Lecturer (Quantity Surveying)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with some flexibility in start/finish times.

Organisation structure

Education and Students, School of Construction, Surveying, and Engineering.

Your line manager will be Nicola Allen (Head of School of Construction, Surveying and Engineering).

Place of work flexibility

You will normally spend your total working time at home*, which must be within the UK. You may, on occasions, be expected to attend the Horizons, Reading office to attend meetings or training events. This will total a minimum of six visits per year and dates will be notified to you in advance. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable – please see the ‘Working from home’ section on our Careers Site for further information.

High level summary of job role

This role provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to the delivery and development of high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within a specialist higher education environment. You will play a key role in supporting student success, enhancing the student experience, and ensuring that teaching remains current, industry-informed, and professionally relevant. You will provide high-quality learning, teaching, and assessment for students, contributing to an excellent student experience and ensuring successful outcomes.

The role is ideally suited to a Quantity Surveying professional or academic who is passionate about education, committed to student engagement, and eager to contribute to the future development of the profession.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

Teaching, learning and assessment

• Deliver high-quality teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate Quantity Surveying programmes.

• Act as a Module Leader and/or Module Tutor as required.

• Develop, review and update learning materials to ensure alignment with current industry practice and professional body requirements.

• Design and deliver engaging learning activities using a range of online and blended learning approaches.

• Set, moderate and mark assessments in accordance with University regulations.

• Provide timely and constructive feedback to support student achievement and progression.

• Participate in module reviews and contribute to curriculum enhancement activities.

• Maintain accurate student records and monitor engagement and performance.

• Engage in scholarship activities to ensure subject knowledge remains current and contemporary.

Student support and engagement

• Foster a supportive, inclusive and student-centred learning environment.

• Support student retention, progression and achievement through proactive engagement.

• Respond promptly to student enquiries and provide academic guidance.

• Contribute to programme-level activities including induction events, webinars, and student engagement initiatives.

• Work collaboratively with Student Support and other University operations teams to enhance the learner experience.

Programme development & industry engagement

• Contribute to the development, validation and enhancement of modules and programmes.

• Support programme accreditation and re-accreditation activities with relevant professional bodies.

• Engage with employers and industry stakeholders to ensure curriculum relevance and employability outcomes.

• Participate in recruitment, marketing and outreach activities, including open days, applicant events and employer engagement initiatives.

• Support the development of industry partnerships and professional networks.

Quality assurance & enhancement

• Ensure compliance with University quality assurance policies, procedures and academic standards.

• Contribute to programme monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement activities.

• Participate in internal and external review processes.

• Support responses to external examiner feedback and quality enhancement initiatives.

• Engage with student feedback mechanisms and contribute to action planning and enhancement activities.

Research, scholarship & professional practice

• Maintain professional and subject expertise through continuing professional development (CPD).

• Engage in scholarly activity and pedagogic innovation.

• Contribute to research activity, publications, conference presentations and knowledge exchange where appropriate.

• Support the University's research ambitions, including contributions towards REF-related activities.

• Develop links between academic delivery, research, and current industry practice.

Additional Duties

• Attend and contribute to departmental, programme and University meetings.

• Participate in assessment boards, examination committees and other academic governance activities.

• Support institutional initiatives and projects as required.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Teams across the University, Academic teams, colleagues across the Schools, Students, Academic Operations team.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of safer recruitment and onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure unless specified otherwise), and three years employment history. This is all part of our commitment to safeguarding our students. Keeping our students safe is a responsibility shared by everyone within the University.

Qualifications and training

Professional teaching qualification such as Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) or willingness to study for this qualification (E, A).

Degree level qualification in Quantity Surveying or Commercial Management Surveying (E, A).

Full membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Chartered Association of Building Engineers (MCABE) or Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB) (E, A).

Teaching qualification and/or HEA fellowship (newly appointed lecturers who do not hold this will be required to achieve this within 3 years of appointment) (E, A).

Previous experience

Relevant industry experience in the role of a built environment practitioner or established research/CPD or tutoring record to be able to deliver education in Quantity Surveying and related subjects, within the context of current and emerging digital and data environments (E, A, I).

Experience in the management of modules or equivalent continuing professional development, including familiarity with the administration of relevant quality assurance procedures and practice (D, I).

Teaching experience and/or ability to effectively communicate and deliver teaching in a variety of modes through the ongoing development of innovative teaching methods (D, I).

Technology Enhanced Learning/online learning and development in Higher Education (D. I).

Knowledge and experience of international construction practices and standards, including experience in the United States (D, A, I).

Behaviours and attitudes

Alignment to the University’s core values and growth mindset approach, which reflect our culture. Refer to the specific behaviours within the Competency Framework (E, I) – summarised within the careers site.

Skills, knowledge, other requirements

Understanding of current developments in Quantity Surveying and Built Environment practice or Education (E, A, I).

Familiarity with the requirements of professional bodies, practice and potential employers (E, A, I).

Ability to produce innovative module material to enthuse students and to integrate your specialist subject area holistically within the teaching of the wider discipline (E, A, I).

Ability to work effectively as part of a team, both communicating and collaborating with colleagues (E, A, I).

Strong and effective all-round communication skills, including presentation skills, with an ability to communicate with people of all ages and levels (E, A, I).

Strong commitment to student success, equality, diversity, inclusion, and widening participation, fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment for all learners (E, A, I).

Demonstratable resilience, flexibility, and strong organisational skills, embracing continuous professional development and striving for excellence in teaching, learning, and assessment (E, A, I).

Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students regardless of your area of work within the University; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed. The University is regulated by the Office for Students and Ofsted, and we have specific requirements and expectations around safeguarding, Prevent, and anti-harassment and bullying. This is all part of our Competency Framework requirements (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Salary range from £39,000 to £47,000 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the Universities Superannuation Scheme which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.

• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.

• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Nicola Allen (Head of School Construction, Surveying and Engineering) on email [email protected]. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email [email protected]

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Initial interviews are scheduled for Wednesday 28th October 2026 Thursday 29th October 2026. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.