Working at Durham University
A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.
As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.
We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.
Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.
Our Purpose and Values
We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.
Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.
Career Development Fellowships
The University is committed to enabling all our colleagues to achieve their full potential. Durham University’s Career Development Fellowships are fixed term positions, which include structured development support for early career academics to deliver outstanding education, innovative research/scholarship, and to engage in citizenship activities. The post-holder will be a full academic member of the Department, working alongside world-class colleagues, with the support of a designated mentor.
Career Development Fellows will benefit from tailored support to strengthen their skills, will be provided with a range of academic opportunities, and will benefit from protected time to foster different aspects of their career. The Career Development Fellowships will enable early career academics to acquire a strong and well-rounded foundation to support future applications for substantive academic roles at Durham or elsewhere (no guarantee can be given that a permanent role at Durham will be available for the CDF to apply for at the end of the Fellowship).
The Department
Durham Law School is a leading law school. Consistently ranked in the Top 10 nationally and Top 50 globally, it has been growing strongly over the past few years and now comprises a community of over 100 academics and professional support staff. Durham Law School fosters innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to legal research and wishes to attract scholars with strong backgrounds or potential in these areas. The Law School provides a supportive environment for its community of academics, which comprises a very generous sabbatical policy and an infrastructure of high-profile research centres that brings together colleagues for collaborative projects. The School is housed in the iconic Palatine Centre overlooking Durham Cathedral in the heart of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located on the main East Coast mainline connecting to London and Edinburgh and also within convenient reach of Newcastle Airport. The School has an extensive network of leading international partner institutions and close ties with the City of London and the Inns of Court. It counts among its alumni two former Justices of the UK Supreme Court.
Our top-ranked global law courses are highly competitive and undertaken by an excellent and diverse student population from across the world. Durham Law School delivers a cutting-edge, research-led curriculum with a commitment to small group teaching through seminars and tutorials much prized by employers.
Our School’s strategic objectives are centred around Equality Diversity and Inclusion. We are committed to EDI and actively develop our policies and procedures to ensure that everyone within our community is treated fairly and is provided with the same opportunities. This applies to our everyday working in teaching, research and administration, including academic progression and promotion processes. Our Law School is currently in the process of applying for our Athena Swan Bronze award.
The Law School at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the fixed term Career Development Fellowship. We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the broad field of Public LawPublic Law (the successful candidate will teach on UK Constitutional Law and/or the Individual and the State, both of which are compulsory first year modules on the Law School’s LLB programme, and there may be opportunity to undertake teaching on optional modules in the public law sphere.
This post offers an exciting opportunity to develop internationally excellent research/scholarship and teaching while providing unrivalled, tailored support for your career progression at an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/
Given the developmental nature of this role, the post will not typically be extended beyond the agreed fixed term duration to allow others the opportunity of a CDF post and the career development that it provides. Therefore, current role-holders who are undertaking/have completed a Career Development Fellowship role are not eligible to apply for a further Career Development Fellowship role should one become available. Following the end of the term, the role-holder will be in a strong position to apply for relevant permanent academic roles, should they arise, at Durham or elsewhere.
Successful applicants are normally expected to be within 8 years of completing their PhD, although career breaks for parental leave and/or health reasons will be considered. This is because the roles are aimed at early career academics who would benefit from a structured development programme and provision of both formal and ‘on the job’ training. The posts are also open to those who are returning to academia after a career in another sector.
Successful applicants will, ideally be in post by 1st September 2026
The University provides a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process.
Key responsibilities:
It should be noted that the precise content of each Career Development Fellowship will vary dependent on the experience of the role-holder, their career aspirations, and the business need of the Department.
At the outset of the Fellowship a personal development plan will be produced in discussion with the Dean of the Law School and allocated mentor, which will identify any required training needs or support, or other experience the post-holder wishes to gain to develop their academic career.
The development plan is a tool to assist the post-holder's academic career progression and will be reviewed regularly during the Fellowship to ensure that development needs are being met.
During the course of the Career Development Fellowship the successful candidate will gain valuable experience in a wide spectrum of academic activities. Examples include:
Development
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Membership of Departmental committees and appropriate professional body.
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Contribute to a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
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Engage in citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
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Engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses, as detailed in the personal development plan. Opportunities could include:
Research Project Leadership
Supported progression towards Higher Education Academy (HEA) membership
Leadership in Learning and Teaching course
Education
Delivery of teaching modules at undergraduate/postgraduate levels, developing an awareness of different approaches to and methods of teaching and supporting student learning.
Development of the ability to manage own teaching and designing, planning and writing of engaging and innovative teaching materials.
Development and delivery of an inclusive curriculum and making an active contribution to an inclusive community in which diversity is embraced and celebrated.
Supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation students, and where appropriate acting as part of a PhD supervisory team.
Providing student support, assessment of academic performance and provision of feedback, dealing with student disciplinary matters and complaints.
Research/Scholarship
Development of a personal research/scholarship plan which supports and enhances the department’s research and/or pedagogic strategy.
Demonstration of progress towards independent development of internationally excellent research/scholarship.
Development of clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research/scholarship and end-user engagement.
Contribution to enhancing the quality of the research environment.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:
You’ll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost-effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.
We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
Our family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.
If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.
The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
Contact Information
Department contact for academic-related enquiries Professor Roger Masterman ([email protected]).
Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application
If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]
Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).
University contact for general queries about the recruitment process
[email protected]
How to Apply
We prefer to receive applications online.
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence of all criteria.
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
Submitting your application
All applicants are asked to submit:
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A CV
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A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out below.
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Personal Research Plan OR Scholarship Plan
We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates
Next Steps
Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department. The assessment for the post will normally include [a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview] and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around end of July 2026.
In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
Person Specification
Candidates will normally be within eight years of completing their PhD (career breaks due to parental leave or ill health will be accounted for) or be concluding their PhD. While candidates may have limited direct experience of the requirements of the post, they must outline their experience, skills and achievements to date which demonstrate that they meet or that they have the potential to achieve the essential criteria.
Essential Criteria
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Qualifications - a good first degree in law or a related subject and normally within eight years of completing a PhD or close to submitting a PhD.
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The ability to foster a respectful working and learning environment and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
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Demonstrate the potential to produce high-quality outputs that are recognised as internationally excellent or world-class or that have the potential to be.
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Experience, skills and/or achievements that demonstrate the potential to deliver high-quality, effective and engaging teaching and assessments.
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Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to engage with a range of students and colleagues across a variety of forums.
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Experience, skills and/or achievements that demonstrate experience of or the potential to participate in the collegial/administrative activities or an academic Department, Faculty or University.
Please note that colleagues who are undertaking/have completed a CDF role are not eligible to apply for a further CDF role (should one become available) so to allow others the opportunity of a CDF post and the career development that it provides.
