The Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University, is seeking to engage great teachers to serve as seminar leaders for “The Politics of Policymaking” (PoP), a core class in our Master of Public Policy course.

PoP is the flagship political science course in the Blavatnik School curriculum. It seeks to show students how theories, concepts, and findings from the study of politics and international relations can support successful policymaking. Covering a wide range of topics and subjects through a mix of lectures, case studies, and seminar discussions, PoP aims to empower students to “think politically.”

Seminar leaders play a critical role in PoP. They are responsible for leading weekly discussion groups of around six students. This task involves working with the teaching team to develop weekly lesson plans that review and extend key ideas and help students to apply them to practical policy challenges. It is expected that each seminar leader will lead 3 seminars per week, and attend each week’s teaching sessions.  Seminar leaders will also participate in marking formative and summative assignments.  While the bulk of work will be concentrated in Hilary Term, planning and marking activities may extend before and after this period.  

The ideal seminar leader will hold a doctoral degree in political science or a closely related field. Postdocs and those with teaching experience are encouraged to apply. Advanced graduate students (those having passed confirmation of status) will also be considered. We are particularly eager to receive applications from candidates who are passionate about applying social science to practical challenges of policymaking, who can speak to the diverse range of interests and experiences in our global cohort of 140+ MPP students, and who are flexible to different teaching formats as the evolving Covid-19 situation may require.

Payment will be at the rate of £15.60 per hour (Grade 6.1), plus holiday pay (12.07%). 

Further details for this position, including information on how to apply, are outlined in the attached further particulars.

We would welcome applications from those currently based in the UK, or overseas and who plan to be in Oxford in January 2022. Please note that you must have the right to work in the UK at the time of the teaching.

The closing date for applications is 12:00 noon (UK time) on Friday 29 October 2021.