King's College London

About Us

King’s Music Department, situated in the heart of London, is known worldwide for its innovative research across the sub-disciplines of music studies, particularly the history, anthropology, and critical theory of music; composition; and performance. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), the Department (in a joint submission with Film Studies) was ranked 4th in the UK, with 100 per cent of research impact and research environment rated ‘world-leading’ (4*) or ‘Internationally excellent’ (3*).

We have a relatively small, selective intake of undergraduates, and one of the largest postgraduate communities in the country. We welcome students from all over the world, and teach them to engage in innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding music and its experience. The Department hosts highly acclaimed lectures, conferences, seminars, workshops, performances, and colloquia open to the public, and has long-standing connections with many of London’s cultural institutions.

About The Role

The Department of Music seeks to appoint an Early Career Development Fellow in Jazz and Popular Music. This fellowship will provide a promising early career academic with opportunities to develop as an educator and researcher, and they will be supported to submit an external research grant application as Principal Investigator in the final year of their fellowship. The successful candidate will be appointed on an Education and Research (E&R) contract, and will receive career development opportunities to increase their knowledge of the research funding landscape across Arts and Humanities. Applicants must be within 7 years of their doctorate at the time of application. This is a fixed-term non-renewable post for 2 years beginning on 1 September 2026.

The Fellow will hold a PhD in music or a related humanities or social sciences discipline; have a clear track record appropriate to their career stage as an emerging global research leader; and be an effective educator capable of delivering innovative, inclusive, diverse, and socially-engaged teaching. The successful candiate will be expected to teach broadly on modules in the areas of jazz, popular music, and 20-21C music, including some entry-level aural skills. The post holder will also be required to take on Departmental administrative roles appropriate to their career stage, and be a personal tutor for a small number of undergraduate students. Desirable criteria include a teaching qualification, such as Fellowship of the HEA or equivalent.

Please note that we will not be hiring someone who is primarily a composer or performer.

We particularly encourage applications from members of groups with protected characteristics that have been marginalised on any grounds enumerated under the Equality Act.

In applying for this role please include:

• a covering letter (no longer than two A4 sides) clearly indicating how you meet the essential and desirable criteria below
• an up-to-date CV.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD in music or a related humanities discipline within the last seven years at point of application; applicants have to have passed their viva/defence before the time of interview.
2. Expertise in researching in the area of jazz and/or popular music; candidates will be expected to teach in both areas.
3. Clearly defined research interests related to jazz and popular music compatible with the research, impact, and enagement strategies of the department, faculty, and college, including the potential for publications and impact projects of the highest quality.
4. Experience of teaching jazz and popular music, as well as demonstrable ability to teach entry-level aural skills, with clear evidence of potential to deliver innovative, effective and enjoyable teaching.
5. Ability to design the basics of a future externally funded research project.
6. Experience of effective and diligent academic administration, including timely communications and meeting deadlines, and academic and/or external networking

Desirable criteria

1. Teaching in Higher Education qualification (such as fellowship or associate fellowship of the Higher Education Academy)

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit’ pages.