Lecturer in Political Violence and Terrorism Education - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

The Department of War Studies is one of the only academic departments in the world focused on understanding the complex realm of conflict, security, and international politics through inter-disciplinary teaching, research and engagement. We have a large and diverse faculty, with varied theoretical and methodological expertise in areas including, but not limited to, conflict resolution, contemporary and historical warfare, gender, international relations, migration and borders, security studies, strategic studies, technology and violence.

The Department is located within the School of Security Studies and the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. Together, we are committed to embedding good diversity and inclusion practice into all of our activities. We are committed to encouraging further growth in our diversity, and we look forward to welcoming applicants of all abilities and backgrounds, whom we are able to support with our flexible varied working practices. Overall, King’s values the diversity of its staff and student body and recognises that this is both a strength and a defining feature of King’s as a London university in a global context.

The Department of War Studies seeks to appoint a Lecturer in Political Violence and Terrorism Education. The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering high-quality, innovative and effective undergraduate and postgraduate teaching on issues related to political violence and terrorism. They will also have a clear agenda in related academic scholarship and an emerging track record in disseminating their work.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to teaching, supervision and student support across a range of BA and MA programmes and modules. Modules may include ‘Responding to Terrorism’, ‘Political Violence, Counterterrorism and Human Rights’, and ‘Homegrown Radicalisation & Counter-Radicalisation in Western Europe & North America’ (note all of these examples are at the MA level). The successful candidate may also be asked to contribute to leadership in teaching through module convening. The successful candidate will work with students from a wide range of backgrounds and will be responsible for enabling student success.

The postholder will also engage in reflective practice and scholarship related to education in their disciplinary field, publish in peer-reviewed journals, engage with internal and external discussions and the dissemination of teaching innovations and initiatives, and seek internal and external funding. They will be expected to participate in relevant professional associations and networks and engage in public outreach, to play a role in the institutional and intellectual development of War Studies and to undertake Departmental, School, Faculty and University administrative duties as required.

This post is a 1-year, fixed-term academic contract on the Academic Education Pathway (AEP), ideally beginning on 1 September 2026. The AEP is designed to ensure the recognition, reward and opportunities for advancement for exceptional educators. Successful candidates will be expected to obtain membership of the Higher Education Academy. Around 80% of the successful candidate’s time will be dedicated to teaching, supervision, student support, educational leadership and innovation, and administration. The remaining 20% of the time will be dedicated to scholarship. The exact content of the workload will be decided in discussion with the Head of Department.

Appointments can only be made at Lecturer level, Grade 6/7. It will not be possible to make appointments at more senior grades, or to exceed the salary advertised.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

This is a full time role and you will be offered a fixed term contract for one year (1 September 2026 – 31 August 2027).

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• Essential criteria
• PhD awarded in War/Conflict/Security Studies, International Relations or a related field, with expertise related to political violence and terrorism.
• Ability to deliver innovative and effective teaching to undergraduate and/or postgraduate students in the areas of political violence and terrorism, as well as to contribute to the broader teaching in the department.
• Publication and dissemination of education or discipline-related scholarship in peer-reviewed journals and/or conferences.
• Evidence of contribution to community building within a higher education setting.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• For an appointment at Grade 7, candidates must have a PhD thesis published or in press as a monograph AND at least 2 papers published/in press in peer-reviewed journals; OR at least 5 research papers published/in press in high-quality peer reviewed journals. For an appointment at Grade 7, candidates must also show proven ability in and experience of academic leadership.

• Desirable criteria
• Experience supervising UG/PGT dissertations.
• Experience contributing to the supervision of PhD students.
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) or on track to receive fellowship in the next 1-2 years.
• A track record of wider administrative contribution to the delivery of departmental activities.
• Emerging track record of dissemination of teaching innovations and engagement with external bodies.

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.