Course Leader — Advanced Painting
| Job title | Course Leader — Advanced Painting |
| Location | ESOP Studios Wood Green London N22 |
| Salary | £47,000–£52,000 per annum (full-time equivalent), pro rata |
| Hours | Part Time – Two and a half days a week; two teaching days (9.30am – 5.30pm) plus a half-day for preparation and administration (at home or in school) across three terms of 10 weeks each making it a 30-week academic year, September to June |
| Contract type | Fixed-Term / Contract — academic year, renewable |
| Closing date | Monday 24 August 2026, 23:59 |
| Interview date | Week commencing 7 September 2026 |
The Essential School of Painting is one of London’s leading independent art schools dedicated exclusively to painting. For over twenty years we have offered an alternative model of art education — an atelier-scale environment founded on sustained studio practice, intensive individual tuition and the belief that painters develop through rigorous making, critical conversation and the confidence to discover their own artistic language. At its heart is our two-year Advanced Painting Course, an intensive postgraduate programme in which every painter has their own dedicated studio.
We are seeking an outstanding practising painter and educator to lead the Advanced Painting Course. Working closely with the Artistic Director, the Course Leader shapes the intellectual and creative life of the programme: leading individual tutorials, coordinating a team of visiting tutors, programming a lively public programme of visiting artists, delivering seminars and workshops, and overseeing the School’s interim and graduate exhibitions. It is a rare opportunity to lead a studio-based postgraduate painting programme while sustaining your own practice.
We are looking for someone who is
- an established painter with a significant exhibiting record, including solo and group exhibitions;
- an experienced and generous teacher, able to mentor across a wide range of painting practices without imposing their own;
- deeply engaged with contemporary painting, and equally committed to material practice and critical enquiry;
- warm, collegiate and attentive to the individual development of every student;
- well-organised, and comfortable representing the School publicly.
To apply
To complete the application form click apply now below.
- You will be asked for a CV including your exhibition history
- a link to your website, portfolio or images of recent work
- a short statement (up to 500 words) on your approach to teaching and mentoring painters and your interest in ESOP
- and the names of two referees.
Closing date: Monday 24 August 2026 at 23.59hrs
The Essential School of Painting is committed to an inclusive and supportive studio culture and warmly welcomes applications from painters of all backgrounds. Reasonable adjustments are available at every stage of the process.
Animus ad Creandum — The Courage to Create
