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About the Role

We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated Lecturer in Law. The role is located in the Law School and associated with the Centre for Protecting Women Online, funded by Research England. The successful candidate will work closely with the Law & Policy stream leads of the Centre.

We are looking for a lecturer who will play an active part in building the research culture in the centre and who is committed to collaborative research. They will use their research knowledge, skills and grant bidding experience to conduct research activities, knowledge exchange and bidding. They will have an opportunity to collaborate with researchers in the centre to initiate, shape and develop funding applications which develop their own research. A successful candidate would also contribute to Centre’s publications and knowledge exchange activities. Relevant training and professional development opportunities will be made available.

In the Law School, they will work in teams that produce and deliver innovative and exciting learning resources, focusing on the development and teaching of law at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The Open University offers distance learning, at scale, with modules being taught via a combination of core textbooks, VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) materials and online and face-to-face tutorials delivered by associate lecturers/tutors. If appointed, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work as part of teams of fellow academics, editors and producers to create innovative teaching and learning materials using a variety of media. They will also join a team working on existing modules, to offer support to students and associate lecturers.

About the Unit

The Faculty of Business and Law is one of the four faculties of The Open University. It brings together two Schools – The Open University Business School and The Open University Law School– and has a strong reputation as a high-quality and innovative provider of management and legal education.  Our courses and qualifications are studied by a wide range of people from all backgrounds – we are proud of our strong social mission; to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We promote social justice and social mobility via genuine access to university education for all.

About the Centre

The Centre for Protecting Women Online is a research unit dedicated to understanding and addressing challenges posed to women’s safety online through a novel, interdisciplinary and ambitious research agenda. This will be combined with cross-sectoral, collaborative outputs and interventions which inform law, policy, technology development and practice to reduce online harms suffered by women and girls; minimise anti-social behaviours online whilst promoting pro-social behaviours and help build tech/software that helps ensure accountability, credibility and facilitate justice. The work of the Centre is delivered through five interwoven Work Streams. Please visit our Centre website - Protecting Women Online, The Open University and LinkedIn page - LinkedIn CPWO for further details.

Key Responsibilities

The person appointed will be expected to contribute to research and administration within the Centre for Protecting Women Online as the teaching and administration of the School, Faculty and University. This following is not intended as a comprehensive list of duties expected of the post holder or a restrictive definition of the post but is rather a guide:

• Play an active part in building and supporting research culture of the Centre for Protecting Women Online as well as the Law School.
• Initiate and build collaborations with external partners and researchers. 
• Initiate, lead on and contribute to innovative funding bids relevant to the Law & Policy stream in collaboration with other researchers.
• Initiate and lead on research projects from start to completion.   
• Take a lead role in dissemination of research carried out within the Law & Policy stream of the Centre (including writing academic and non-academic publications; presentation of research findings at conferences and events; communicating research to non-academic and lay audiences via media).  
• Working with the Centre’s Director and Work Stream leads to meet the strategic objectives set out in the Centre’s plan. 
• Lead on design and delivery of knowledge exchange and impact activities.
• Contribute to current research related activities and projects in the Centre.
• Contribute to the delivery of the University’s research and knowledge exchange strategy.
• Supervision of research students in areas aligned to the work of the Centre. 
• Lead on design and writing of teaching and CPD material produced by the Centre for Protecting Women Online.
• Contribute to teaching in areas aligned to the work of the Centre to groups/individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Play a leading role in the teaching of law across UG and PG curriculum.
• Contribute to academic management within the Centre, School, Faculty and University, as required.

About You

Essential Criteria:

• A PhD or equivalent in law or related discipline.
• An undergraduate law degree or equivalent.
• A track record of research in law concerning women’s online safety and/or technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.  
• Evidence of high-quality, REF-returnable research outputs relevant to the Law & Policy stream, appropriate for career stage.
• A track record of applying for external research funding which can be evidenced.
• A commitment to conducting high quality research, evidenced by current and/or planned projects, a pipeline of relevant research outputs and/or knowledge exchange activity.
• A developing profile of teaching excellence in law and an ability and willingness to contribute to teaching across the foundation subjects of English law.
• 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.
• Ability to coordinate a number of collaborative research projects. 
• Willingness to work as part of the team, including with Visiting Fellows and non-academic partners, and in line with equal opportunities policies and practices.  
• Willingness and ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel in the UK and internationally.

Desirable Criteria:

• Fellowship or Senior Fellowship of Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) or PG CERT.
• Evidence of successful academic leadership.
• Evidence of successful PhD supervision to completion.

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 the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes site, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be 1-2 days per week, but this could be more often if business needs dictate.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews for this post will likely take place in early 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.