SPENCER-FAIREST TEACHING FELLOWSHIP IN LAW

FURTHER PARTICULARS

The Post

Selwyn College seeks to appoint an early career College Teaching Officer in Law. The stipend for the post is expected to be within points 38–40 on the University scale, currently £35475 - £37552. The tenure of the post will be from 1 October 2026, for a fixed period of five years. Preference will be given to candidates specialising in Land Law, Equity, Commercial Law, Civil (i.e. Roman) Law, EU Law, Constitutional Law or Administrative Law, and which are not within the teaching expertise of the existing Fellows. Candidates will be expected to be active in research in any area of Law and should be able to teach at least two of the courses within the Law Tripos for which regular supervisions are required. The principal requirement of the post will be to give supervisions for, or on behalf of, the College. It is expected that in addition the post-holder will maintain a strong academic profile through research and publication. The post will be subject to a probation period of twelve months.

Selwyn College

We are committed to equal opportunities and positively welcome applications from all sections and backgrounds of society as this helps us to maintain a diverse academic community and foster an environment that is truly dynamic and engaging for all.

The College is a relatively young institution by Cambridge standards and is located at the heart of the modern University, directly adjacent to the University’s main Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences site on Sidgwick Avenue. That includes the Faculty of Law and the Squire Law Library. Further details of the College on our website at www.sel.cam.ac.uk .

The College prides itself on its academic focus, its supportive ethos, and on providing a friendly environment in which all the members of its scholarly community can thrive. The sense of community amongst the sixty plus Fellows, over two hundred postgraduate students and some three hundred and fifty undergraduates is fostered by the concentration of the College on a single site. We are a vibrant, ambitious, supportive and progressive community that was one of the first Cambridge Colleges to espouse co-education and that maintains a firm commitment to diversity.

Law at Selwyn

Selwyn normally admits between six and nine students per year to study for a B.A. degree in Law (the Law Tripos) as well as LLM and doctoral students. In addition, some undergraduates may change to Law from other courses in their second or third year of study. We pride ourselves on a strong record of performance by our Law students. As well as being stimulating to teach and going on to a wide variety of academic and legal positions, they have recently made us one of the top performing College in terms of examination results. This reflects the stimulating and supportive ethos that those teaching the subject have fostered, as well as the strong ability of the students.

Lectures and classes are organised by the Faculty. The fortnightly supervisions are the responsibility of the College. Undergraduates reading Law receive on average two supervisions a week during Term, in groups of three or four. Supervisions are designed to supplement the teaching provided by the Faculty and revolve around written assignments marked by the supervisor and group discussion in the supervision. These supervisions will be at the heart of the duties of the person appointed. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake an average of 12 hours’ supervision per week for, or on behalf of, the College during the twenty teaching weeks in each academic year. The 240- hour stint is very likely to include supervision of students from other colleges, in order to secure, by mutually beneficial trade, supervision for Selwyn students in those areas of the subject that cannot be taught in-house.

The College currently employs three Fellows in Law: Professor Janet O’Sullivan, Dr Ernesto Vargas Weil and Mrs Sarah Fraser Butlin KC. Professor O’Sullivan, the College’s Vice Master, is a Professor of Private Law in the Faculty of Law; she supervises Tort and Contract (and lectures in those subjects, together with Advanced Obligations, in the Faculty). She is currently Director of Studies for the undergraduate Law students. Mrs Fraser Butlin splits her time between her College teaching duties in Criminal Law and Labour Law and her work as a Barrister (KC) at Cloisters Chambers. She also sits as a Recorder in the Crown Court. Dr Vargas Weil, the current Spencer-Fairest Fellow, specializes in Land Law and Equity, and is Director of Studies for the postgraduate Law students. Dr Vargas Weil is leaving us to return to his native Chile to take up a University position.

Information about the Law Faculty may be found at www.law.cam.ac.uk and details of the Tripos subjects at: https://www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/studying-law-cambridge/tripos-papers .

Additional Information

The initial placing in terms of salary will be determined by the candidate’s experience. Thereafter the stipend will be reviewed annually. The post is pensionable (USS). Any hours of supervision over and above the first 240 hours in any academic year will be remunerated at the standard rate. The sum payable to the successful candidate will be the surplus in the fees earned following the retention by the College of a sum equivalent to 240 hours of supervision given to a group of two students. An invitation to teach or examine for the Faculty would attract additional remuneration. Fellows are entitled to an entertainment allowance, a research and travel allowance and a computer loan. The successful candidate may well be asked, at some point during their tenure of the Fellowship, to take up one of a number of College offices such as pastoral Tutor or Director of Studies, for which separate remuneration would again be made.

Fellows are entitled to residential accommodation if they live alone. This accommodation is rentfree for an initial period of five years and then subject to a tapered transition to near market levels over a further five years. It is subject to a modest service charge. Fellows living out of College are allocated a teaching office. The College also has a small number of houses and flats that new Fellows may rent at a 50% discount to market rates for up to three years. The successful candidate will be a member of the Governing Body and will be entitled to the normal privileges of a Fellow, which include up to seven free meals a week at the High Table. Our sense of collegiality also derives from the participation of Fellows in other social events such as guest nights and various forms of student entertainment. Academic research, conference and travel expenses are eligible for reimbursement up to £1,200 per annum. Each Fellow is also entitled to an annual entertainment allowance of £425. The College offers an interest-free loan scheme of up to £1,000 to assist Fellows in buying their own computers and software.

The appointment will be subject to a formal contract of employment with Selwyn, with the first twelve months of the appointment constituting a probationary period. The successful applicant will also be appointed to a College Lectureship that will run concurrently. They will be expected to apply for any vacant Cambridge University post for which they are eligible under the terms of its advertisement and, as an early career scholar, it is anticipated that they will also apply for posts at other Universities.

The duties of the successful candidate will include assisting with the provision of training in legal research and study skills for the first-year undergraduates, and collaboration with the College's Tutors for Admissions and the other Fellows in Law in undergraduate admissions. This will involve participation in the evaluation of applicants to read Law at Selwyn, including interviewing applicants (mainly in December each year), considering applicants’ written work that forms part of their applications, and liaising with Directors of Studies in other colleges in December and during the Winter Pool in early January in order to ensure that the most promising applicants are offered places across the colleges. The duties will also include a role in helping the College to recruit applicants from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible. This will require attendance at the College’s various Open Days and involvement in outreach activities as well as a willingness to see potential candidates at other points during the year.

Method of Application

Applications should be made by 09:00 UK time on 19th June 2026 through the online system accessed using the link below and should include a curriculum vitae with details of qualifications, publications and experience, and listing the courses within the Law Tripos that the applicant could teach:

https://app.casc.cam.ac.uk/fas_live/selspencerfairest/

Candidates should also arrange for two confidential references to be submitted online by the same date.

Short-listed candidates may be asked to submit copies of written work. It is expected that interviews will be held in the week commencing 29th June 2026.

All Candidates should note that they are responsible for checking their eligibility to take up the post under current UK immigration regulations, and if shortlisted will be required to provide documentary evidence to support their right to reside and work in the UK.

Any questions relating to the appointment should be addressed in the first instance to the Master’s Assistant by email or calling +44 (0)1223 335890.