Teaching Fellow in German Studies

Job Description

UE07: £41,064.00 - £48,222.00 Per Annum, Pro Rata.

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences / School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures / Department of European Languages and Cultures.

Part Time - 28 hours per week.

Fixed-term Contract for 16 months (Sep 26 - Dec 27).

Tenable from 1 September 2026

The Opportunity:

Applications are invited from suitably qualified colleagues for a part time, fixed term post as Teaching Fellow in German Studies in the Department of European Languages and Cultures. This role is intended to cover aspects of teaching and administration during the secondment of colleagues to other roles, and due to another temporary staffing gap.

The successful candidate will each hold a degree in a relevant area and show demonstrable success of teaching German language, literature and culture in a Higher Education context. They will have excellent written and verbal communication skills in German and English, with an ability to teach the German language at all levels. They will be expected to contribute to the administration of the subject area, including course organisation. The appointee will also be required to supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and support student learning through pastoral meetings, as well as potentially contributing to department-wide teaching and projects.

The postholder will play an active role in the administrative tasks of the Section, Department and School, as appropriate, and deliver and convene courses for the German degree programmes.

The successful candidate may also take on roles at Department and School level, including the development of pedagogical materials and approaches, and contributions to Outreach and Widening Participation projects.

The position is part-time (28 hours per week) and fixed-term, available for sixteen months from September 2026 to the end of December 2027.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Degree in a relevant area.
• Experience and demonstrable success in delivering effective university teaching in German language, literature and culture.
• Experience relevant to fulfilling the role of Course Organiser (course convenor), which includes complex planning, answering enquiries and coordinating the work of colleagues as necessary.
• Fluency and excellent oral and written communication skills in German and English.
• Evidence of self-motivation and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• The ability or potential to supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

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Informal enquiries may be addressed to Jenny Watson, Head of German, at [email protected].

How to apply

We welcome applications for this post from all qualified candidates and particularly welcome applications from members of minoritised ethnic groups, who are currently under-represented in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.

Applications should be submitted through People & Money. In addition to completing all the basic information, please upload one integrated PDF to the platform that includes:

• A two-page max. covering letter outlining how your experience satisfies the essential/desirable criteria;
• A curriculum vitae, no longer than 4 pages.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 19 June 2026.

Unless stated otherwise, the closing time for applications is 11:59 pm (UK time). If you are applying from outside the UK, the closing time shown on our adverts will automatically adjust to your browser's local time zone.

About Us

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow's greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.

About the Team

DELC offers research expertise and teaching in a wide range of languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Catalan, with postgraduate supervision available in all, and degree-level study available in all but the last. With over 40 members of full-time research staff, including an expanding number of post-doctoral fellows and experts in Translation Studies and Film Studies, as well as a variety of Foreign Language and Teaching Assistants, the Division offers a vibrant and stimulating environment for study and research, in the literatures and cultures of all the languages it specialises in.

The Division works closely with the consulates and national cultural centres in the capital and is home to a wide number of international research and publication projects, ranging from the Princess Dashkova Russian Centre to the Centre d'études francophones belges.

To find out more, visit https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/delc