We're hiring!

The Student Learning Development team are looking for up to 15 GTAs to help our Effective Learning Advisers and Peer Learning Facilitator to run 1:1 appointments and drop-in classes for students in any subject across campus.

PhD students from any subject area are eligible to apply.
 
Who would you be teaching?
  • A range of undergrad and postgrad students from across your subject area
What would you be teaching?
  • Helping students with their academic writing, research, and study skills
  • Plenty of training, information, guidance, and details will be provided at every stage
When would you be teaching?
  • Flexible to suit your schedule
  • Each contract is for up to 100 hours per year
  • Minimum ~4h per week during term time

The Application System

Closing date: Mon 12 May

Important: read the 'Advice for your Application' guidance further down this page.

If you upload a CV without a cover letter which shows us how you fulfil each of the essential criteria for the post, you are unlikely to be offered an interview.

Effective Learning Advice team

Peer Learning team

Hear what previous GTAs in our department have to say about working with us

Advice for your application

Why work with SLD?

  • We're a large and friendly team!
    • 14 permanent staff and 30+ GTAs
    • You'll get access to a Teams Channel where you can learn about how a university teaching department operates behind the scenes
  • Range of tutoring experiences available, from 1:1 appointments, to drop-ins, to larger scheduled classes
  • Additional opportunities for personal career development
    • Training programme in teaching and tutoring
    • Shadowing opportunities with our permanent staff
    • Improve your digital skills experience, e.g. building Moodle lessons and quizzes
    • Design your own optional drop-in class(es)
    • Freedom to build and teach an elective module about your research topic of choice for Transition 2 Glasgow (T2G), our course for incoming undergraduates, just before semester starts each September (www.gla.ac.uk/t2g)
  • Work in the McMillan Reading Room - one of the best-looking buildings on campus...

The application system

The technical process of uploading your application has more than one step, so please don't leave it until the last minute.

You will see that the job description in the application system has 3 main parts:

  • Main Duties and Responsibilities of the role
  • Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience - 'the recruitment criteria'
  • Dimensions of the role

Read the full job description and make time to:

  • Register for an account with the application system
  • Include a cover letter with your CV
    • Let us know why you're interested in the role
    • Indicate your preference for maths and / or stats - you don't need to be able to do both
    • Let us know if you have experience with particular software packages or programming languages
  • Make sure your application explains how you meet each of the recruitment criteria mentioned in the job description

 

Showing us how you meet the essential criteria (don't just upload your standard CV)

The job description includes 'essential criteria'. This means that if you do not tell us that you have these essential skills, experiences and qualifications in your application, we are unable to offer you an interview.

Simply uploading your standard CV is unlikely to achieve this.

We are looking for candidates who will teach well, and who are interested and motivated by this particular role. Successful candidates will likely have:

  • written a cover letter to tell us briefly why they would like this job, not just any job
  • mentioned briefly how they meet each of the essential criteria from the job description

If you do not give us any evidence that you meet these essential criteria, we are not able to accept your application. When writing the job description, we have designated these criteria as 'essential' because we feel that they are crucial in order to carry out the role. After designating them as 'essential', it is therefore part of a fair, legal and transparent hiring process that we therefore cannot accept candidates who do not show us that they fulfil them.

Example excerpt from a cover letter

The following criteria come from a previous, different job advert.

Use these example responses here to help you think about structuring your own responses as part of your cover letter.

-----

Dear hiring committee

I am interested in this role because [insert reasons].

I feel that I am qualified for the post because I meet the essential criteria from the job description in the following ways.

Knowledge / Qualifications 

  • Essential: 
    • A1 – A first degree (in a subject relevant to College remit) 
      • I have a BSc (Hons) in [degree topic].
    • A2 – Knowledge and understanding of the current teaching, learning and assessment practice
      • I attended drop-in classes during my own degree on similar topics to the ones I would teach in this role. I have spoken to previous tutors about their experiences and the teacher training they received, and I understand how important it is for students to receive active practice in their subject while on their courses.
    • ...etc.
  • Desirable: 
    • B1 – PhD or relevant professional experience 
      • I am in the final stages of my PhD in [PhD topic]. 
    • B2 – Understanding of the role of technology in supporting student learning 
      • I have experience of using Moodle, Turnitin and EndNote Web, all or some of which the students in this subject area will likely encounter at some point in their careers, and the use of which I am keen and able to give advice on. I also subscribe to various technology blogs, which keeps me up-to-date with advancements in educational technology.
    • ...etc.

Skills

  • Essential:
    • C1 – Excellent communication skills, both written and oral 
      • I have presented to peers at various conferences, and I have tutored a high school student privately, all of which required me to be articulate and concise.
    • C2 – The organisational, planning and administrative ability to handle a range of projects and activities simultaneously, timeously, and effectively.  
      • I have managed my own time on my PhD at the same time as holding a part-time job. This has meant I needed to plan my experiments ahead of time and book equipment in advance, coordinating and communicating well with others in the team to avoid clashes.
    • ...etc.

-----

If you have any questions about this, contact Dr Scott Ramsay, Deputy Head of SLD, for a chat: scott.ramsay.2@glasgow.ac.uk