How to apply

We are delighted that you are considering a career with The Open University.  All resourcing is handled by our team of dedicated Resourcers who are there to provide support and guidance to candidates and hiring managers throughout the process. We hope you will find these guidelines provide you with the information you need to submit an application and understand our resourcing processes.  If you have any further questions please email Resourcing-Hub@open.ac.uk. 

Disabled applicants

The Open University positively welcomes disabled applicants. If you require any adjustments to enable you to attend the interview, please ensure that you contact the Resourcing Hub to discuss your requirements.

Please let us know if you need your copy of the Job Description in a different format to meet your needs. Additional accessibility information for disabled applicants is available from the Resourcing Hub.

Job application guidelines

Details of how to apply for the role will be shown in the advert. The minimum we normally require is the completion of our short application accompanied by your CV.  A covering letter or supporting statement may also be requested.

These guidelines may vary for jobs in our partner organisations and subsidiaries, please refer to individual job details.  Internal jobs which are advertised are only open for applications from current Open University staff and agency staff who are currently working for the Open University.  Please note that these jobs will not be visible outside the University’s network.

You can manage your current applications and view communications through the Candidate Portal.

Covering letter or supporting statement

If requested this should show how you meet the criteria in the person specification.  Please ensure that you provide relevant examples as evidence to support your statements. 

You will also need to ensure that you read the following information listed on the top right hand side of this page (or using the links below):

• Eligibility to work in the UK and UK/RoI residency
• Equality and Diversity
• Disclosure of Criminal Convictions
• Handling of DBS Certificate

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Your CV should include details about the following, where applicable:

• Secondary and higher education (dates, educational establishment, examinations, results/grades and thesis titles if applicable).
• Other technical, professional or occupational training/courses attended (dates, provider, type of training, subjects studied and qualifications attained).
• Please remove any Equal Opportunities information (e.g. age, date of birth, sex, gender, marital status, ethnicity, and religion) from your CV as this is not relevant to your application.
• Employment history (dates, details of your present and past employers, positions held with brief details of duties, final salary and reason for leaving). Please start with your current or most recent appointment. Remember to include unpaid or voluntary work as well as paid employment.

References

Offers are subject to satisfactory references. Unless stated otherwise in the advert, you will need to provide employer referees covering the immediate last 3 years. For our academic roles you will also need to provide at least one Academic Referee. For Senior, Executive, and Council Recruitment we will seek coverage for the last 5 years. If you have just left school/college, you may supply details of your Head of School/Principle.

Internal applicants only

Where a temporary job of two years or less is established, this will be open to University staff on a secondment basis.

Medical screening

We provide a medical screening for all our successful candidates to ensure we can provide a safe and healthy workplace environnment for you.  You will be sent a link, by email, to complete after you have received a verbal offer.  

Some roles might require a medical examination by a registered medical practitioner during your employment with the University, as detailed in your terms and conditions of service.

Data protection

The staff, workers and applicants privacy notice sets out what personal data we collect for these individuals, and how we use it.

Recruitment process feedback

If you have any comments or concerns about any stage of the recruitment process, please email Resourcing-Hub-Feedback@open.ac.uk, who will look into the matter.