We are 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 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 key ideas and help students apply them to practical policy challenges via discussion. It is expected that each seminar leader will lead three 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 a bit 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 on the Grade 6 scale (currently starting at £15.37 per hour). All time spent on the course, including lecture attendance, qualifies for payment.

See attachment for further particulars.

If you are interested, please email your CV and a 1–2 page cover letter explaining why you would like to join the PoP team and also how your experience will contribute to the success of the course (please mention any previous teaching experience, which is not necessarily required, in the letter) to recruit@bsg.ox.ac.uk by 12 noon on 21 October 2020.

We would welcome applications from those currently based in the UK, or overseas and who plan to be in Oxford in January 2021. Please note that you must have the right to work in the UK at the time of the teaching.

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