Institute of Psychological Sciences
School of Psychology
Faculty of Medicine and Health
Lecturer inCognitive Psychology (Teaching and Scholarship) -
Fixed Term for 2 years
This new developmental role provides an opportunity for you to deliver an innovative and excellent student experience to undergraduate students through the delivery of practical sessions, seminars, lectures, and tutorials within the area of Cognitive Psychology as it relates to Applied Health (specifically, the role of perception and action in cognition).You will have the opportunity to strengthen our existing team of academics and support our strong teaching programme by delivering teaching on Psychology’s very popular undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including the assessment, supervision and mentoring of students. You will be student centred in your approach and you will have experience in research skills and statistics, assessment and feedback and academic support and development of Undergraduate students. You will be able to deliver and support established teaching in Psychology, principally in the areas of Perception and Action.
Applicants will have a postgraduate qualification in Psychology and have previous teaching experience at both undergraduate and preferably post graduate level which will have included developing and delivering teaching using a range of materials and methods. You will also be able to demonstrate experience in student assessment as well as giving feedback. You will have excellent computational and IT skills, with effective communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.
As a Lecturer with a Teaching and Scholarship remit, the main focus of the role will be the development and delivery of world-class teaching, however there is an intention that you will have the opportunity to contribute to Scholarship activities within the School in order to deliver world class research informed teaching.
The University of Leeds is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. The University is a charter member of Athena SWAN and holds the Bronze award. We will be happy to consider job share applications and are committed to flexible working for all our employees.
University Grade 7 (£34,233 – £37,394 p.a.) depending on qualifications and experience.
Informal enquiries regarding the post should be directed to Professor Mark Mon-Williams, , tel: +44 (0)113 343 5732or email:
If you have any specific enquiries about your online application please contact Louise Walton, tel: + 44 (0) 113 343 5709 or email:
Please note that interviews for this post are scheduled to take place on Monday, 14 September 2015.
Job Ref: MHPSY1013Closing Date: 26 August 2015
Background to the role
The School of Psychology delivers a highly popular Undergraduate programme which has strong links with other Faculties across campus and external bodies such as the Bradford Institute of Health Research. The School also has a Director of Student Education who holds responsibility for delivery of the academic portfolio for psychology students. We have a Director of Research & Innovation who holds responsibility for leading the development, promotion and delivery of the School's Research objectives and overseeing the development and quality of the School's research portfolio; we have developed an impact-focused research strategy with five Grand Challenges. Our Grand Challenges provide a framework for flexible research groupings and encourage working across disciplines to address major research questions. They cover broad areas within which we aim to have impact: Health and Well-Being; Nervous System and its Disorders; Successful Ageing; Successful Childhood Development; and Behaviour Change.
In addition the School delivers an MSc in Psychological Approaches to Health and a new MSc in Psychology is being developed. You will be expected to contribute to the development, delivery and assessment for these programmes and in the development of online resources through the University of Leeds VLE. You will assist with student support and personal tutoring and the supervision of project work.
You will be expected to carry out administrative tasks in relation to the above activities.
The commitment to world class excellence in teaching provides the context for the advertised position, andyou will be expected to show independence and leadership in your teaching activities. You will be an excellent teacher capable of enthusing students and will contribute to an increase in the quality and vitality of the learning environment.
Relationships
The post-holder will be directly line managed by Professor Mark Mon-Williams and be responsible to the Head of the School of Psychology, Dr Peter Gardner and ultimately the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Paul Stewart.
Main Duties and Responsibilities of the post
Student Education and Scholarship
- To contribute to the delivery of teaching in a range of settings including small group tutorials and lectures
- To develop, promote and deliver undergraduate teaching in Psychology
- To provide first line support to undergraduate and postgraduate students, appreciating their individual needs and their circumstances and act as a mentor in the capacity of personal tutor
- To be fully involved in assessing the work and progress of students in their courses through appropriate assessment instruments and criteria and provide constructive feedback
- To carry out duties as an internal examiner
- To prepare hand-outs and other support materials
- To undertake module and programme reviews and revisions and quality assurance mechanisms
- To collaborate with colleagues on course development and curriculum changes in response to students’ needs
- To supervise project students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels
- To collaborate with individuals and groups within the Faculty, other Schools within the University, NHS organisations and industry where courses/projects require a multidisciplinary approach
- To collaborate with the Bradford Institute of Health Research and contribute to strengthening the links between BIHR and psychology
- To utilise innovative approaches to learning and teaching (e.g. E-Learning) and new courses as developments occur
- To contribute to Psychology and University of Leeds Student Education procedures
- To assist in the training of postgraduate research students
- Undertake administrative tasks in relation to teaching activities
- To actively engage in your own continuing professional development
- To pursue a programme of Scholarship as appropriate according to the background and interests of the post holder and research portfolio of the School
- To promote excellence in learning and teaching
- To actively follow and promote University of Leeds policies and guidelines
- To carry out any other duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post as; directed by the Dean of Faculty or nominee as appropriate
- Maintain a good working knowledge of the pertinent literature and current developments in Psychology
- Attend School research seminars and meetings and undertake training courses where required
Management
- To contribute effectively to the administrative process and the committee structures of the School (and as appropriate of the Faculty and wider University).
- Actively promote and engage with the University’s People Management Framework ( to ensure high standards of employment practices and staff management across the School.
- Adhere to University values and standards in line with University policies and procedures and local Faculty/School benchmarks as appropriate, upholding high professional standards and leading by example.
- Maintain a safe and healthy work environment, including ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation and the undertaking of appropriate risk assessments.
- Comply with the University’s financial and procurement procedures and regulations, undertaking relevant induction/training.
- Any other duties as reasonably requested and commensurate with the grade.
In compliance with University policy, you will be expected to have a basic knowledge of the financial and procurement procedures and regulations and will be required to undertake relevant training / induction to gain this knowledge.
You will be expected to actively support and adhere to the Faculty’s commitment to Equality and Diversity in line with the requirements of the Faculty Diversity Action Plan.
Person Specification
Essential
- A BSc (or equivalent) in psychology
- A PhD (awarded or nearing completion)in a subject area related to Cognitive Psychology, as it relates to Applied Health (specifically, the role of perception and action in cognition)
- Previous experience of working within a psychology setting and evidence of an ability to deliver excellence in teaching and student support
- An awareness of issues facing Higher Education
- Evidence ofunderstanding the current teaching methodology in the School’s undergraduate programme
- Commitment to establishing a career in psychological student education
- Knowledge of a range of psychological assessment techniques
- Ability to design, execute and write up experimental work independently
- Advanced statistical understanding with good experience in using SPSS
- Data management, analytical and computer skills
- A flexible attitude to working practices
- Ability to prioritise work and manage time effectively
- Ability to work both independently andcollegiately as part of a team
- Ability to use initiative as appropriate
- The ability to work with a wide range of professionals across a range of organisations
- Advanced IT skills
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
- Effective communication skills as demonstrated by previous publications and conference presentations
- Attention to detail
- Flexibility and experience of working in a busy environment
- An enthusiastic, pro-active and co-operative approach
- Publications in peer reviewed journals
Further Information
Faculty of Medicine and Health
The Faculty of Medicine and Health is a major international centre for research and education. With around 1600 staff and 6500 students it is the largest faculty in the University comprising the School of Dentistry, the School of Healthcare, the School of Medicine and the School of Psychology. It contributes one quarter of the University’s annual turnover and generates around £35m in annual research income, demonstrating its status as one of the most important and powerful research institutions in the UK.
The Institute of Psychological Sciences, School of Psychology
The Department of Psychology was founded in 1949. It became a School in 1997, and lies within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. The School is centrally located in the University, very close to libraries and other facilities. It is housed in a building combining two complementary architectural styles: a renovated Edwardian Terrace, where most teaching, research, clerical and administrative staff have their offices, and modern (1989 and 1991) purpose-built extensions where research and computing laboratories and teaching rooms are located. The School is now partway through a £1.5m building programme to improve the space and ensure that the buildings provide the infrastructure necessary for our world class teaching and research aspirations.
Student Education in Psychology
The undergraduate body of the Department is made up of Single Honours students in Psychology, and Joint Honours students in a wide variety of schemes, together with JYA and ERASMUS/SOCRATES students.
The size of the department enables us to offer a wide range of undergraduate modules in all areas of Psychology. The undergraduate programmes are delivered within semesters, and modular in their construction. Following a first year designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and skills, the course is made up of core modules which provide an overview of Psychology, allowing the students to progress to more specialised modules in their final year, when they also produce a research dissertation. The programmes offer students a secure grounding as well as considerable freedom in tailoring their programme through option choices to suit their particular enthusiasms. The bulk of the teaching is conducted through a combination of lectures, tutorials and research experience.
The School operates an agreed workload model which helps to balance colleagues’ teaching, research and administrative loads. The amount of teaching assigned depends on the size of the modules and other loads.
Additional Information
Terms and Conditions
Details of the terms and conditions of employment for all staff at the university, including information on pensions and benefits, are available on the Human Resources web pages accessible via the links on the right hand side, or at
University Teaching and Research Award
The Senate of the University has agreed that all newly appointed staff with a contract of 0.5 FTE and above who have a teaching/ research role and are deemed new to teaching or research in Higher Education should be required to complete successfully all of the requirements of the University of Leeds Teaching and Research or an appropriate alternative. Whether or not this applies to you, will be decided as part of the appointment procedure at interview.
Further details of the ULTRA are available at
Staff with contracts of less than 0.5 FTE may take the ULTRA provided that they have a broad enough range of teaching, research and assessment to complete the requirements of the Programme: this will be decided in conjunction with the School and the course providers.
Disclosures and Barring Check
This post falls under the remit of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. As such, all applicants are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings, including any pending criminal prosecutions and those which would otherwise be considered 'spent' under the 1974 Act. Declarations of any such information should be made in the ‘other personal details’ section of the application form and details sent to the Recruitment Officer.
Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is required for this position. The successful applicant will be required to give consent for the University to check their criminal record status through independent verification (from the DBS). Information will be kept in strict confidence. Your offer of appointment will be subject to the University being satisfied with the outcome of these checks.
Disabled Applicants
This post is located in the Psychology Building. Disabled applicants wishing to review access to the building are invited to contact the department direct. Additional information may be sought from the Recruitment Officer, e-mail tel +44 (0) 113 343 1723.
Disabled applicants are not obliged to inform employers of their disability but will still be covered by the Equality Act once their disability becomes known.
Further information for applicants with disabilities, impairments or health conditions is available in the applicant guidance.