Job Description

Position Details

The Department of African Studies & Anthropology, School of History and Cultures, College of Arts and Law

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2027

Closing date: 28th June 2026

Background

The successful candidate will teach and advise undergraduate and postgraduate students within established teaching programmes in the Department of Anthropology & African studies and the College of Arts & Law. The successful candidate will be under the supervision of a member of the Department of African Studies & Anthropology with ultimate responsibility for the design, delivery and assessment of the teaching programme.

We are looking to recruit a Teaching fellow in Social Anthropology (12 months fixed term) to support the delivery of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The successful candidate will teach and assess on core and optional modules across all years of the taught curriculum, covering introductory modules in anthropology, an anthropological theory module, and optional modules entitled Anthropology of Islam and Anthropology of/and Activism. The role holder will also supervise dissertation projects, provide pastoral support to students, and may contribute to the enhancement of student experience or employability. They will also contribute to teaching delivery, administrative support and student experience on the MA International Heritage Management (distance learning) programme and offer teaching on cognate disciplines in the College of Arts & Law.

Main Duties

• Teach modules at a range of levels within anthropology and cognate disciplines to undergraduates and postgraduates, predominantly through allocated lectures and seminars.
• Plan and prepare own teaching, including guidance notes and handouts in accordance with the established objectives of the teaching programme.
• Devise and supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work.
• Develop an approach to planning and reviewing own teaching.
• Undertake full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining.
• Frequently update own subject expertise.
• Undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes.
• Contribute to knowledge transfer on own specialism.
• Undertake management/administration arising from teaching.
• Contribute to Departmental/School teaching-related activities and teaching-related administration.
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities.
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• PhD in anthropology (in hand or corrections to be submitted prior to 1st September 2026) with research expertise in religion/Islam and/or politics/activism
• Teaching experience within anthropology or cognate disciplines.
• High level analytical capability.
• Ability to design and deliver module materials successfully.
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively.
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes.
• Experience of working with others to organise events and/or student-facing activities
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries to Dr Juliet Gilbert, email: j.gilbert.2@bham.ac.uk.

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website