Job description

Durham, United Kingdom

Durham Law School

Grade 10: – Starting salary £72,693 per annum and going considerably higher depending on experience

Open-Ended/Permanent – Full Time

Contracted Hours per Week: 35

Closing Date
: 27-Jul-2025, 11:59:00 PM

Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career.The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people’s lives.

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.

Our Purpose and Values

We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? – Information Page

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

The School

Durham Law School is a leading law school. Consistently ranked in the Top 10 nationally and Top 60 globally, it has been growing strongly over the past few years and now comprises a community of over 100 academics and professional support staff. Durham Law School fosters innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to legal research and wishes to attract scholars with strong backgrounds in these areas. The Law School provides a supportive environment for its community of academics, which comprises a generous sabbatical policy and an infrastructure of high-profile research centres that bring together colleagues for collaborative projects. The School is housed in the iconic Palatine Centre overlooking Durham Cathedral in the heart of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located on the main East Coast train line connecting to London and Edinburgh and also within convenient reach of Newcastle Airport. The School has an extensive network of leading international partner institutions and close ties with the City of London and the Inns of Court. It counts among its alumni two Supreme Court Justices (Retired).

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our School’s pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/

Our top-ranked global law courses are very competitive with an excellent and diverse student population from across the world delivering a cutting-edge, research-led curriculum with a commitment to small-group teaching through seminars and tutorials, much prized by employers.

Our School’s strategic objectives put EDI at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to Equality Diversity and Inclusion and actively develop our policies and procedures to ensure that everyone within our community is treated fairly and is provided with the same opportunities. This applies to our everyday work in teaching, research and administration, including academic progression and promotion processes. Our Law School holds an Athena Swan Bronze award.

The successful candidate will be on our teaching and research academic pathway which divides the postholder’s duties as follows: 40% research 46% teaching and 14% administration (Approximately).

The Law School at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Professor. We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the broad field of public international law, and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants with a focus on tackling emerging global challenges.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at Durham Law School – Durham University

Professors at Durham

Professors are encouraged to focus on quality and innovation throughout your teaching and research activity. But we’ll also look to you to provide genuine leadership and citizenship – not just in your field, but across the University environment, and in the way your department functions administratively.

Academic colleagues will have the freedom to deliver teaching and pursue research that is world leading and world changing, in terms of originality, significance and rigour. And we’ll support your ambitions to publish internationally significant research in your area of interest, provide resources to enable you to attend conferences and to fund research activity.

Applicants must demonstrate research excellence in the field of public international law, with the ability to take a leading role in the development of the School’s research and teaching, and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University.

We strive to provide a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process.

Key responsibilities:

• Pursue research that is world-leading, and world-changing in terms of originality, significance and rigour, showing leadership in a research field within and/or beyond the academy which is commensurate with the School’s continuing emphasis on international excellence;
• To lead the development of successful research project/fellowship proposals in pursuit of suitable national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement.
• Deliver excellent teaching, offering lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels. Demonstrate leadership and innovation in the design and delivery of high quality learning environments and curricula.
• Enhance the quality of the research environment in the School, providing leadership of national and international research groups and networks which is recognised at an international level. Engage in the mentoring of early career researchers;
• To attract and provide excellent supervision to research students, and contribute significantly to the development of PhD programmes. Enhance the School’s commitment to its vibrant and international postgraduate culture.
• Contribute significantly to the administrative functioning and collegial environment of the School and wider University, demonstrating sustained excellence in leadership activities which support the functioning of the School and wider University.
• To fully engage in, champion and enhance the values of the School;
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Dean of the School.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

Person Specification

Candidates must demonstrate research excellence in the field of public international law , with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University.

Research

Candidates will demonstrate world-leading and world-changing research, and leadership in a research field within and / or beyond their institution(s), with research outputs consistently recognised as internationally excellent.

Essential Research Criteria

1. Qualifications – a good first degree and a PhD in public international law or a related subject.
2. Outputs – evidence of research outputs which are consistently recognised as internationally excellent with some output being evaluated as world class. Candidates are asked to submit [two] research papers with their application (as outlined in the How to Apply section below). Candidates may additionally choose to submit evidence such as external peer review of their outputs.
3. Personal Research Plan – evidence of a personal research plan which supports and enhances the School’s research strategy.
4. Research Leadership – leadership of national / international research groups and networks, with an internationally recognised contribution to the development of research fields, as well as leadership of research groups and / or mentoring of early career researchers. Candidates may choose to include information about research group leadership, mentoring of research colleagues, invitations to and engagement with significant external events, engagement with international networks or projects, serving on advisory boards, review bodies or commissions, external PhD examination.
5. PhD Supervision – a significant contribution to the development of PhD programmes and / or groups, including successful recruitment and excellent supervision of PhD students and examination of research degrees.
6. Research Impact – demonstrable leadership of research that has significant impact beyond the Candidate’s institution(s).
7. Income Generation – evidence of leadership of successful research projects and / or quality research grant proposals.

Education

Candidates will be able to evidence excellence in the development and delivery of teaching. They will demonstrate leadership, distinction and innovation in the design and delivery of high-quality learning environments and curricula, including curriculum development, that enables student to achieve their potential.

Essential Education Criteria

1. Qualification – candidates must evidence substantial and sustained educational leadership demonstrated by:
   1. Evidence of at least one example of co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/or mentoring of others in relationship to learning and teaching, or;
   2. Successful completion of the DELTA3 course (“Leadership in Learning and Teaching”) or the DELTA4 course (“Strategic Leadership in Learning and Teaching”), or;
   3. Achievement of Senior or Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (https://www.heacademy.auk/individuals/fellowship/fellow), which is the national body that champions teaching excellence.
2. Quality – evidence of excellence in the development and delivery of high-quality and distinctive teaching, at least at a nationally competitive level. Evidence of training, educating and mentoring other teachers in the School and/or the University in relationship to learning and teaching. Candidates may choose to provide MEQ scores and / or peer reviews of teaching.
3. Innovation – leadership and influence in in curriculum/new programme development and the development of innovative teaching and the design of learning environments/curricula that provide high quality teaching and student experience at an internationally competitive level including lectures, small group learning and/or using technology or other techniques to enhance learning and/or assessment.
4. Strategic – demonstrating leadership and influence in the design and delivery of excellent teaching activities and the creation of learning environments that enable students to achieve their potential.

Services, Citizenship and Values

Candidates will demonstrate sustained excellence of leadership in the provision of the administrative and collegial functioning requirements of the School, Faculty and University, positively contributing to the University Values and to fostering a respectful environment; as well as demonstrating their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Essential Services, Citizenship and Values criteria

1. Collegial contribution – evidence of a significant contribution to the collegial work and environment of the Candidate’s Department, Faculty, institution and / or discipline. (Candidates may choose to evidence departmental or University roles, Faculty or University level committees or projects, mentoring activity, pastoral and academic support of students, engagement with widening participation, proactive support of the work of professional services colleagues, contributions to departmental programme management and/or strategic development, contribution to equality and diversity initiatives and membership or engagement with external bodies).
2. Leadership – evidence of sustained excellence in leadership activities that support the administrative functioning of the candidate’s Department, Faculty or University and / or which support the development of their discipline. (Candidates may choose to detail any leadership roles which they have undertaken, preferably in an academic context).
3. Communication – candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to engage with a range of students and colleagues across a variety of forums.

Contact Information

School contact for academic-related enquiries

Professor Ming Du, [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process

How to apply

We prefer to receive applications online.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants – Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

• A CV
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
• Personal research plan.
• Number of your most significant pieces of written work. Where possible your written work should have been published or submitted since 1 January 2021, however work prior to 1 January 2021 may be submitted where candidates have had career breaks.

Where possible we request that you provide accessible web links to your publications, which the hiring Department will use to access your work. The application form contains fields in which to enter each of the web links.

Please note we are unable to access publications behind a paywall.

In the event you are unable to provide accessible links to online hosting of your work, publications should be uploaded as PDFs as part of your application in our recruitment system.

Please ensure that your PDFs are not larger than 5mb. Your work may be read by colleagues from across the School and evaluated against the current REF criteria;

All application documents should be uploaded with your name and document type as PDF files.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.

Referees

You should provide 3 academic referees they should not (if possible) include your PhD supervisor(s). The majority should be from a University other than your own.

References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process.

As part of your application, you will be asked whether you give your consent to your academic references being sought should you be invited to attend an interview. We will only request references where permission has been granted.

Next Steps

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the School to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates.

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the School. The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the School followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around the beginning of September 2025.

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.

Applicant Guidance

For further guidance on your application please see HERE