Associate Professor and Subject Group Leader in Psychology

About the School

The School of Life, Sport & Social Sciences is recognised for the quality of the educational provision we offer, the employability of our graduates, our international reputation, and partnerships in specific research areas.

The School is based within Edinburgh Napier University’s £60 million Sighthill campus, which is situated in the West of Edinburgh.  The Psychology lab facilities are purpose-built and include a range of research spaces and equipment (e.g. SMI iViewX RED Eyetracker with mobile eyetracking glasses, NeuroScan SynAmps2 64 channel EEG, ViSage system from Cambridge Research Systems, and equipment for measuring physiological responses such as heart rate and GSR). 

Research staff and postgraduate students in the Psychology subject group are involved in a range of research areas covering:

• Applied Forensic Psychology (facial identification, memory for faces, facial composites and facial image comparison; aversive personalities and cross cultural differences in Forensic Psychology; eye-witness memory and identification of perpetrators; clinician decision-making in risk assessment. 


• Cognitive Psychology (how humans perceive, pay attention to and interact with their visual environment (e.g. when walking); visual search and movement behaviour and how it is influenced by age, attentional load and dyslexia; creativity and how it is affected by ageing and the cognitive processes involved). 


• Health Psychology (person-centred care; psychological interventions for improving patient outcome; deliberate weight gain; psychosocial impact of chronic illness and disability; and adjustment and coping. 


• Occupational Psychology (inter-professional working in a health care environment; professional identity).  Critical psychology (questions of ethics, politics, identity and discrimination).

About the Role

You will provide leadership to an enthusiastic team of 11 psychologists in the School running successful BPS accredited undergraduate programmes, an MSc in Applied Criminology and Forensic Psychology, and transnational programmes alongside conducting research that informs and improves the practice of the profession.  You will provide leadership to the academic provision across our programmes looking for new opportunities to expand activities in the areas of Forensic Psychology. 

Your main responsibilities will be to make a significant contribution to the development of a clear strategy for the Psychology subject group, taking into account research and professional practice. You will contribute to the University’s objective of growing our academic reputation for research-informed student learning. 

You will have an excellent track record of showing how your academic expertise in the area of Forensic Psychology impacts both research and the profession.  You will also have a successful track record in securing external funding. You will be required to lead and contributing to the Academic profile and external reach of the School, contributing to the production of high quality academic outputs.

You must be ambitious and enthusiastic about cross-disciplinary working and be committed to working collaboratively across the School and wider University.  You will be required to work independently and as part of a team, supporting others.

You will have excellent communication skills and effective interpersonal skills with the ability to listen, engage and inspire others. 

About you

You must have:

• A doctoral level qualification in a relevant discipline.


• Evidence of esteem, innovation & impact, contribution and academic leadership at a national or international level.


• Evidence of sustained academic research that is commensurate with the stage of your career alongside a commitment to sustained continuous professional/academic development.


• Demonstrable experience of leadership and mentoring others.


• Willingness to travel for overseas programme delivery.