Lecturer in Philosophy

Newcastle City Library; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An educational institution in Newcastle is searching for a Lecturer in Philosophy to cover maternity leave for the academic year 2025/26. The successful candidate will mainly focus on teaching and supervising students, aiming at delivering high-quality education in philosophy while contributing to administrative duties. Applicants should hold a PhD in Philosophy and demonstrate skills in pedagogy and collaboration. This role offers the chance to engage in a supportive academic community committed to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Generous holiday package

Great pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Ability to design and deliver diverse learning styles.
• Experience in one-to-one and small group tutorials.
• Capacity to contribute to administrative duties.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality teaching to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• Supervise students on their annual projects.
• Engage in scholarly activities and pedagogy of philosophy.
• Contribute to various committees within the department.

Skills

Teaching engaging modules

Excellent communication

Organizational skills

Capacity for pastoral care

Collaborative skills

Ability to work to deadlines

Understanding of pedagogy

Education

PhD in Philosophy or related subject

Job description

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Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 05 January 2026

The Role

Philosophy at Newcastle is home to the BA (Hons.) Philosophy, which currently has around 200 undergraduate students and a small but expanding post-graduate community.We have ten full-time permanent staff, whose common interest is in Continental European Philosophy.

The undergraduate degree provides a broad education in the crucial areas of the history of philosophy, from ancient Greece to contemporary Europe. Whilst the teaching is often centred around traditional philosophical problems, it generally addresses these problems by way of classic texts from the discipline’s history, with a particular stress laid upon the way in which these problems are formulated in post-Kantian thought.

A central part of each stage of the undergraduate degree is the annual Project, which involves individual students, guided by their personal tutor, pursuing a philosophical investigation into a topic of their choosing. The project allows students to apply philosophical ideas to their interests outside of the course.

Philosophy sits within School X in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. School X was established in 2021 as a new academic school to be a focus and catalyst for University-wide interdisciplinary innovation, working practices and projects. School X was founded on three distinct academic units (Philosophy, Combined Honours and Researcher Education and Development) and is anchored in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) but with a remit to work proactively across all of Newcastle University’sfaculties and services, applying interdisciplinary concepts of collaboration to explore and develop innovative approaches.

We are seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Philosophy for seven months to cover maternity. This role is currently for the academic year 2025/26, January - July

At 1.0 FTE the role will focus primarily on delivery of teaching (leading one or two modules and contributing to others) and pastoral care. The modules to be taught would suit a generalist familiar with post-Kantian thought in the continental tradition.

• Complement existing strengths at Philosophy at Newcastle, with a specialism in Continental European philosophy.
• Deliver high-quality teaching to undergraduate and postgraduate students, in line with the needs of the Unit (i.e. the Department).
• Supervise students of all stages on the annual undergraduate Project (akin to an annual dissertation). This will include weekly meetings, small group teaching, one to one tuition, together with pastoral care.
• Be engaged with the pedagogy of philosophy and take part in scholarly activities more broadly.
• Undertake relevant administrative duties, and eventually significant administrative roles.
• Help to develop the culture of undergraduate and postgraduate research and scholarship, whilst contributing to the organisation of and participation in research and scholarship events within the Unit, School, and University more broadly.
• Contribute to the work of the Unit, the School and the University more broadly through contributions to working groups and committees.
• Promote the University’s values in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and support widening access to our programmes and facilities for people who have historically been under-represented at university.
• Perform other tasks appropriate to the level of Lecturer as required by the Head of School and Subject.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience"

• Capacity to teach engaging modules on a Philosophy programme or other related programmes.
• Understanding of pedagogy of philosophy and capacity to design and deliver learning in a number of styles. Ability to use technology to assist learning.
• Excellent communication, organisation, and collaborative skills
• Ability to work to short deadlines, and to plan and deliver excellent teaching in short timescales.
• Ability to carry out pastoral work with students of all levels and abilities.
• Ability and willingness to teach on the modules Introduction to Moral Philosophy (First year module), Philosophy Project (First, Second and Third year module), Practice of Philosophy (Second and Third year module) and others as required.
• Experience of one-to-one or small group tutorials and supervision
• Ability and willingness to help the subject develop bids for funding with a variety of funding bodies.
• Understanding of the impact of Large Language Models on teaching and learning and capacity to respond to the challenges they pose. (Desirable)

Attributes/Behaviours

• Ability to respond enthusiastically and positively to students.
• Demonstrable willingness to work collaboratively with colleagues as part of a team, including the flexibility to take on new tasks each year, in terms of teaching, scholarship, and administration.

Qualifications

• PhD (or equivalent) in Philosophy or a related subject.
• A broad knowledge of the philosophical canon, together with a specialisation which complements existing strengths at Newcastle.
• Higher Education teaching qualification (or equivalent teaching experience or the willingness to apply for such a qualification or attain such experience). (Desirable)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a GoldAthena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.