Associate Lecturers in Biology

Unit: Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Location: Various locations

Please quote reference:

London, South, Southwest, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, Yorkshire, Northwest, North, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Southeast.

Closing Date: 15 July, 2026 - 17:00

Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 0.1 to 0.2 FTE

Fixed Term contract end date: Fixed Term to September 2027

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.

The School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences at the Open University is looking to recruit several Associate Lecturers with expertise in biology. Appointments to the position will be subject to student registrations. The role is part‑time in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 FTE and will involve working on one or more modules in the biology discipline area. In particular, there are immediate teaching needs on our stage 2 module, S286 (Biodiversity: survival in a changing world).

The position is home‑based and has no fixed core hours. It is a fixed‑term contract to September 2027 in the first instance. The annual salary and workload are fixed, but there are significant workload peaks and troughs, mainly linked to providing marking and assessment feedback. The role is also likely to include exam and end‑of‑module marking tasks. Other tasks will be required such as focused student support (individual support, forum support and tutorials), peer mentoring and working with the module team on assessment activities and quality improvement.

Some evening and weekend work will be required. The starting full‑time salary is £38,784 paid pro‑rata based on your FTE. Although most of the teaching occurs over 9 months of the year (either between October and June or between February and September), the position is paid over the full calendar year. It is anticipated that the contract will start from 1 September 2026.

The person specification for this position should be read in conjunction with the generic person specification for an Associate Lecturer at The Open University. As well as meeting all the requirements set out in the generic person specification, you should be able to provide evidence of the following:

• A degree in biology that included aspects of evolutionary biology.
• Recent teaching of undergraduate level biology, preferably in an online environment.
• The ability to facilitate student skills development necessary for the study of biology (including study skills, academic writing, maths, statistics and scientific communication skills).
• The development of students’ research skills, including undertaking practical investigations (field‑based, online virtual, computational) and the analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.
• The ability to support effective student learning and collaboration in an online environment, using tools such as synchronous conferencing (e.g. Teams, Adobe Connect) and asynchronous communication (email and forums).
• The ability to provide constructive feedback on assignments.

It is also desirable to have the following:

• A postgraduate qualification in a biological sciences subject.
• Experience of teaching evolutionary biology at undergraduate level.
• Experience of working as a team to deliver teaching.
• Experience of supervising undergraduate student final year projects/dissertations in biology.
• Higher Education Academy fellowship or equivalent teaching qualification.

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. To ensure they remain up to date with developments in their academic field, Associate Lecturers are allocated 6 days (pro‑rata) per annum for AL‑led (ie. self‑directed) Academic Currency and 1 day, plus 5 days pro‑rata, per annum for Agreed Academic Currency and Professional Development.

Benefits include a supportive and friendly working environment, 27 days holiday per annum (pro‑rata) with variable Bank holidays…