About the Role

Since its inception, The Open University (OU) has focussed on innovation in teaching and learning, with a track record of providing, inspiring, world-leading programmes of higher education for students who learn at a distance.  

We aim to appoint inspiring and innovative teachers and scholars who enjoy developing novel approaches to distance teaching and excel at working collaboratively with colleagues.

As a Staff Tutor you will have academic line management responsibility for up to 20 tutors. We are seeking candidates with a strong background in computing and/or communications. The successful candidate will join a team extending our work on transformative approaches to teaching and contribute to the school’s internationally leading research. Some of the work is likely to include managing tutors on apprenticeship schemes.

You will ideally hold a PhD or have substantial experience in an area relating to computing and communications technologies. In particular we are keen to recruit staff with knowledge in the field of Artificial Intelligence, who can help to support the development of our new AI qualifications. You will also have demonstrable knowledge of the skills and experience required to support undergraduate and postgraduate Computing and IT students and the staff that tutor them. You will also have good organisational and communication skills, and an ability to produce high quality scholarly outputs relevant to your specialist area.  

The full summary of duties and person specification can be found within the Job Description here; Job Description

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be appointed to the School of Computing and Communication and will be a member of the Staff Tutor Group in the Faculty. There will be opportunities to work in conjunction with Staff Tutors located across the UK at regular meetings held via online conferencing and at the University campus in Milton Keynes.

The Open University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all backgrounds and nationalities. Our work is carried out across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and you will need to be a resident of Wales, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland in order to work with us.  This will be a homeworking or office-based post. The successful candidate may be required to undertake evening and weekend commitments and will be expected to travel in the UK, to meetings in Milton Keynes, Manchester, and to other locations as necessary.

Skills and Experience

Essential

•    A good honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant area
•    Demonstrable knowledge of the skills and experience required to support undergraduate and/or postgraduate taught students and the staff that tutor them
•    Some experience of teaching at further or higher education levels in the area of computing and communications topics 
•    Some experience of adult learning within an online and/or distance learning environment
•    An understanding and experience of dealing with issues of access and retention in the context of higher education
•    Experience of staff selection and performance management
•    Experience of delivering staff development
•    Experience in the use of ICT in an educational context
•    Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate ideas clearly, and to offer and receive constructive criticism
•    Good team working and interpersonal skills and the ability to work adaptively and responsively with a variety of colleagues in multidisciplinary teams; particularly when the team is geographically dispersed
•    Ability to be personally resilient and be able to respond to school, faculty and organisational change 
•    Ability to prioritise demands against when subject to conflicting pressures and the ability to work flexibly and independently (including some evenings and weekends).
•    Knowledge of, and commitment to, equal opportunities principles and practice
•    Commitment to the aims, ethos and values of the Open University

Desirable

•    Post-graduate qualification (such as a PhD or an EdD) in a relevant area and/or a relevant education postgraduate degree
•    Experience of managing student project modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels 
•    Higher Education Academy professional accreditation or equivalent
•    Background in Artificial Intelligence or Degree Apprenticeships to support new qualifications being established.

Essential Requirements

Panel and Interview

The interview panel will be chaired by Laura Alexander, Associate Dean –Tuition Delivery.  The other members of the interview panel will be John Woodthorpe, Head of School – Computing & Communications, Frances Chetwynd, Lead Staff Tutor + 2 other members, to be confirmed
 
The interviews will take place on: TBC

 
To apply for this role please submit the following;

CV and personal statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the requirements of the person specification and essential criteria for this role as detailed above, and in the job description.

Early Close: We reserve the right to close adverts sooner than the closing date.