Lecturer in Law (Human Rights) at York Law School, University of York, UK (GBP 46,049 to GBP 56,535 per year)

York Law School (YLS) is the law department of the University of York, a Russell Group university in the north of England. The School describes itself as a research-active and collegial department with a commitment to interdisciplinary, socially engaged scholarship and to innovative legal education, and its undergraduate programmes are built around Problem-Based Learning (PBL), with research and teaching closely interconnected across the School.

The School is developing its research environment through a set of Research Excellence Groups and networks intended to support collaboration and build capacity in areas of strategic priority. These are Social Welfare, Law and Administrative Justice; Health and Law; Law and AI; Conflict, Migration, and International Law; Criminalisation; and Private Law and Values, alongside an Applied Socio-legal Methods Network supporting methodologically innovative socio-legal research.

The School is seeking to strengthen its expertise in Human Rights Law, with particular interest in applied and interdisciplinary approaches to human rights. The post focuses on research that demonstrates the potential for public, policy and professional impact, and the University welcomes applications from candidates whose research shows that potential.

The person appointed will be expected to contribute to teaching across the core law curriculum as well as within their area of specialist expertise, and to contribute to both the School's research environment and its distinctive approach to legal education.

• Developing research objectives, projects and proposals, and carrying out individual or collaborative research projects.
• Producing high quality, REF-eligible research outputs and developing an emerging research trajectory, including publishing in appropriate journals and disseminating findings at conferences.
• Developing innovative research proposals and identifying and obtaining external sources of funding.
• Designing, developing and delivering teaching across a range of modules or within a particular programme or subject area, including Problem-Based Learning facilitation and small-group learning.
• Academic supervision of students, including research students, and setting and marking assessments with constructive feedback.
• Undertaking the duties of a Programme Director and Module Co-ordinator, contributing to recruitment and selection of staff, and to the administration and management of the department.

• Salary: GBP 46,049 to GBP 56,535 per year, Grade 7.
• Contract status: Open (open-ended, that is, a permanent post).
• Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week.
• Based at: University of York campus, Heslington, York.
• Availability: The post is available from September 2026.
• Job reference: 15161.

The University lists its standard staff benefits as a 37 hour week with flexitime for many roles, a 38 day holiday allowance, salary-related pension schemes, an incremental pay spine, tax and national insurance savings on nursery care and cycle purchase, discounted private medical and dental cover, and relocation expenses depending on the role. A welcome service supports new colleagues relocating to York, including those joining from overseas.

• An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in law and a PhD in Law, awarded or close to submission.
• Appropriate academic, professional and teaching qualifications, or a willingness to complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.
• Extensive knowledge of Human Rights Law and its practical application.
• Knowledge of the design and development of teaching programmes and the provision of learning support across different levels of academic activity in the field of Human Rights Law, and of a range of teaching techniques and methodologies.
• Advanced and specialist IT knowledge.
• Ability to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; well developed analytical skills; highly developed oral and written communication skills, including the ability to write for publication and disseminate research findings.
• Ability to design teaching material and deliver either across a range of modules or within a subject area, and to supervise the work of others, for example in research teams or as an MSc, PhD or postdoctoral supervisor.
• Proven ability to contribute to publicly evidenced high quality research, experience of taking responsibility for teaching and learning at undergraduate and ideally postgraduate level, and evidence of successful course planning, design and delivery with exemplification of teaching materials.
• Evidence of dissemination of research findings, which may include conference and workshop papers, public engagement events, book chapters, journal articles or reviews.

• Demonstrable knowledge of one or more subjects within the core curriculum for professional qualification in England and Wales, sufficient to contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and experience of teaching one or more foundational subjects of the law of England and Wales in a higher education context.
• Research expertise in an area that complements and enhances the department's research strategy and goals.
• Experience of contributing to external funding applications, or clear potential to do so.
• Experience or potential in producing research with demonstrable public, policy or professional impact, and engagement with knowledge exchange activities or external partnerships.
• Awareness or experience of Problem-Based Learning or other inquiry-based, collaborative pedagogies.
• Experience of teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, supervising dissertation students, representing a research group or institution externally, and teaching-related administrative or organisational experience.

The University of York recruits internationally and states on its jobs portal that it will assist where a role is eligible for the Global Talent visa, or where the applicant requires Skilled Worker or Temporary Worker sponsorship. It notes that some jobs, typically those at the lower grades, will not meet the eligibility criteria for those routes, in which case the applicant must already hold work permission in another visa category. This is a Grade 7 academic post.

Applicants outside the UK should check their position using the UK Government's online visa tool and may direct questions about work permission and sponsorship to the University's HR Compliance team before applying.

Applications are made online through the University of York jobs portal against job reference 15161. Read the job description and person specification, then use the Apply now route on the vacancy page. Registering on the jobs site is required in order to apply, and an application can be saved and completed in more than one session at any point before the closing date.

The supporting statement should be tailored to the requirements of the job. The University notes that although the online application process states that three academic references are required, professional references will be accepted as suitable alternatives.

Applicants who wish to apply under the Disability Confident scheme should indicate this in the Job Specific Questions section of the application form. As a Disability Confident employer the University will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria are offered an interview. Requests for adjustments to apply or to attend an interview go to the University recruitment team.

The vacancy was posted on 20 July 2026 and applications close on 16 August 2026. Interviews are scheduled for Friday, 11 September 2026, and the post is available from September 2026.