If you're interested in applying for an academic post in the Faculty, the paragraphs below outline the special character of academic work in The Open University:
Research is conducted at The Open University in ways broadly similar to other universities. Time for research is safeguarded within the Terms and Conditions for academic staff. The duties allocated to academic staff are at the discretion of the Dean of the Faculty.
Opportunities for direct tutoring and lecturing are limited, though there is a contractual annual commitment for full-time staff to teach for two weeks at summer school (custom and practice is that this may be fulfilled through other equivalent student contact time). Nevertheless, a commitment to the aims of The Open University implies a commitment to teaching for an Open University lecturer, expressed in terms of the University's system of teaching-at-a-distance, by means of printed course material, DVDs and audio CDs, electronic conferencing, and some TV programmes. The University is at the forefront of the development of interactive teaching using new technologies.
The principal element of most courses is in written form, though written materials may be presented in print or on the web. Open University lecturers must therefore be able to write in a clear and accessible manner which involves no sacrifice of appropriate intellectual and scholarly standards.
Courses are collaboratively produced, and so the ability to work in a group, to accept constructive criticism of one's own draft material and to comment on the work of colleagues in the same spirit is essential.
The production of a course requires of its academic authors certain administrative and managerial responsibilities. Integration of course materials in different media has to be achieved within an annual University production plan which is shaped by fixed deadlines. In the present environment, research also involves the ability to produce high quality materials to deadlines. The ability to produce material to deadline, and generally to undertake relevant administrative duties, are thus necessary qualities in an Open University academic.