Lecturer in Psychology - Language and Literacy (T&R)

Lecturer in Psychology - Language and Literacy (T&R)

Job Number: BU04102
School/Department: School of Psychology
Grade: 7 or 8
Salary Information: Salary: £38,784 - £46,049 (Grade 7) OR £47,389 - £56,535 (Grade 8)
Contract Duration: until 31/12/2029
Responsible to: Head of School
Closing Date: 05-01-2027

Applications are invited for the above fixed-term post in the School of Psychology at Bangor University. The School seeks to continue developing its sector-leading research with the appointment of a highly promising academic near the beginning of their career with a focus on research with impact. We are particularly keen on receiving applications from those with an emerging track record of research focused on language, literacy, their development in children, and effective interventions in this area.

The appointed person will have a developing international research profile, including evidence of: excellent research publications in peer-reviewed journals; the potential to attract external research funding; and a commitment to delivering research with non-academic impact. The post-holder will be expected to deliver research-inspired undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Duties will also include supervision of dissertation projects; contributions to pastoral support and recruitment & retention activities; and promotion of the School through outreach and public engagement.

The successful candidate should have completed a PhD, or be close to the completion of a PhD, in Psychology.

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check.

The successful candidate will be expected to commence as soon as possible, and the post is available until 31/12/2029.

The ability to communicate in Welsh is desirable for this post.

This role will be located on campus at Bangor. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview. Applications will also be considered to carry out this role on a part-time or job share basis.

Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.

Closing date for applications: 05 January 2027

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting: Prof Paul Downing, Head of the School of Psychology, p.downing@bangor.ac.uk

Committed To Equal Opportunities

Overview

Our School of Psychology is committed to educating future societal contributors and leaders, and to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion within our community. We demonstrate genuine care for our staff and students, and provide excellent opportunities for continuing development. The School has a cosmopolitan feel, with staff and students joining us from countries across the world, ensuring that the perspectives within our programmes are representative and inclusive.

In the recent Research Excellence Framework Exercise, 86% of Psychology outputs were rated as either 3* or 4*, and we were ranked 17th in the UK for the societal impact of our research.

Our research spans cognitive and clinical neuroscience; brain health, rehabilitation and neurotechnology; language, communication and literacy; child development and learning; social cognition, decision-making and mental wellbeing. These themes are brought together through interdisciplinary collaborations that connect fundamental psychological science with real-world societal challenges across health, education and public policy.

Our research environment is supported by in-house, state of the art equipment and resources including a research- dedicated 3T MRI; multiple eye-tracking labs; high-density EEG; and MRI- guided stimulation techniques including TMS and tDCS. The School benefits from extensive connections with Welsh Government in the area of Education, and with Welsh Local Authorities, Head Teachers, and Schools. The School also hosts the Miles Dyslexia Centre (MDC), a key self-sustaining, public-facing service; the MDC reflects a multi-decade commitment of the School to research and applications in literacy learning.

More recently, the School has established CAL:ON Cymru, a Welsh Government-funded national Centre of Excellence for Literacy, led by Bangor University. CAL:ON brings together researchers, educators and partner institutions across Wales to develop, evaluate and implement evidence-informed bilingual literacy programmes, professional learning and digital assessment tools for children aged 3–16, with the aim of transforming literacy outcomes and educational practice across the country.

Our research-informed teaching includes a wide portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and offers a clear and progressive ‘pathway’ model of education to enable students to travel from undergraduate studies through to the postgraduate opportunities which will make them competitive in a wide range of professional contexts. Our School hosts the UK’s first programme for training Doctorates in Clinical Psychology, and benefits from research and teaching links with the North Wales Medical School and other Schools within the University.

Our teaching and research ensure a vibrant learning experience led by academics who have an international reputation in their specialist area. In the 2026 National Student Satisfaction Survey, Bangor’s Psychology with Clinical & Health Psychology programme achieved 100% overall student satisfaction and above 90% on satisfaction with quality of teaching. Overall satisfaction with the quality of teaching in the subject of Psychology was over 90%.

Purpose of the Job

• To lead a research program in the broad area of language, literacy, and development.
• To teach Psychology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including supervision of projects and students.
• To undertake administrative duties as designated by the Head of School.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Research duties will include:

• Lead a program of research projects, in the broad area of language, literacy, and development.
• Seek external funding to support a research program.
• Supervise research students or research assistants.
• Disseminate results of research in peer-reviewed journals and/or external conferences.
• Engage in scholarly and other relevant professional activities, e.g., reviewer for academic journals or grant panels, contributor to external engagement activities.

Teaching duties will include:

• Plan, prepare and deliver lectures and tutorials, responding effectively to a variety of student backgrounds, learning styles and class sizes.
• Motivate students to proactively engage in learning, and provide meaningful and constructive feedback on the quality of their work.
• Keep abreast of relevant professional, educational, social, economic and technological developments.
• Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation projects.
• Act as personal tutor to undergraduate and postgraduate students, providing guidance and support.

Administrative and Wider Contribution duties will include:

• Participate in the student recruitment and induction procedures of the School
• Contribute to the marketing of programmes by participating in outreach activities and other marketing initiatives.
• Undertake other administrative duties and responsibilities as directed by the Head of School.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in performance review and developmental activities.
• Comply with the University’s equality policies and statements, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Scheme.
• Develop personal knowledge and skills to ensure that teaching reflects current best practice.
• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
• Comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.
• The list of duties is not meant to be exhaustive, and may be amended at the discretion of the Head of School with other duties commensurate with the function and grade of the post, in line with the University’s workload allocation model and in consultation with the post-holder.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

ESSENTIAL

• A PhD in Psychology, or else near to completion of a PhD in Psychology.

DESIRABLE

• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE) or be close to the completion OR Recognised by the HEA as a Fellow / Recognised by Advance HE as a Fellow against Descriptor 2 of the UKPSF.

Experience/Knowledge/Skills

ESSENTIAL

• Capability to independently develop and manage research projects of international standard, and to publish outcomes in peer-reviewed journals.
• Demonstrate the potential to attract external funding for research.
• Evidence of undertaking research with societal impact.
• Effective teaching capability at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught level in subjects of Psychology.
• Ability to balance work load and work to deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team and on own initiative.
• Excellent verbal and written skills.
• IT skills as required (e.g. using a virtual learning environment and forms of learning technologies).

In addition to the above, to be appointed at grade 8:

• Experience of teaching at higher education level with evidence of successful student learning outcomes.
• Evidence of good / innovative pedagogic practice.
• Experience of module development and delivery in higher education.
• Experience of supervising undergraduate and postgraduate projects.
• Record of publication of research in books, book chapters, articles and/or papers in learned journals.
• Evidence of contribution to research groups / networks.
• Capability to develop and manage research projects, and to disseminate results through presentation at relevant conferences and publication in relevant journals.
• Evidence of applying for and attracting and securing external funding for research.

DESIRABLE

• Evidence of previous external research grant capture.
• Experience of supervising undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation projects.
• The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role. If applicants are not able to speak / write in Welsh at present, there are many opportunities to learn if the successful candidate wishes to do so.
• Commitment to transparent research practices, including the pre-registration of studies, maintaining well-documented code repositories (e.g., GitHub), and open data-sharing practices.

In addition to the above, to be appointed at grade 8:

• Evidence of successful external networking and profile-raising.
• Some administrative and organisational experience, related to academic development or equivalent.
• Evidence of disseminating own ‘good practice’ effectively to others and taking up of ‘good practice’ from other sources into own work.

General

The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.

The University has recently achieved a Race Equality Charter Bronze award reflecting our commitment to building an inclusive and equitable society for black, Asian and minoritised ethnic staff.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. When you apply for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful. If you do not have the right to work freely in any position in the UK already, any offer of employment we will make to you will be subject to you obtaining a right to work visa. The following link provides information on the various visa routes into employment and the eligibility requirements (including switching visa status where permissible) https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas. If you are successful in your application we will discuss visa options with you at the time of making the offer of employment.

Candidates should also note that they may be required to apply for an ATAS certificate (Academic Approval Technology Scheme) from the Counter-Proliferation and Arms Control Centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office before being able to apply for a visa - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme

Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.

Disclosure & Barring Service

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check.

As Bangor University meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions. DBS checks will be updated every 3 years.

Candidates should note that the University uses an external Umbrella body to process DBS checks. As such you should be aware that, if successful in your application, your name and e-mail contact details will be shared with the Umbrella body in order that they may contact you to start the application process.