Academic and Research Roles - Advert Template

Please structure your advert to the template below and return to your HR Officer (Recruitment and Selection) along with the job description and person specification.

Paragraph 1
Suggested openers: This is/we have an exciting opportunity for a (Job Title)… to join the Department of….. We are seeking to appoint a (Job Title) We are looking to recruit a (Job Title) to join our Department of….. We advise that you state the job title near to the beginning of the first paragraph. It will also help you to get more search hits the more you refer to your job title.
Paragraph 2
Enter brief details about your School/Department. Here you can add information that you think your ideal candidate would like to know, or needs to know about the Department, the School, the role. What can you tell them that’s likely to get them interested? This might include things like new facilities, new developments, approaches, the Department’s structure and the support it offers.
Paragraph 3
Describe the focus of the role. For example: You will contribute to the development and delivery of undergraduate programmes….. it is expected that this post will focus on….. You will join us to deliver teaching, learning and research ……. You will be an engaging teacher, keen to conduct high quality research and who can contribute to our strategic ambitions…..
Paragraph 4
Add information re key essential criteria and qualifications. Describe here the qualities required, and instead of referring to ‘The successful candidate’, make it more personal with ‘You’. For example: You will have a Master’s degree and demonstrable teaching experience in….. together with subject expertise in….. You will be able to demonstrate that you can support students through a range of methods and strategies to ensure a high quality learning experience. However also consider that you don’t want every paragraph to start with ‘You’, so you can alter the wording used, For example: You will hold a Doctoral qualification in a relevant area and a track record of research outputs…. Can instead be phrased: With a PhD in a relevant area, you will have a track record of research outputs….
Paragraph 5
Informal enquiries are welcome to….. Please include an email address for the person who will be available to answer candidates’ queries.
Paragraph 6 (Compulsory)
The University is deeply committed to equality and diversity for all its students and staff. We seek to be diverse and inclusive, supporting individuals and groups to fulfil their potential and nurture a sense of belonging. We strive to be an accessible, inclusive employer, removing barriers for all. Find out more about our approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, including our commitments and accreditations as a Disability Confident Employer, Stonewall Top 100 Employer, Athena SWAN Bronze Award holder and Race Equality Charter Bronze Award holder.

Things to Consider:

Use short paragraphs for easy reading.

Use clear, concise language. Avoid ambiguous or elaborate wording.

Avoid internal or technical jargon which makes little sense to applicants outside of our University and the Higher Education sector.

Use non-discriminatory and inclusive language.

Avoiding discrimination:

Ensure the advert is based on the job description and required criteria.

Avoid any wording that could be viewed as discriminatory (e.g., enthusiastic, young, mature, active).

Can you attract a diverse range of applicants through the publications you use? Think about the best places to advertise.

Check your advert with a Gender Decoder tool:

We check all adverts through a Gender Decoder tool, as research has shown that women are discouraged from applying for jobs where the language used in the text of the advert has a masculine bias. You can check your advert text with the Gender Decoder tool.

If you find your advert has language with a feminine bias or is neutral, then your text is suitable to proceed with, however if you find your text has a masculine bias, please replace with other suitable words. Examples of masculine and feminine biased words can be found on the website when you check your text.