Job Description
Photography Lecturer
Application Deadline: 1 July 2026
Department: Music & Performing Arts
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Wigan & Leigh College
Compensation: £31,699 - £42,450 / year
37 Hours per Week, Permanent
You know how to make an image work. Now teach students how to see, create and refine their own
A camera can record what is in front of it. A photographer decides what matters.
As our Photography Lecturer, you’ll teach Level 3 students how to make those decisions with purpose. You’ll help them develop technical confidence across studio and location photography, darkroom practice, lighting, image editing and digital post-production.
This role is about more than teaching camera settings. You’ll show students how composition, light, timing, context and post-production shape the way an image communicates. You’ll help them move from taking photographs to making work with intention.
You’ll also take course leadership responsibility. You’ll keep delivery organised, monitor progress and work with colleagues to make sure students receive a coherent, current and ambitious learning experience.
Your students may be preparing for university, apprenticeships, freelance work or careers across commercial photography, fashion, editorial, content creation and the wider creative industries. You’ll help them build the portfolios, judgement and professional habits that move them towards those next steps.
What you'll do
- Teach practical and theory Photography at Level 3.
- Help students build skills in studio work, location photography, lighting, darkroom practice and digital post-production.
- Plan projects and briefs that develop technical skill, visual awareness and creative confidence.
- Teach students how to analyse images, make purposeful choices and refine their work.
- Assess work, give clear feedback and guide students on how to improve.
- Lead agreed courses, coordinating delivery, assessment and student progress.
- Monitor attendance and achievement and act early when students need additional support or challenge.
- Help students build portfolios and prepare for higher education, apprenticeships and creative careers.
- Keep your subject knowledge current as technology, platforms and photographic practice develop.
- Contribute to exhibitions, live briefs, Open Evenings and activities promoting Photography and Creative Arts.
What you'll bring
- A degree or relevant vocational qualification in Photography or a related subject.
- Experience teaching or training in Photography.
- Experience delivering BTEC Level 3 programmes.
- Broad technical experience across studio photography, location work, darkroom practice, image editing and digital post-production.
- Current knowledge of contemporary photography and creative industry practice.
- The ability to translate professional experience into teaching that lands with students.
- A teaching qualification, or willingness to work towards one.
- Experience leading or coordinating a course would be helpful.
What you're like
- Industry current. You know how photographic practice is changing and keep your teaching connected to it.
- Creative. You help students find their visual voice while maintaining strong technical standards.
- Hands-on. You can teach lighting, camera work, darkroom and post-production in practice.
- Observant. You notice the detail and help students understand what makes an image work.
- Organised. You keep hold of course delivery, deadlines, assessment and progress.
- Clear. You explain technical and creative ideas in ways students understand.
- Encouraging. You help students improve without lowering expectations.
Essentials
- You’ll need an enhanced DBS check. If you get the job, we’ll do this for you.
You’re committed to safeguarding and inclusion.
You can travel across our sites and support location activity where required.
You’re flexible and happy to work beyond standard hours when shoots, exhibitions, events or college activity require it.
Why work for us
Great photography teaching often starts with helping someone look again.
A student notices how light changes the mood of a portrait. A contact sheet becomes a clearer edit. A technically correct image becomes something more deliberate. A piece of feedback helps someone understand the difference between recording a subject and communicating an idea.
At Wigan & Leigh College, you’ll help create those moments.
You’ll work with students who want to build futures in commercial photography, fashion, editorial, content creation and the wider creative industries. You’ll help them develop the technical grounding, visual judgement and professional confidence they need to progress.
You’ll also have the opportunity to shape course delivery, contribute to exhibitions and live briefs and keep the curriculum connected to contemporary practice.
This is a role for someone who understands that creativity matters, but so do preparation, technical control, deadlines and the choices behind the finished image.
Time to recharge
- Generous annual leave entitlement, including bank holidays, depending on your role
- Family-friendly leave policies
Wellbeing as well as work
- 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
- Medicash healthcare plan
- Occupational health support
- Confidential counselling
- Specsavers eye test vouchers
- A culture where people look out for each other
Financial peace of mind
- Teachers’ Pension Scheme
- Salary sacrifice schemes, including Cycle to Work and buy tech
- Railcard and Tusker Green Car Scheme
- Local and national discount schemes
Clear progression routes
- Support to gain a teaching qualification
- Ongoing professional and industry development
- Opportunities to step up, specialise or move across departments
- Leadership pathways
Read more about our
benefitsWe’re recruiting across the college as we grow, with roles in teaching, technical and support.
Please complete our application form in full. We can’t accept CVs.
Photography Lecturer. Apply now.
