King's College London

About us

The Dickson Poon School of Law, part of King’s College London, is based on The Strand, and sits at the heart of legal London. The school is ranked 15th in the world and 5th in UK for Law (QS World University Rankings 2022).

The School is located in the East Wing of Somerset House, a Grade One listed building, on the College’s Strand Campus, a few minutes’ walk from the Royal Courts of Justice and Inns of Court and midway between Westminster and the City of London. Its location has always enabled the School to have excellent contacts with practitioners and policy-makers, and there is a strong tradition of engagement with both.

The School houses the world-renowned Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, the first of its kind in the UK, and one of the first internationally. The Centre’s postgraduate programmes include the MA in Medical Ethics and Law, the MA in Medical Law and the MSc in Mental Health, Ethics and Law. Centre staff are also involved in PhD supervision and the provision of Medical Law as an option to LLB students.

About the role

The School is seeking to appoint to a Professorship in the Centre an outstanding candidate with research interests and teaching expertise in the field of medical law. The successful candidate’s principal teaching contribution will be to our postgraduate programmes in medical law and, to a lesser extent, our undergraduate teaching in medical law, although the ability to contribute also to the core undergraduate law curriculum is desirable. The successful candidate will also carry out administrative duties in the School.

The post-holder will exercise world-class academic leadership in research and teaching. We are open to the candidate’s field of specialist expertise within medical law, although expertise that complements (rather than duplicates) existing specialist expertise in the Centre is desirable. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake world-leading research and to have a deep personal commitment to the delivery of teaching of the highest quality with a particular interest in medical law. 

The Dickson Poon School of Law embraces equality, diversity and inclusion. We attract students and staff from across the world, from many different backgrounds, with a variety of ethnicities, religions, and sexual and gender identities. We particularly encourage and welcome applications from women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, and from candidates who are LGBTQ+ and/or have a disability.

The post-holder will be responsible to the Executive Dean, Professor Dan Hunter.

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

Further information about the Centre can be found here:

Centre of Medical Law and Ethics | Centre of Medical Law & Ethics | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk) 

About you

Essential criteria

1.       PhD, DPhil, JSD, or equivalent experience in Law

2.       Have an established international reputation in Medical Law as proven by outstanding contribution through research publications, and a substantial record of highly cited publications of original research

3.       Have a substantial record of grant acquisition and a strategy for further grant capture

4.       Excellent teaching skills, and a proven track record of teaching at postgraduate and undergraduate level

5.       Competence with electronic learning platforms and other IT skills

6.       Understanding of current issues in Law and Higher Education

7.       Excellent oral and written communication skills

8.       Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships

9.       Ability to work to and meet deadlines

10.     Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team

11.     Willingness to contribute to the School’s culture of collaboration

12.     Be resourceful and imaginative, with a natural tendency to seek and capitalise on opportunities.

Desirable criteria

1.       Professional qualification in law

2.       Successful supervision of PhD students

3.       Experience in impact and engagement activities

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.