Course Leader - Advanced Painting

About The Essential School of Painting

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 atelier-scale model of art education founded on sustained studio practice, intensive individual tuition and the belief that painters develop through rigorous making and critical conversation. At its heart is our two-year Advanced Painting Course, an intensive postgraduate programme in which every painter has their own dedicated studio and is taught by practising artists with significant exhibiting careers. It is, in short, a place where painters teach painters.

About the Role

We are seeking an outstanding practising painter and educator to lead our Advanced Painting Course - a part-time appointment of two and a half days a week (the half day for administration and preparation), across a 30-week academic year. Working closely with the Artistic Director, the Course Leader shapes the intellectual and creative life of the programme, fostering a culture of generosity, critical enquiry, experimentation and excellence.

This is a leadership appointment, not a teaching-hours post. You will hold the artistic vision of a rare, studio-based postgraduate programme - guiding a community of committed painters, coordinating a team of practising artist-tutors, and shaping the public life of the course - while continuing to sustain your own practice. The successful candidate will combine an established exhibiting career with a genuine commitment to mentoring artists at an advanced stage of their development.

What we offer

The rare chance to lead an atelier-scale postgraduate painting programme while sustaining your own practice. A close, studio-based community of committed painters, each with their own dedicated studio. A fortnightly visiting-artist programme and a wider network across contemporary painting. The support of the Artistic Director and a distinguished team of practising artist-tutors. A role of real influence in one of the UK's most distinctive independent painting schools.

The role in practice

Working in consultation with the Artistic Director, the Course Leader will:

• lead the day-to-day artistic and academic delivery of the Advanced Painting Course, and deliver regular one-to-one tutorials offering rigorous, constructive feedback
• support each painter in developing an independent practice rather than directing them towards a particular aesthetic, fostering a generous studio culture of experimentation and dialogue
• coordinate the team of visiting tutors and prepare timetables so every student receives regular individual tuition
• source, invite and host a fortnightly programme of visiting artists, critics and curators, and plan and deliver seminars and practical workshops across the year
• oversee interim presentations and the annual graduate exhibition, and support students in the professional presentation of their work
• contribute to the School's public profile as an enthusiastic ambassador, and undertake the programme planning and administration the role requires.

You will be:

An established painter with a significant exhibiting profile, including solo and group exhibitions; an experienced educator, preferably with teaching experience in Higher Education or postgraduate art education; able to teach and mentor across a wide range of painting practices without imposing your own artistic language; deeply engaged with contemporary art, painting and current critical debates, and equally committed to material practice and conceptual enquiry; generous and collegiate, with the temperament and pastoral judgement to support a diverse cohort inclusively, including students with disabilities or additional needs; an excellent communicator, highly organised, and comfortable representing the School publicly; able to commit to the academic-year pattern and to be in post for the start of the year.

Desirable traits:

Experience leading or coordinating a postgraduate programme; a broad professional network within contemporary art; experience organising exhibitions, artist talks or public programmes; and experience mentoring artists at MA level or beyond.

How to Apply

Applications are made through the online form on our website:

You will be asked for a CV including your full 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 (not contacted before the interview stage without your consent).

Closing date:

Monday 24 August 2026, 23:59hrs

Interviews:

Week commencing 7 September 2026.

Inclusion

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.