts (such as these ones), leveraging external research income from government, business and philanthropic sources, extending our links with the city and the region, as well as improving the quality of the student experience on campus, overseas and through digital education.

The College is currently home to over 900 staff, including almost 500 academic staff. Our proportion of female professors and readers has grown in the last three years and we have staff from over 53 countries around the world. But we are committed to doing more to improve equality and diversity and make the College a place that better reflects our city and the wider community. We will do this drawing on the world-leading research carried out in the College on this area, including within centres and institutes such as the Centre for Research in Race and Education (CRRE) and the Department of Inclusion and Special Needs in the School of Education, the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) in the School of Social Policy, a strong research cluster on inclusivity in work in the Birmingham Business School, and our work on gender and feminist theory in Government and Society.

In line with the ambitions of the College, the School would particularly welcome applications from female and black and minority ethnic candidates who are underrepresented in the School. We are happy to discuss flexible working.

Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS)

POLSIS is one of the largest Political Science and International Relations departments in the United Kingdom. It is home to more than 50 full-time academic staff, more than 1200 undergraduate and taught postgraduate students, and more than 70 doctoral researchers. The department is intellectually vibrant with an excellent record in both research and teaching. We are keen both to consolidate current areas of strength and develop expertise in new and emerging areas of politics and international relations.

The department's teaching and research vision for the coming decade is broad and ambitious. We seek colleagues who can both undertake pioneering research and develop exciting and intellectually stimulating modules.

We encourage high quality research. Staff in POLSIS enjoy the benefits of being part of an inclusive and supportive environment that helps them to flourish and achieve their goals. Resources and guidance are provided to support publications, grant capture and impact and engagement activities.

We value teaching. Staff in POLSIS are encouraged to develop and deliver high quality and innovative teaching and learning. Support is offered at all levels of the University to assist staff to achieve these goals and help us forge the next generation of political scientists.

Informal enquiries are welcomed - please contact one of the following: Professor Linstaedt on r.linstaedt@bham.ac.uk (Head of the School of Government) or Dr Richard North on r.north.2@bham.ac.uk (Head of POLSIS)

Our offer

We genuinely want colleagues who join us to be able to flourish and develop their academic career here.

We start by supplementing an induction session which is run centrally by the University with a structured induction in the College, including offering you an induction buddy who you can ask all those questions you may not want to ask a line manager.

If you are a Lecturer on probation (usually a three year term) we will give you protected time and a reduced workload in the first couple of years so you can really establish your research and/or teaching career. You will also have an academic mentor who will meet regularly with you. We are happy to provide other staff with a mentor if they feel it would be helpful.

We offer developmental programmes (including a series of seminars CoSS Essentials annually) to assist you develop your career further, and when the time is right, we offer support to assist you in formulating an application for promotion.

We also have excellent support for research, both pre and post-award, for developing publications for the Research Excellence Framework exercise and for impact development.

Social Sciences also has a staff-run Early Career Academic and Research Staff network which is run jointly with the College of Arts and Law and also hosts the WIN:WIN network - a bottom up initiative which has been in place since 2013 convened by and for academic staff which holds termly events. The University's Rainbow Network aims to provide a space for staff and PhD students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning, as well as friends and allies of these communities, to meet and develop contacts across campus, and we are leading work to develop a LGBTQ inclusive curriculum for our students.

We support flexible working, and offer enhanced maternity, parental and adoption leave and staff have access to two on-site nurseries, as well as a parent and carers network (amongst other network groups) . The College has a nursing and quiet room located in the School of Education.

On return from maternity leave we support female staff who can drop either teaching or research for a term in order to re-establish themselves in the workplace.

Our campus

Our beautiful campus is one of our greatest assets. Our 250-acres of parkland give the University an excellent work environment. Transport links are excellent, as we have our own train station on site and we are situated on a main route to the City centre.

Our city

Birmingham is a city on the up. It is one of the youngest cities in Europe in terms of its population profile and also one of the most diverse. It has coupled its proud heritage as the workshop of the world with a modern outlook.

Birmingham is a truly diverse city with a rich cultural mix which is reflected in its restaurants, shops and cultural activities. You can find more information on Birmingham's official visitor website .

Birmingham is within an hour's drive of Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds. From Birmingham International Airport, more than 50 different airlines operate scheduled services to 100 destinations worldwide. The University has its own dedicated railway station, while 50 million passengers a year use Birmingham New Street Station, and the city will be a major hub for the high-speed rail network. London is 80 minutes away by shuttle service, with trains every 20 minutes.

Job Summary

You will contribute to the whole range of research, teaching and administration.

Teaching is likely to include a substantial contribution to: (a) the management, development (including programme/module review) and delivery of teaching and assessment; and (b) enhancement of the student experience or employability. The role will typically also involve developing and advising others, including: (a) providing expert advice to staff and students, (b) supervising and examining PhD students, and (c) developing and advising others on learning and teaching tasks and methods.

Research is likely to involve initiating, conducting and disseminating original research. Your research will have measurable outcomes reflect in your growing national (and possibly international) reputation.

Management and administration is likely to involve contributions at Departmental and School level, and/or making an important contribution to some managerial/leadership activities (e.g. working groups) within the University. This may include developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, schools outreach, or similar activities at Department/School level or further within the University.

Main duties

Learning and Teaching

• Using a variety of methods in teaching and advising individuals and groups of undergraduates, postgraduates, or CPD students, including (as appropriate):
• teaching and examining courses at a range of levels;
• planning and reviewing your own teaching approaches and encouraging others to do the same;
• developing programme proposals and making substantial contributions to the design of teaching programmes more widely;
• where appropriate, undertaking and developing the full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining;
• developing and advising others on learning and teaching tasks and methods;
• developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement activities or similar on own specialism that enhances the student experience or employability and which benefits the College and University;
• devising and supervising projects, student dissertations and practical work.

Research

• Planning and carrying out research, including (as appropriate):
• planning and publishing high quality research, including winning financial support;
• project managing research activities, and/or supervising other research staff;
• presenting findings in high quality publications and conference proceedings;
• supervising and examining PhD students, both within the institution and externally;
• providing expert advice to staff and students within the discipline;
• applying knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding;
• developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, and enterprise (including business engagement, public engagement) and similar activity that is of benefit to the College and the University.

Management/Administration

• Contributing to Departmental/School administration, including:
• contributing to the administration/management of research and/or teaching across the Department/School;
• leading and managing a team to devise and implement a new and/or revised process (e.g. new programme or a recruitment drive);
• advising on personal development of colleagues and students;
• making a major contribution to some administrative activities within the University (e.g. appeals panels, working groups);
• managing enterprise, business development, and public engagement activities;
• developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, schools outreach.

Person Specification

• Normally, a higher degree relevant to the research/teaching area (usually PhD) or equivalent qualifications
• Extensive research/teaching experience and scholarship within subject specialism
• Proven ability to devise, advise on and manage learning/research
• Skills in managing, motivating and mentoring others successfully at all levels

Teaching

Ability to design, deliver, assess and revise teaching programmes
Extensive experience and demonstrated success in developing appropriate approaches to learning and teaching, and advising colleagues
Experience and success in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity that enhances the student experience or employability

Research

• Experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation
• Extensive experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking and project managing research to deliver high quality results
• Extensive experience of applying and/or developing and devising successful models, techniques and methods
• Experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity

Management Administration

• Ability to contribute to School/Departmental management processes
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes

Informal enquiries are welcomed - please contact one of the following: Professor Linstaedt on r.linstaedt@bham.ac.uk (Head of the School of Government) or Dr Richard North on r.north.2@bham.ac.uk (Head of POLSIS)

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community

Valuing excellence; sustaining investment

Primary Location GB-GB-Birmingham
Job Academic Non-clinical
Organization Government
Schedule Regular
Full-time
Job Posting 07.10.2019, 4:01:05 PM
Grade (for job description) Grade 8
Salary (Pay Basis) 41,526.00
Maximum Salary 55,750.00