UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM
Job Title:
Teaching Associate in Mandarin Chinese
School/Department:
Language Centre (School of Cultures, Languages and Area
Studies)
Salary:
£28,695 – £37,394 per annum, pro rata, depending on skills
and experience. Salary progression beyond this scale is
subject to performance
Job Family and Level:
Research and Teaching, Level 4
Contract Status:
Permanent – available from 1st January 2016
Hours of Work:
full-time, 36.25 hours per week.
Location:
Trent Building, University Campus
Reporting to:
Oranna Speicher (Director of the Language Centre)
Purpose of the role:
Teaching Mandarin Chinese language and translation between Mandarin Chinese and
English. Associated administrative duties.
Main duties and responsibilities:

Teaching up to 18 hours per week (beginners to advanced level). Teaching hours are
from 9am to 6.15pm.

Module convener for Mandarin Chinese modules.

Help to develop and maintain course programme for Mandarin Chinese modules and
produce module information sheets and dossiers of study materials.

Produce written, oral, listening examinations and continuous assessment materials
and mark schemes for Mandarin Chinese language modules.

Produce written examinations, continuous assessment materials and mark schemes
for Mandarin Chinese translation modules.

Marking and second-marking oral, written and listening examinations for all teaching
groups, including resit papers.

Contribute to the further development of teaching (language and translation) and
learning resources, including technology enhanced learning and web-based provision.

Liaison with home department tutors of Language Centre students and with other
language teaching colleagues.

Liaison and collaboration with overseas campuses.

Enrolment of new students / dealing with student enquiries / advising on modules.

Attendance at Language Centre departmental, module information and exam board
meetings.

Any other duties, appropriate to the grade and role, that arise with respect to the
efficient running of the Language Centre.
This job description may be subject to revision following discussion with the person
appointed and forms part of the contract of employment.
Person Specification
Qualifications/
Education
Essential
Degree in Mandarin Chinese language
and translation or equivalent
qualification
Desirable
15 credits of a UK Postgraduate
Teaching Certificate or Educationrelated Masters.
Native or near native command of
Mandarin Chinese
Skills/Training
PGCE or equivalent teaching
qualification
Ability to deliver modules to
multicultural groups
Competent user of IT for teaching,
administration and material
development
Use of a range of teaching
methodologies
Experience
Proven track record in university
teaching and experience in convening
modules.
Experience in designing syllabi and
examinations from beginners to
advanced level for both language and
translation modules.
Experience in teaching translation
between Mandarin Chinese and English.
Experience in using e-learning tools for
pedagogic development.
Personal
Attribute
Good communicator
Effective communication skills in
English
Able to establish a good rapport with
Ability to teach Business Mandarin
Chinese.
Use of digital language laboratories
Use of a virtual learning environment
such as Moodle
Teaching on a higher education
institution-wide language programme
Submission of bids for funding for
language teaching projects
Experience of roles of responsibility
such as quality assurance and exams
procedures
Experience of translation and
interpreting
Experience in delivering cultural
training to a business audience
students
Adaptable and willing to work as a
team member
Excellent time management and
organisational skills
Able to take initiative
Other
Commitment to keep up to date with
developments and innovation in
Mandarin Chinese language teaching
and continued development of
language teaching pedagogy
School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
The City
Nottingham is an attractive city of some half a million inhabitants, centrally located and
with excellent access to all parts of the country and Europe. It has a varied and relatively
low-priced housing stock, good schools, high-quality shopping and sporting facilities, and
lively cultural activities (two theatres, an arts cinema, a number of cinema complexes
and a major concert hall). The City is close to the M1 and M42 motorways, providing
rapid access to London, the North, the West Midlands, the South West and South Wales.
There is a regular weekday train service to London with an average journey time of 1
hour 45 minutes. East Midlands Airport is only 20 minutes from the city by car and has
frequent flights to a wide range of European destinations, including Paris, Brussels,
Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam and Dublin. There are also frequent flights within the UK to
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. For other destinations, Birmingham Airport is less than
1 hour’s drive on the M42.
The University
The University of Nottingham moved to its present site to the west of the City in 1926
and obtained its Royal Charter in 1948. A second purpose-built campus, approximately
one mile from University Park, opened in Autumn 1999. In addition, the University has
two overseas campuses, one located in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, and the
second situated near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The University currently has a combined
undergraduate and postgraduate student population of almost 40,000, divided between
the Faculties of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, Education, Science, Engineering, Medicine
and Health Sciences. With its attractive campus and the location of all halls of residence
on the two campuses, the University has proved very popular with undergraduate
candidates. The University’s Graduate School, founded in 1994, acts as an umbrella for
the recruitment, training and well-being of a rapidly expanding postgraduate body. The
University is strongly committed to its position as a major teaching and research
university, and promotes a strong research ethos through the proactive Strategy Groups
of the University Research Committee, and through excellent study leave arrangements,
generous research and conference funding, and good IT and library facilities.
The Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts is divided into three budget-holding Schools: English; Humanities
(Archaeology, Classics, Music, Philosophy, Theology, History, Art History); Cultures,
Languages and Area Studies (American and Canadian Studies; Culture, Film and Media;
French; German; Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies; Russian and Slavonic
Studies; the Language Centre). The Faculty comprises around 4400 undergraduate and
670 postgraduate students, and an annual undergraduate intake of nearly 1350
students. The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts is Professor Jeremy Gregory.
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies began its life as a budgetary unit on
1 August 2011. Its current Head is Judith Still, Professor of French Studies. The Head of
School manages the School in close consultation with the School Manager and the heads
of its seven constituent departments. She is responsible for the global budget, including
salary costs, for the six departments, though annual operating budgets are devolved to
departments. She is also responsible for all staffing matters within the School, in
consultation with Heads of Department, who continue to oversee the teaching, research
and administrative functions of their respective departments.