The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

We are seeking to recruit an experienced Teaching Associate to contribute to our innovative teaching.

This role is an ideal opportunity for a scholar with excellent teaching ability to join one of the leading Humanities Schools in the United Kingdom.

You will contribute to the coordination and delivery of teaching in the field of philosophy and will undertake a range of high quality teaching, including the design and delivery of materials under the direction of senior colleagues and marking, and administrative duties within the School. Teaching will be required at Undergraduate and Master levels.

You will have a PhD in Philosophy or related subject area (or be close to completion), proven teaching ability and administrative skills.

You will join a dynamic team of Academic staff in the School and will work collaboratively with Academic and Professional Service colleagues to deliver excellent teaching.

You will also be expected to contribute to the School and wider Faculty and University agenda.

The School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities sits within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and combines internationally acknowledged research excellence with modern, imaginative teaching that enables our students to think for themselves and excel in the study of history, philosophy, archaeology and digital humanities.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Full responsibility for teaching across our portfolio of philosophy programmes as required, including but not limited to:
  • Designing and delivering sessions on undergraduate and postgraduate modules
  • Contributing to the delivery and assessment of undergraduate and postgraduate modules
  • Preparing and modifying teaching material
  • Communicating material to students and encouraging their critical engagement; observing and reacting to student interventions
  • Responding to questions from students; and introducing innovative teaching methods as appropriate.
  • Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students for individual projects/dissertations as required.
  • Undertake module assessment across our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, ensuring adequate moderation, providing written and oral feedback and collating and providing final student grades.
• Attend scheduled team meetings.
• Liaise between individual students /groups of students and programme directors.
• Undertake module evaluation, including facilitating student feedback, reflecting on own teaching design and delivery; and implementing ideas for improving own performance.
• Undertake curriculum development work, planning, development and evaluation of modules and related materials, and supervise module provision with support from senior colleagues as appropriate.
• Work actively to enhance the student experience, for example by delivering prompt advice and feedback.
• Act as Academic Tutor for an allocated number of UG/MA students.
• Respond appropriately, promptly and proactively to requests and issues relating to teaching.
• Work closely with the Student Experience Professional Service Teams to ensure appropriate signposting of students with additional support needs.
• Teaching-related and administrative work as allocated by the Head of School and various committees; you will also self-generate work through innovation in teaching and administration.
• Carry out any other teaching duties as agreed upon with the Head of School.
• As a member of staff, you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University’s sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Essential criteria

• Have a PhD (or equivalent experience) in Philosophy
• Proven ability to carry out high quality teaching and learning
• Ability to design, carry out and coordinate the monitoring and assessment of undergraduate and postgraduate level learning
• Ability to deliver timely, informative and personalised feedback on student assignments including project work.
• Ability to use online teaching environments (for example Blackboard) effectively.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to respond positively and informatively to student questions and queries along with the ability to quickly assess student support needs at cohort level and develop appropriate solutions. This includes being able to complete teaching-related administration.
• Ability to work both within a team and independently.
• Ability to think strategically and innovatively.
• Ability to plan and prioritise own daily work and forward plan.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to engage effectively and confidently with a wide range of people, including staff at all levels.
• Excellent organisational skills, the ability to undertake complex administrative duties, and a proven ability to work to and meet deadlines.
• An understanding of and demonstrable commitment to promoting and embedding equality, diversity & inclusion principles and practices.

Desirable criteria

• Have a recognised teaching qualification or accreditation.
• Experience of coordinating and working with colleagues in the delivery and assessment of team-taught modules.

Further Information

Grade: 7.3 to 7.4

Salary: £38,249 to £39,355 per annum

Duration: Fixed-term: 01.09.25 - 30.06.2027

Hours of work per week: part-time, 0.5FTE

Our website: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hpdh

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).
 

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Job Advert

We are seeking to recruit an experienced Teaching Associate to contribute to our innovative teaching.

This role is an ideal opportunity for a scholar with excellent teaching ability to join one of the leading Humanities Schools in the United Kingdom.

You will contribute to the coordination and delivery of teaching in the field of philosophy and will undertake a range of high-quality teaching, including the design and delivery of materials under the direction of senior colleagues and marking, and administrative duties within the School. Teaching will be required at Undergraduate and Master levels.

You will have a PhD in Philosophy or related subject area (or close to completion), proven teaching ability and administrative skills.

You will join a dynamic team of Academic staff in the School and will work collaboratively with Academic and Professional Service colleagues to deliver excellent teaching.

You will also be expected to contribute to the School and wider Faculty and University agenda.

The School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities sits within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and combines internationally acknowledged research excellence with modern, imaginative teaching that enables our students to think for themselves and excel in the study of history, philosophy, archaeology and digital humanities.

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Find out more at www.sheffield.ac.uk/benefits and join us to become part of something special.

The School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hpdh) sits within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and combines internationally acknowledged research excellence with modern, imaginative teaching that enables our students to think for themselves and excel in the study of history, philosophy, archaeology and digital humanities.

Philosophy at Sheffield has a distinguished record of producing internationally outstanding and innovative work. Our teaching is delivered by staff who are both committed to providing an outstanding student experience and who are at the cutting edge of research in their own disciplines.

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

Interviews are likely to take place week commencing 14 July 2025.

Closing Date : 27/06/2025 

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.