Associate Lecturer, Research Supervisor

Institute for Optimum Nutrition

Job title: Associate Lecturer, Research Supervisor

Modules: Research Project

Location: Homebased 

Contract term: Self-employed contract, hours as per schedule

Remuneration: £24.23 per hour

If you are passionate about education and nutrition and want to develop a generation of already qualified healthcare practitioners seeking to add nutrition to their practice, join the dedicated academic team at ION.

A period of accelerated growth and the launch of new years of of the BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy has created an excellent new opportunity for a research supervisor with expertise functional nutrition and nutritional therapy. 

Our fun, caring, dedicated, skilled and creative workforce is comprised of individuals drawn from a broad cross section of the globe, and who reflect a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences to build our global learning community. We create a unique fusion of education, research, and professional practice to inspire our students.  Join us now and be part of building our learning community.

The BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy and its associated degree top-up is currently offered part-time over 4.5 years, with online with synchronous weekly sessions, and with a single September and February intakes.

We are now looking to recruit 2 Research Supervisors to join our team in September 2026!

Research Supervisors support students through their undergraduate research journey. The research supervisor will act as a mentor, source of information and facilitator to students as they progress through planning and undertaking a research project.

Estimated Workload:

Supervisors are expected to take a minimum of three students per semester. Supervisors may elect to take up to eight students per semester, though the actual number of students each supervisor takes is determined by student numbers; this is typically around four students per semester. ION has two semesters per year (autumn/winter and spring/summer).

Each student is allocated 10 hr of supervisor time (5 hr for supervision sessions and 5 hr for emails and reading drafts). Supervisors also mark their students’ dissertations, so the total supervisor time per student is 14.5 hr. In addition, supervisors are required to attend team meetings and undertake training which are around 3 hr per semester. So, the average workload for a supervisor taking four students per semester would be around 61 hrs. Note that this figure is provided as a guide only, and not a guarantee of working hours.

You will come with:

• A MSc or PhD in a nutrition-related subject (e.g. nutritional therapy, nutritional science, dietetics, food science) or PhD in a related subject (e.g. medicine, nursing, sports science, psychology, biostatistics, sleep science)
• Teaching or training experience in higher education
• Previous experience supervising research projects
• Organisational skills
• Professional body membership/registration (a mandatory requirement for clinical modules only)
• And be self-directed and able to contribute to the team

We offer:

• Supportive environment
• Flexible approach to home working
  
• Free access to CPD
• Employee assistance programme for you and your family
• A fun working environment with socials throughout the year

For the Job Description and more role details CLICK HERE

Recruitment timeline:

Role commences September 2026

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) is one of the UK’s longest established, independent higher education institutions offering degree and post-graduate courses in functional nutrition and nutritional therapy.

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) is an independent educational charity, registered company number 2724405, registered charity number 1013084.  We are committed to and champion equality and diversity in all aspects of employment.  All staff are expected to understand and promote equality and diversity in the course of their work. 

We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME), male, and LGBT+ candidates, as they are currently under-represented on our Board.  Appointments are made on merit.