Department
The Sociology and Criminology department are ranked 1st in the UK for research environment in sociology (Grade Point Average, REF 2021). We were awarded an Athena Swan Silver Award in 2026 in recognition of our inclusive, equitable cultural environment and our positive upholding of gender equity principles.
We shape modern society today, advising the UN, government departments, think tanks and public bodies around the world on issues from the rights of indigenous peoples, to the regulation of the building industry, and organised crime and terrorism.
As one of Essex's founding departments, we've focused on how people think about major social issues such as poverty, inequality, class, welfare and vulnerability in societies around the world from the very start.
The Department of Sociology and Criminology is keen to further develop the diversity of its staff. The hiring committee is especially interested in candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or service, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.
Duties of the Role
The purpose of the role(s) is to contribute to the full or partial delivery of our UG and PGT modules. Each Lecturer can expect to teach across 2 to 3 modules per term in Autumn and Spring, with additional marking, outreach and pastoral duties in Summer term.
For one of the roles, we seek criminological area expertise, and the role-holder will be asked to focus on a selection of the following, with the capacity to specify preference: SC111, SC555 Formative Debates in Criminology, SC204 New Directions in Criminology, SC205 Po or other modules subject to expertise, along with UG dissertation supervision and pastoral support and inclusive engagement of our students. Applicants are encouraged to signal preferred modules of the options listed above. Mode of delivery may include a mixture of module convening, class teaching, lecturing and marking.
For one of the roles, we require specific expertise in data science. The role-holder will convene two core 2nd year modules on our data science degree: SC207 Introduction to Social Data Science and SC290 Social Data Science: Uncover, Understand, Unleash. For this role, it is essential that candidates should be proficient with Python, the Pandas data analysis library and a data visualisation library such as Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly etc. Also Desirable: Proficiency with Text analysis in Python using libraries such as Spacy, BERTopic or Scikit-Learn. Proficiency with Network Analysis using NetworkX and/or Gephi. In addition, this role-holder will also teach classes across our UG criminology and sociology provision, including SC111, SC204 New Directions in Criminology, or SC205 Policing, Punishment and Society, with capacity to specify preference.
Two appointments will be made at 0.6 FTE. This is a teaching-oriented post, and duties are centered on teaching and student pastoral care. The roles will include active mentorship and career support, as well as access to Department research funding for conference attendance and/or research dissemination.
Skills and qualifications required
The successful candidate(s) will have substantial experience of teaching Sociology or Criminology at undergraduate or postgraduate level, with a relevant doctoral level degree in Sociology or other social science discipline, including Criminology. To satisfy the requirements of an external funding body, the applicant must have submitted their PhD thesis by the time of the contract start date, but if shortlisted, interviews can take place before submission of the thesis.
The postholder(s) will also have some experience of designing and planning of learning activities, developing effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance. The candidate(s) will be expected to show an ability and willingness to enhance the Department’s education strengths and outreach goals. The candidates may be asked to take part in occasional outreach activities during a weekend or Easter term break, while not exceeding the pro-rata weekly allocation. The candidate(s) will also demonstrate commitment to respect individual learners and diverse learning communities and to promote participation and equality of opportunity for all learners via student-centred practice.
At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.
To support this commitment we have our, a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based, which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives.