King's College London

About us

King’s College London is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities, founded within the tradition of the Church of England by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington who granted our royal charter in 1829.

King's has a proud history of inspiring and supporting those who seek to solve the world's most pressing problems. For almost 200 years, our community has been deeply rooted in the belief that learning and research should serve society.

This commitment to knowledge with purpose – using our expertise as a force for good – lies at the heart of our core mission at King’s. From research that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, to developing life-changing therapies and making maths education available to underrepresented groups, we continue to have a transformational impact on society.

Fourteen people from King’s and its associated institutions have been awarded the Nobel Prize, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his role in South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaign, and Professor Michael Levitt for his joint work in developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems.

Notable alumni include British sprinter and world-record holder Dina Asher-Smith, biophysicist Dr. Rosalind Franklin, famous for her work in X-ray spectroscopy, and acclaimed children’s writer Sir Michael Morpurgo.

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s is distinctive in representing exceptional strength in both the longer established disciplines (such as Philosophy, Classics, English, History, Languages, Music Philosophy and Theology) and world-leading quality in more recently established fields (such as Digital Humanities, Film, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts, and Culture, Media and Creative Industries).

About the role

The Department of English wishes to appoint a full-time Lecturer in Early Modern Literature on an indefinite contractual basis as from 1 September 2025.

We would particularly welcome applicants with expertise in Shakespeare Studies and/or Premodern Critical Race Studies. The successful candidate will have proven experience of university teaching, a record of outstanding published research appropriate to their career-stage, and also be able to demonstrate clear potential for future grant capture. They will be able to teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, and although it is not possible to be definitive at the time of writing, in the first year of the appointment these may include the level 4 modules Early Modern Literary Culture and the introductory first-year module Reading Poetry;  the level 5 modules The Film of the Play and Premodern Race and Gender; and the postgraduate module Working with Early Modern Texts. In subsequent years, they will have the opportunity to teach modules of their own devising that complement and strengthen the department’s present offering in the field. The postholder will also contribute, as personal tutor, to the pastoral care of students, and will supervise UG and MA dissertations. They will be expected to undertake departmental administration as required, and to help support and develop some of our partnerships with external institutions, such as the Globe and the British Library. They will be responsible to the Head of Department.

The Department of English at King's was one of the first university English departments ever to be established and is acknowledged as world-leading in both teaching and research. Students learn as part of a university that is shaped by research of the highest quality (90 per cent of the department’s research was rated as either ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in REF 2021), and our undergraduates enjoy a syllabus which spans the seventh century to the present day and includes literature from English speaking countries around the world. At postgraduate level, long-established partnerships, such as that with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, further enrich our teaching.

This is a full-time post, offered on an indefinite contract from 1 September 2025.

About you

Candidates should have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified (i.e. PhD must have been awarded) in English Literature or related field
2. Original research profile that complements the department’s strengths in Early Modern literary studies and shows clear potential for an impact project
3. Experience of teaching Early Modern literature to undergraduate and postgraduate students
4. High quality teaching skills: ability to communicate difficult concepts and material to students of all levels; ability to inspire and innovate as appropriate; skilled at helping students to develop their individual intellectual and personal potential
5. Collegiate, proven ability to work with others and to support them where necessary
6. Experience of contributing to the pastoral care of students
7. Excellent administrative skills: ability to support the organisational aspects of teaching, learning and research

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working with virtual learning environments
2. Experience of postgraduate research supervision
3. Evidence of service, such as engagement in professional organisations and broad participation in the field (conference papers, workshops, memberships)

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

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.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to submit a writing sample (one or two pieces of writing not exceeding 15000 words in total) and to give a presentation to the department prior to interview.

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