King's College London

About us:

King’s College London is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities, founded within the tradition of the Church of England by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington who granted our royal charter in 1829.

King's has a proud history of inspiring and supporting those who seek to solve the world's most pressing problems. For almost 200 years, our community has been deeply rooted in the belief that learning and research should serve society.

This commitment to knowledge with purpose – using our expertise as a force for good – lies at the heart of our core mission at King’s. From research that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, to developing life-changing therapies and making maths education available to underrepresented groups, we continue to have a transformational impact on society.

Fourteen people from King’s and its associated institutions have been awarded the Nobel Prize, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his role in South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaign, and Professor Michael Levitt for his joint work in developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems.

Notable alumni include British sprinter and world-record holder Dina Asher-Smith, biophysicist Dr. Rosalind Franklin, famous for her work in X-ray spectroscopy, and acclaimed children’s writer Sir Michael Morpurgo.

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s is distinctive in representing exceptional strength in both the longer established disciplines (such as Philosophy, Classics, English, History, Languages, Music Philosophy and Theology) and world-leading quality in more recently established fields (such as Digital Humanities, Film, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts, and Culture, Media and Creative Industries).

About the role:

The role will be on our E&R pathway, with their contract involving both Education and Research activity.

The successful candidate will have proven experience of university teaching, a record of published research appropriate to their career-stage, and also be able to undertake administrative and pastoral duties. They will be able to teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules. These may include the level 4 modules Undead Genres, 1700-1900 and the introductory first-year module Reading Poetry;  the level 5 modules Victorians and the Making of the Modern World and Wilde Times, and the level 6 module Nineteenth-Century Lost Worlds. They may also be asked to supervise MA dissertations for students on our MA in Modern Literature and Culture, as well as BA dissertations. The postholder will serve as a tutor for our student essay support service, Writing Lab, and contribute, as personal tutor, to the pastoral care of students. They will be expected to undertake departmental administration and any other reasonable duties as required. They will be responsible to the Head of Department.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to give a short presentation to the interviewing panel at the beginning of their interview.

This is a full-time post, offered on a fixed-term non-renewable twelve-month contract from 1 September 2026 - 31 August 2027

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified (i.e. PhD must have been awarded) in English Literature
2. Experience of inclusive teaching of Nineteenth-Century Literature in a diverse classroom: ability to communicate difficult concepts and material to students of all levels; ability to inspire and innovate a wide range of students; skilled at helping students to develop their individual intellectual and personal potential
3. Original research profile that complements and enhances the department’s existing strengths
4. Collegiate, proven ability to work with others and to support them where necessary
5. Experience of contributing to the pastoral care of students
6. Excellent administrative skills: ability to support the organisational aspects of teaching, learning and research

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of delivering writing support
2. Experience of dissertation supervision
3. Experience of managing Graduate Teaching Assistants and collaborative teaching

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

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. 

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

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

Interviews are due to be held during the week beginning 6th July 2026.