Associate Professor: English Literature P001060 at North West University

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

• Academic position at Associate Professor level in the Department of English, School of Languages. The incumbent will be expected to be involved in the Teaching and Learning of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, participate in Research activities as well as Community Engagement activities within the Faculty of Humanities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Teaching and learning:

• Teach English Literature modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These include early modern literature, 19th century literature, literary theories, African literature and contemporary literature.
• Team teaching, student evaluations, assignments, tests and examinations, supervision of postgraduate studies.
• Be able to teach different genres of literature (poetry, drama, fiction and film) at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Complete related administrative tasks, such as submitting marks and monitoring student progress.
• Set tests and examinations, as well as mark assessments.
• Hold office hours for consultations with students.
• Attend meetings (with the subject group, teaching team, and/or module tutors).
• Act as module convenor across the three NWU sites.
• Supervise postgraduate students.
• Moderate assessments internally.
• Manage records by maintaining module files for Internal and/or External Programme Evaluation.
• Have a good knowledge of African, world and contemporary literatures of the Global South.

Research and innovation outputs:

• Contribute towards the research output of the School of Languages.
• Present at national and international conferences.
• Publish in accredited journals

Social responsiveness:

• Be involved in relevant community engagement projects.

Occupational health and safety (OHS):

• Cooperate with management, OHS officials and colleagues to help everyone meet the legal requirements, whilst upholding and maintaining general occupational health and safety standards and practices.

Management and university service:

• Fulfil management tasks and duties in service of the university as they arise (for example, subject chair responsibilities, serving on a Faculty Board or committee).
• Demonstrate good organisational and administrative skills.

Minimum requirements

• A PhD (NQF level 10) in English Literature and/or Literary Studies.
• A minimum of five (5) years’ work experience and proven track record of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at university.
• A minimum of five (5) years’ teaching experience in the different genres of Literature (Poetry, Drama, Fiction and Film) as well as varieties of Literature i.e. 19th Century literature, Literary Theory, Contemporary literature, African literature.
• Active involvement in research, as evidenced by a number of publications in accredited journals commensurate with the level of an associate professor.
• Proven experience in the presentation of papers/posters at national and/ or international scholarly conferences.
• Applicant should be active in community engagement projects.
• Proven track record of supervising Masters and/or PhD students in Literature or related fields.

ADDED ADVANTAGES

• Membership of relevant subject-specific societies and organisations.
• Experience with curriculum design and/or module design.
• A minimum of 2 years leadership experience.

Apply by: 2 January 2026