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
We are seeking a Lecturer in Marketing with substantial, evidenced teaching experience in Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing and Content Creation, and/or Marketing Analytics. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to design and deliver high‑quality online learning materials and to teach effectively on undergraduate, apprenticeship, postgraduate (including MBA), and micro-credential programmes.
You will contribute to a research‑active department and must have a strong and developing publication record, and a clear pipeline of future publications. You will be expected to actively pursue external funding and engage with practitioner and/or policy communities to increase the visibility and impact of your research. Your research can be in any of the areas above or other areas which align with or complement the interests of academic staff in the Department of Strategy and Marketing.
As part of The Open University we have a distinctive, practice-based pedagogy, delivered predominantly online. You will have the opportunity to work in teams designing and delivering innovative, high quality and challenging learning experiences for our students utilising a wide-range of media. We therefore need to appoint someone with outstanding ability to work as part of a team, to demonstrate creativity and initiative in addition to relevant specialist knowledge.
The likely start date of this role for the successful candidate will be 1st September 2026.
Key Responsibilities
Teaching & Learning
- Lead and contribute to the design, development, and production of online teaching modules (undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and micro-credentials).
- Contribute to the delivery and assessment of modules across the School’s programmes, including marking, oversight of assessment quality, and online student support.
- Tutor at face‑to‑face or online residential schools, day schools, and other forms of direct student engagement.
- Ensure teaching materials are accurate, accessible, and aligned with OU pedagogic standards.
Research & Scholarship
- Maintain an active programme of high‑quality research, including publishing in internationally recognised journals.
- Develop and maintain a clear pipeline of research outputs suitable for REF submission.
- Seek and secure external research funding.
- Engage with practitioner or policy audiences to increase research impact.
Academic Citizenship
- Support and develop PhD students.
- Contribute to income diversification for teaching and research activities.
- Participate in external engagement initiatives that raise the profile of the Business School.
- Contribute to the monitoring and enhancement of teaching quality.
- Participate fully in the academic life of the School, including regular attendance on campus as required.
About You
Essential criteria:
- A completed (at the time of submitting your application) doctorate in Marketing or a closely related discipline. 'Completed' is defined as having received your certification rather than having submitted your viva/thesis pending amendments.
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) or equivalent (e.g., PGCertHE).
- Substantial experience teaching Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and/or Marketing Analytics at Higher Education level.
- Demonstrated ability to design, write, and evaluate online learning materials for large and diverse student cohorts.
- Experience of teaching face‑to‑face and online in business/management contexts.
- Proficient and substantial communication skills - written, oral, and digital.
- A clear plan for future publications and a developing track record of applying for external research funding.
- The ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams as well as independently.
- The ability to work in a manner that demonstrates behaviours that align to equality, diversity, and inclusion across teaching, research, and student support.
- The ability to work in alignment with the OU mission of accessible distance learning and supporting students from varied backgrounds.
- The ability and willingness to travel regularly within the United Kingdom and occasionally internationally.
- A willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends as required.
Desirable criteria:
- A research record evidenced by REF‑eligible publications and a demonstrable trajectory of high‑quality outputs.
- Experience in online distance education within a higher education institution context.
- International teaching experience.
- Experience in professional or managerial roles related to marketing.
- Evidence of pedagogic innovation in digital or blended learning.
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 twice per month, but this could be more often as business needs dictate.
Next steps in the Recruitment process
We expect interviews to take place in the middle of June 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 document(s):
- 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.
