Staff Tutor, Nursing (Cardiff, ENG, GB, CF10 1AP)

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

About the Role

Staff Tutors are members of the academic staff of the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care (HWSC) based in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies (WELS).  They play a vital role in the provision of The Open University’s (OU) supported open learning model of education; contribute to the presentation of modules and qualifications and engage in research and scholarship congruent with School and Faculty strategic priorities. Staff Tutors represent The Open University on national and local strategic groups, provide academic leadership and line manage Module Tutors and Practice Tutors who provide academic and pastoral support to OU students. The post includes responsibility for working in partnership with employers to support recruitment and selection to professional programmes and for the operational management of practice learning relating to the School’s portfolio of qualifications.  Applicants should therefore, have relevant qualifications and experience. The postholder will be part of a team based in Wales and may be required to travel across the country and occasionally to Milton Keynes and other parts of the UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the effective management of professional qualifications and work strategically with agencies, employers and regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with external and internal regulatory requirements.
• Promote The OU’s professional programmes and other qualifications to sponsors, employers and other stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and partner organisations in the recruitment and selection of students for entry to the professional programmes and other qualifications.
• Provide operational support for the professional programmes and associated health and social care modules by line management of Module Tutors and Practice Tutors and ensuring the quality assurance of all learning.
• Contribute to the recruitment, management, support and staff development of Module Tutors and Practice Tutors in partnership with Associate Lecturer Services, having regard to the importance of high-quality provision.
• Organise appropriate tutorial provision and processes and undertake quality assurance of correspondence tuition, face-to-face tuition, online tuition and practice assessment.
• Contribute to the development and presentation of distance learning modules and qualifications and advise the School on the content and teaching strategies of modules and qualifications in the light of feedback from all Associate Lecturers and students.
• In line with the Four Nations strategy of the University work with colleagues in the School and the wider Faculty to ensure awareness of the policy and legislative context. 
• Assist module and qualification teams in monitoring, grading and ensuring the quality of feedback on student assignments and practice portfolios assessed by Module Tutors and Practice Tutors.
• Develop and implement a personal research and scholarship plan congruent with the School and Faculty’s Research and Scholarship and knowledge exchange Strategy.
• Represent the School, Faculty and The OU at strategic local and relevant external committees and groups; working with partners across the Independent and Statutory sector, other Universities and relevant Government.
• Undertake other duties as required.

About You

Essential:

• A good first degree (upper second or higher) or a Post-Graduate qualification in a subject area of relevance to nursing, health and/or social care;
• A professional qualification in a relevant professional background; 
• Current registration with the relevant professional body;
• Experience of supporting practice learning;

• A sound knowledge and understanding of professional education, including the standards and regulatory requirements for professional programmes;
• A knowledge and understanding of current issues in health and/or social care;
• Experience of teaching and practice education;
• Experience of working autonomously; to meet deadlines, to prioritise tasks, and solve complex problems in a sensitive and constructive way;
• Experience of using information technology (IT) for communication and teaching purposes and to access and use data to support module and qualification delivery;
• Demonstrable ability to support the professional development of Module Tutors and Practice Tutors;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, including an ability to express ideas clearly both orally and in writing;
• A sound understanding of the needs of adult learners;
• An ability to promote HWSC learning provision to individuals and corporate customers and to develop and support local partnerships;
• Ability to carry out the role in a way that is consistent with equality legislation and University policies;
• Experience of teaching adult learners, particularly in the context of distance learning;
• Experience of line managing people;
• Experience of effective leadership, with the ability to communicate vision, strategy and to develop others;
• Experience of employer engagement in the health, social care or allied professional care sector;
• A commitment to continuing personal development and updating in the relevant field;
• Ability to teach and support students fairly and respectfully in line with University policies;
• A commitment to promoting quality services to students, in particular through the academic management and appropriate staff development of Module Tutors and Practice Tutors and evaluation of learning provision;
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational, team working and communication skills, including an ability to express ideas clearly both orally and in writing;
• An ability to work effectively across organisational boundaries and to collaborate with others across the sector;
• An ability to work on your own initiative and as an effective member of a team;

• An ability and willingness to undertake regular travel and to work flexibly including some evenings and weekends.

Desirable: 

• A higher degree and potential to develop a research and scholarship profile;
• The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh;
• Experience of work-based learning;
• A record of research and scholarly activity related to the nursing, health, social care and/or allied professions;
• A commitment to collaborative working across organisational boundaries.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Working Location: It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Cardiff Office, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. Full-time working based from our Cardiff site is also supported if this is preferred by the candidate.  Expenses associated with travel to our Cardiff site are not reimbursable.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interview dates are still to be confirmed. 

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit the following documents:

• CV
• A Supporting Statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for this role as detailed above.

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.