Reader in Digital Humanities and Culture Education (AEP)

Job description

The Department of Digital Humanities is appointing a Reader in Digital Humanities and Culture Education. This appointment is made on the College’s Academic Education Pathway (AEP), meaning that its focus is on education, pedagogy, educational innovation and leadership, and the delivery of our student experience in the Department. As Reader, the role will have an emphasis on curriculum development, quality-enhancement initiatives, development and sharing of good practice at department and Faculty level, and leadership in cross-Faculty educational initiatives and activities.

We are seeking an outstanding and passionate educator in the Digital Humanities, broadly defined, with a track record of designing, delivering and leading Higher Education teaching at all levels. You will have led a major teaching programme or equivalent activity; or be able to demonstrate the aptitude to do so. Significant understanding of curriculum design in HE is essential, and evidence of engagement with the theory of HE pedagogy is an advantage. For this role, we are prioritizing skills in the following areas of the broader Digital Humanities: visualization for the humanities and/or social sciences, the teaching of coding, and other quantitative methods. You may have skills in key areas of the Digital Humanities beyond these, for example (and non-exhaustively) in Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics or Social Network Analysis. While the successful post holder will be equipped to instruct our students in the array of theory underlying these methods, we are interested in candidates who can also lead our teaching and training programmes in areas of critical digital practice related to these areas. As such, we particularly welcome applications from candidates with relevant professional experience outside academia.

In addition to its existing undergraduate and postgraduate offerings, the Department is currently building a suite of online programmes and Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and Executive and Professional Education courses. These take the form of short courses, career accelerators and other training activities aimed at early and mid-career professionals in sectors related to the Department’s work. These include non-exclusively Digital Economy, Digital Asset and Media Management, UX Design, and Digital Cultural Heritage. It is expected that the post holder’s scholarship and activities will contribute to these strands.

The Department supports and values highly excellence in scholarship fitting to the Academic Education Pathway role, which prioritises educational enquiry and innovation, and pedagogic development. Scholarship represents an important vehicle for our strategic aims in enhancing teaching, learning, the student experience, and the broader academic culture of the Faculty and the wider College. Arts and Humanities educational scholarship seeks to make outstanding contributions in this domain, nationally and internationally. This post will not require the postholder to deliver research outputs not relating education.

Candidates with significant research outputs and profile, but with limited evidence of excellence in their educational practice and knowledge of innovative pedagogic practice and scholarship are unlikely to be shortlisted. This is an education-focused appointment and candidates will be expected to evidence attainment and potential in teaching and learning within an HE context.

King's is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and through this appointment it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities. We particularly encourage applications from women, people from global majority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ identities, and from people with disabilities.

The post will be offered on a full-time, indefinite contract with a probation period, which is usually three years. The start date for this post is 1 July 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Key responsibilities

• Play a key role in and be accountable for shaping, designing and leading the Department’s educational programmes, including online degrees and CPD courses
• Contribute to the development of the Department’s and Faculty’s portfolios of Continuing and Professional Education.
• Develop / improve teaching materials, reading lists, and where appropriate, interactive and practice-led activities
• Assist in the preparation and assessment of assignments for core and optional modules
• Undertake the marking of coursework assignments and dissertations for core and optional modules
• Undertake dissertation supervision of BA and MA students
• Plan and manage own teaching
• Take leadership in the development and dissemination of good practice and quality enhancement of curriculum and pedagogy at department and Faculty level
• Engage with current scholarship to support teaching enhancement and innovation
• Publish or otherwise disseminate high-quality education-related scholarship and engage in education-related innovation, knowledge exchange, service, and impact
• Contribute to collaborative decision making with colleagues on academic content and assessment of students' work
• Evaluate current provision and identify areas for improvement particularly around student feedback
• Collaborate with the team in ensuring that students' needs are identified and responded to in a timely fashion
• Respond to student feedback and to the further improvement and strategic development of Programmes and modules
• Stay up to date with scholarship in the field in order to incorporate into teaching practice and contribute to teaching innovation
• Identify opportunities for the development of new teaching lectures or exercises (or if need be modules) in your area of expertise and contribute fully to the development of such ideas
• Develop internal networks and external networks that foster collaboration and contribute to the management of teaching and research quality, audit and other external assessments
• Provide pastoral care for students
• Assist with admission of future students
• Undertake administrative roles as required
• Engage in professional development as appropriate

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria

1. PhD awarded in Digital Humanities or a relevant interdisciplinary field, or an equivalent qualification or professional experience  
2. Excellent knowledge and understanding of a relevant field of expertise relating to Digital Humanities and/or social sciences 
3. Experience of designing and delivering online teaching  
4. Experience of designing and delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) 
5. Ability to communicate clearly and convincingly both orally and in writing to a wide range of individuals and groups, including overseas students, academic and professional services colleagues, and our cultural and industry partners 
6. Experience of the development of innovative learning materials and pedagogic innovation in teaching 
7. Experience in an academic leadership role 
8. Experience of effective supervision, assessment, marking, and provision of feedback for students at UG, PGT and PGR level 
9. Experience of providing personal and pastoral support for students 
10. Completion of appropriate training (e.g. Higher Education teaching and learning/academic practice; equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion) 

Desirable criteria

1.       Work experience relevant to the field