The Open University
Associate Lecturers in Childhood and Youth, Early Childhood and Education Studies (Primary)
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
The Role
We are looking to recruit Associate Lecturers to tutor on pathways in:
- Childhood and Youth (Q23)
- Early Childhood (Q89)
- Education Studies (Primary) (Q94)
The position is part-time with most of the work occurring between October and June. The workload is uneven but will average around 7 hours a week during the teaching period. However, this will increase during marking periods.
The position is home-based and has no fixed core hours. It is initially fixed term for two years with a probation period of two years. The annual salary and workload are fixed, but there are significant workload peaks and troughs, mainly linked to providing marking and assessment feedback. This is likely to include exam and end of module marking tasks. Other tasks will be required such as focused student support (individual and forum), peer mentoring and working with the module team on assessment activities and quality improvement. Some evening and weekend work will be required. The appropriate level of FTE will be discussed at interview, and there is the possibility of increasing FTE later. The starting full-time salary is £38,784 paid pro rata based on your FTE. Although most of the teaching occurs between October and June, the position is paid over the full calendar year.
We anticipate that any contract will start between September and the beginning of October 2026.
Person Specification
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
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 have:
For All Pathways
- Higher degree (Masters or Doctorate) and/or other relevant post graduate qualification
- Recent experience and proven ability to facilitate positive teaching and learning relationships within the online and distance learning environment.
- Demonstrable experience of teaching through the assessment of student work in higher education and providing constructive, developmental and personal feedback.
- Experience of supporting students from diverse educational, social, and cultural backgrounds.
- An awareness of the needs and challenges faced by adult and part-time learners.
For Childhood and Youth (Q23)
- Detailed, extensive and demonstrable understanding of current perspectives within the fields of Childhood and Youth studies and/or Developmental Psychology
- Extensive and demonstrable experience of recent research with children and young people (0-25 age range)
For Early Childhood (Q89)
- Extensive recent experience teaching in the field of Early Childhood (0-5)
- Demonstrable experience of having researched and/or practised in Early Childhood settings
- Demonstrable knowledge and experience of the role of creativity and/or young children’s rights in early childhood practice
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
For Education Studies (Primary) (Q94)
- Extensive evidence of recent and demonstrable expertise (skills, knowledge, and experience) in the field of Primary Education across the four nations of the UK
- Extensive and demonstrable evidence of a current and critical understanding of international and comparative education, underpinned by engagement with contemporary research.
It Would Be an Advantage to Have
- Fellowship of Advance HE (or equivalent professional recognition).
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
- Experience of using digital technologies to enhance teaching, learning and student engagement.
In your application, please identify which one pathway area (Q23, Q89 or Q94) listed above you have a preference to work on.
Based upon that preference, please identify how you meet the relevant criteria as listed above.
Please be aware that as you will only be considered for one pathway in this current application round, we will only accept one application per candidate. Therefore, based upon business needs, the maximum FTE being offered per individual will be 0.36 FTE.
However, in line with their knowledge, skills and experience, successful candidates may be asked to tutor on a qualification pathway/module that sits outside their identified area of preference listed above.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills