Lecturer in EDI (Access and Participation)

Arden University; Birmingham; Remote; GBP 41,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A higher education institution is seeking a Lecturer in EDI to lead the academic evaluation of Access and Participation Plan initiatives. You will apply your expertise in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to improve student outcomes and collaborate with various teams. The role offers remote working with occasional travel and comes with excellent benefits, including 30 days holiday and a generous pension plan.

Benefits

30 days holiday + bank holidays

Generous pension plan

Private Medical Insurance

Access to Perkbox benefits

Free Arden course for employees

‘Golden Ticket’ for family and friends

Qualifications

• Experience working on widening participation or access and participation initiatives in higher education.
• Skills in a range of research and evaluation methods.
• Strong understanding of teaching, learning, and assessment approaches in UK higher education.

Responsibilities

• Design, deliver and evaluate APP initiatives collaboratively.
• Coordinate the annual evaluation programme for APP initiatives.
• Support research, scholarship, and publication opportunities.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Research skills

Collaborative work

Knowledge of APP, NERUPI, and TASO

Education

Postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject

Job description

Salary: £41,220 - £47,728 per annum

Employment type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Director of EDI

Department: Academic Affairs

Click here to read the full job description and view our excellent benefits here

This role operates primarily on a remote working arrangement that will require occasional travel into our Coventry head office or UK campuses. Our remote working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit which could change at any point during your employment, so for this reason an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.

About Arden University

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

About our Team

Arden University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team plays a vital strategic role in ensuring our learning environment is inclusive, diverse, accessible, and designed to give every student equitable opportunities for access, participation, and success.

About the Opportunity

The Lecturer in EDI (Access and Participation) will lead the academic evaluation of Access and Participation Plan (APP) initiatives, ensuring they are evidence-based, impactful, and aligned with regulatory expectations. You will also identify and support research, scholarship and publication opportunities arising from APP initiatives, and will support the broader mission of the EDI team.

Acting as a central link between the Access and Participation and EDI teams, you will apply your specialist knowledge of APP, TASO and NERUPI to strengthen Arden’s commitment to inclusive education and student success.

In this role you will:

• Work collaboratively with the APP team and initiative leads to design, deliver and evaluate APP initiatives, using recognised frameworks and toolkits such as NERUPI and TASO.
• Coordinate the annual evaluation programme for APP initiatives, ensuring high-quality reporting and actionable insights.
• Identify opportunities for research, scholarship, and publication related to APP and EDI activity, and support initiative leads with academic writing and dissemination.

About You

You will bring a strong blend of academic expertise and practical experience in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Access and Participation (APP), with a clear commitment to widening access and improving student outcomes.

You will have:

• Experience working on widening participation (WP) or access and participation (APP) initiatives, ideally within a UK higher education context.
• A postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject such as teaching and learning, higher education, EDI, or a related discipline.
• Skills in a range of research, scholarship and/or evaluation methods appropriate to a UK Higher Education context.
• Detailed knowledge of APP, NERUPI, and TASO frameworks, methodologies and resources.
• A strong understanding of a wide range of teaching, learning and assessment approaches appropriate to UK higher education.

You will be an analytical, reflective, and collaborative academic, committed to evidence-based practice, continuous improvement, and championing inclusive education across the institution.

Why Arden

At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on top, and even a Christmas closure!
• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
• SimplyHealth plan option
• Private Medical Insurance
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Our ‘Golden Ticket’ which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education
• Plus, other excellent benefits

Our Values

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.

Closing Date: Sunday 14th December

Interviews: 7, 8 and 9 January (Online)

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.

If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to the guidance here.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Sponsorship statement

Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa under the points-based immigration system. However, we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.