General Information

Recruitment

Recruitment for teaching posts are scheduled throughout the year.  Engineering schools recruitment is typically held in January, OUBS schools in April and September and Language schools, also in September.

If you have accessed these pages directly, please note that you can only apply via the OU Jobs site: https://www.open.ac.uk/about/employment/

NEW: From 1st October 2021; current Associate Lecturers may have work assigned to them as part of their AL FTE. Please click for further information.

Please ensure you complete each section of the application, submit your application on the correct application form and by the closing date for applications.  We will be unable to accept incomplete applications, applications submitted on an incorrect or out of date form or applications submitted after the closing date.

If you are a successful candidate you may be required to supply evidence to support your eligibility to work in the United Kingdom, this is a legal requirement. If we require any evidence from you we will contact you separately advising the process to follow. No contract of employment will be raised until the full eligibility process has been followed.

The Open University is only able to accept applications for Residential Schools from applicants who are resident in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.

Expenses for working at residential school

Any claims made for working at residential schools must adhere to the University guidelines and you are reminded to review the guidance provided in 'Travelling to your residential school' on Useful documents before submitting your claim. If you have a mileage claim for a residential school, please complete this via Concur.

Booking your residential school travel

Staff and tutors working at residential schools must book their travel through the Venue Management Team.  The travel request form is available online from the following link: Travel request form.  Please ensure a contact telephone number is provided in case of any queries.  If you have any additional requirements for travel, please include these on the travel booking request form. Please note we are unable to book special assistance at airports and railway stations.

In order to keep costs as low as possible, please complete the form as soon as you have accepted your contract of employment to work at the school.

Once the booking has been made you will receive an email directly from Click Travel with instructions on how to collect your tickets (if applicable).

Note for train tickets these are collected from the self-serve ticket machines and you will need to insert a payment card to collect. NO payment will be taken. If you experience difficulty assistance can be sorted from the ticket office. Once tickets are collected, we are unable to change travel arrangements without the physical tickets being returned to Click Travel.

If you have any queries regarding travel bookings, please contact OU-Venue-Team@open.ac.uk with the date of travel in the subject header.

Criminal conviction

In line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, new and external applicants are required to declare any unspent criminal convictions when completing employment applications for the Open University. For certain roles, you will also need to declare spent convictions, pending charges/current police investigations, bind overs, warnings and cautions or reprimands. All information you provide is treated as confidential and will be considered only in relation to the job for which you are applying.

In instances where a conviction is disclosed, the Open University will consider whether the offence would make you unsuitable for the type of work you are applying for.