Lecturer in Psychology and/or Neuroscience

We are recruiting for a post that provides an exciting opportunity to join the newly established BSc in Neuroscience and Psychology and become part of a thriving academic community at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. 

The post-holder is expected to be an enthusiastic educator committed to developing, implementing and evaluating innovative teaching and assessment methods, enhancing student experience to the highest level.

Depending on the applicant’s previous experience and knowledge, they may contribute to teaching in a broad range of topics. Key areas of contribution may include cognitive/systems/computational neuroscience, the core BPS curriculum, statistics & data analysis using R, psychopharmacology.

As a member of the core teaching team, the post holder will also make substantial contributions to the management and administration of the programme, and the provision of research projects to final year students.

The initial appointment can be made on a Research & Education or an Education only contract. If the postholder is appointed on a Research & Education contract, they are expected to demonstrate engagement in high-quality research activity and a developing research profile, as evidenced by a track record of publications including publications meeting a Research Excellence Framework (REF) standard of 3* or higher, a clear publication plan, and/or previous success in research funding applications. They are also expected to demonstrate a clear research agenda and plan for future grants. If the postholder is appointed on an Education only contract, they are expected to demonstrate a track record of and commitment to innovation in teaching. 

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract. 

This is a full-time 100% full time equivalent.

Research and education pathway: 

Education: 

•       Contribute at least 60% FTE to education related activities (e.g., curriculum development, module leadership teaching, supervision, education leadership and innovation, and administration, as reviewed and agreed annually). 

•       Work closely with the core team and engage with the student body to enhance student experience and ensure a high standard of student satisfaction. 

•       Show commitment to improving teaching methods and assessments. 

•       Deliver high-quality research-led undergraduate teaching achieving favourable student feedback. 

•       Offer and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation projects. 

•       Act as a Personal Tutor to students on the BSc Neuroscience and Psychology programme. 

•       Provide input into programme admissions, open and taster days, assessment and other aspects of educational activity as reasonably requested by the programme director. 

Research

•       Develop research collaborations within King’s to support the faculty research strategy. 

•       Build sufficient grant income to maintain a research group with 1-2 regular research workers. 

•       Publish research in ‘internationally excellent’ quality journals (i.e. in the top 10%ile of the field)  

•       Provide PhD research supervision. 

•       Have a clear forward plan for sustaining/enhancing a research programme. 

Academic citizenship, management and leadership: 

•       Recruit, mentor and manage staff (e.g., GTAs, grant-funded staff) within agreed frameworks and procedures.  

•       Provide leadership and management of Teaching Fellows/Graduate Teaching Assistants. 

•       Ensure adherence to College and externally agreed frameworks and procedures. 

•       Display tangible acts of academic citizenship. 

•       Work with colleagues on joint projects and lead teams as required. 

•       Enable a diverse and inclusive work and education environment in line with the Faculty’s policies. 

Professional Activities:

•       Act as referee and contribute to peer assessment and mentor training sessions. 

•       Attend and participate in appropriate seminars/conferences within subject related areas. 

•       Actively develop external networks, in particular liaising with external professional bodies/agencies. 

•       Participate in professional development activities where appropriate. 

•       Undertake any other reasonable duties that may be requested by the Director of BSc Neuroscience and Psychology and/or Head of Department. 

Academic Education pathway:

Education: 

•       Contribute at least 80% FTE to education related activities (e.g., curriculum development, module leadership teaching, supervision, education leadership and innovation, and administration, as reviewed and agreed annually). 

•       Work closely with the core team and engage with the student body to enhance student experience and ensure a high standard of student satisfaction. 

•       Show commitment to improving teaching methods and assessments, taking on more complex education related roles 

•       Deliver high-quality research-led undergraduate teaching achieving favourable student feedback 

•       Offer and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation projects 

•       Act as a Personal Tutor to students on the BSc Neuroscience and Psychology programme 

•       Provide input into programme admissions, open and taster days, assessment and other aspects of educational activity as reasonably requested by the programme director 

Education Research, Scholarship, Knowledge Exchange and Impact: 

•       Contribute 20% FTE to education-focused research and scholarship, and PG research supervision e.g., on innovation in the teaching of neuroscience, psychology or statistics and data analysis to UG students in psychology and/or neuroscience. 

•       Dissemination of teaching innovations and initiatives.  

•       Reflective practice and communication of educational scholarship, through peer engagement, publications, or conferences. 

Academic citizenship, management and leadership:

•       Recruit, mentor and manage staff (e.g., GTAs, grant-funded staff) within agreed frameworks and procedures.  

•       Provide leadership and management of Teaching Fellows/Graduate Teaching Assistants. 

•       Ensure adherence to College and externally agreed frameworks and procedures. 

•       Display tangible acts of academic citizenship. 

•       Work with colleagues on joint projects and lead teams as required. 

•       Enable a diverse and inclusive work and education environment in line with the Faculty’s policies. 

Professional Activities:

•       Act as referee and contribute to peer assessment and mentor training sessions. 

•       Attend and participate in appropriate seminars/conferences within subject related areas. 

•       Actively develop external networks, in particular liaising with external professional bodies/agencies. 

•       Participate in professional development activities where appropriate. 

•       Undertake any other reasonable duties that may be requested by the Director of BSc Neuroscience and Psychology and/or Head of Department. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.   

Essential criteria  

1.      First degree in Psychology or Neuroscience (2:1 or above) and PhD in Psychology or Neuroscience (or cognate area). 

2.     Knowledge of BPS curriculum to support teaching in core Psychology areas. 

3.     Expertise in research area to develop educational content and supervise UG student projects (preference for projects involving (f)MRI, EEG, psychophysiology, eye-tracking, quantitative and computational data analysis).  

4.     Demonstrable (e.g. by publication record) experience in using quantitative statistics, current transparent research practises, programming for data analysis and simulation (primarily in R; MATLAB, Python and others a welcome advantage). 

5.     Track record in and commitment to innovation in teaching and assessment. 

6.     Experience in delivering high quality UG research-led education. 

7.      Evidence of excellent student feedback on teaching and supervision.  

8.     Experience in supervision of final year UG projects and in the support and guidance of UG students. 

9.     Knowledge of and interest in the use of technology enhanced platforms (e.g. Moodle) to support teaching and enhance student experience and learning.

10.   A track record of publications including publications meeting the Research Excellence Framework (REF) standard of 3* or higher 

11.   Experience in writing competitive funding applications to a range of research organisations or to support education focused research. 

Desirable criteria

1.     Higher Education teaching qualification (e.g. PGCAPHE). 

2.     Being a team player able to engage actively with students and colleagues and contribute to the management and administration of the programme. 

3.     A demonstrable understanding of, and commitment to working within, principles of equality and diversity.