# jobs.ac.uk Scraper (`snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper`) Actor

Type in a few keywords, the same ones you would put into the jobs.ac.uk search box, and you get back one row per job listing. Each row has the title, employer, department, location, salary, datePlaced and closingDate, plus a stable id and the canonical url of the advert.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Snappy](https://apify.com/snappytools) (community)
- **Categories:** Jobs, SEO tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## jobs.ac.uk Scraper – academic and research job listings export

Type in a few keywords, the same ones you would put into the jobs.ac.uk search box, and you get back one row per job listing. Each row has the `title`, `employer`, `department`, `location`, `salary`, `datePlaced` and `closingDate`, plus a stable `id` and the canonical `url` of the advert.

jobs.ac.uk is the main job board for UK universities and research institutes. If you track lectureships, postdocs or professional services roles, you get a clean table instead of copying adverts by hand.

You can schedule it to run daily or weekly with the same keywords and compare runs by `id` to spot new listings.

### Why this one

- **Clean, consistent fields.** Every row uses the same field names, so filters and spreadsheets keep working between runs.
- **Dates you can sort.** Placed and closing dates come back as ISO dates (`2001-10-30`) alongside the text shown on the site (`30 Oct`).
- **Stable IDs.** The `id` is the jobs.ac.uk advert code (for example `DTM067`), so you can de-duplicate across runs.
- **Bounded runs.** You set **Max results** and **Max pages**, so a run never runs away from you.
- **Public pages only.** It reads the public search pages, with no login and no account needed.
- **Cheap.** $1.50 per 1,000 results, and runs with no results cost nothing.

### Quick start

```json
{
  "keywords": "physics",
  "maxItems": 5,
  "maxPages": 1
}
```

This returns up to 5 jobs.ac.uk listings matching "physics", one row per advert. In a test run on 6 Nov 2026 it returned 5 rows.

### What you can use it for

| Who | What for |
|---|---|
| Academic recruiters | Track which universities are hiring in a discipline each week |
| Researchers and postdocs | Get a sortable list of roles with closing dates so you don't miss a deadline |
| HR and workforce analysts | Compare salary bands across institutions for similar roles |
| Careers services | Send students a weekly digest of new research roles in their field |

### How to use it

1. Click **Try for free**.
2. In **Keywords**, type what you are looking for, for example `physics` or `lecturer history`.
3. Set **Max results** (1 to 1000), for example `100`, to cap how many listings you save.
4. Set **Max pages** (1 to 40), for example `4`. Each page holds up to 25 listings.
5. Click **Start**.

Tip: save the input as a task and add it to **Schedules** to get a fresh list every morning.

### What data you get

Each dataset row is one job advert with these fields.

| Field | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `id` | jobs.ac.uk advert code | `DTM067` |
| `url` | Canonical link to the advert | `https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTM067/lecturer-physics` |
| `title` | Job title | `Lecturer - Physics` |
| `employer` | Hiring institution | `HRUC` |
| `department` | Department, when shown | `Leeds International Study Centre` |
| `location` | Where the job is based | `Twickenham` |
| `salary` | Salary text as published | `£33,429 to £46,618` |
| `datePlaced` | Date the advert went up (ISO) | `2001-10-30` |
| `datePlacedText` | Date placed as shown on the site | `30 Oct` |
| `closingDate` | Closing date (ISO) | `2001-11-15` |
| `closingDateText` | Closing date as shown on the site | `15 Nov` |
| `searchKeywords` | The keywords that found this row | `physics` |
| `scrapedAt` | When the row was collected (ISO timestamp) | `2026-11-06T02:55:36.050Z` |

Fields the advert doesn't show are left as `null`.

### Pricing

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Result (one job listing saved to the dataset) | $0.0015 |

There is no start fee, and runs with no results cost nothing.

| Run | Cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.15 |
| 1,000 results | $1.50 |
| 10,000 results | $15.00 |

### Good to know

- **Limits.** Up to 1,000 results and 40 pages per run, with up to 25 listings per page.
- **Where the data comes from.** The public search result pages on jobs.ac.uk. Nothing behind a login is touched.
- **What is not included.** Full advert descriptions, attached documents and contact details. Open the `url` for the full advert.
- **Freshness.** You get what the site shows at the moment of the run. Listings disappear once they close.
- **Empty fields.** `department`, `closingDate` and `closingDateText` are `null` when an advert doesn't show them.
- **Not affiliated.** This tool isn't affiliated with or endorsed by jobs.ac.uk or its owners.

### FAQ

**Can I get only new jobs?**
Schedule the same input and compare the `id` field against your previous run.

**Why is salary sometimes text like "Up to £39,605.58"?**
Salary is copied as the employer published it, so the format varies.

**Do I need an account or API key?**
No. It only reads public pages.

### Getting the data out

Download results as Excel, CSV or JSON from the Output tab. Send them to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make or webhooks from the **Integrations** tab. Every run is also available through the Apify API, and you can run it on a timetable from **Schedules**.

### Questions or problems

Open an issue on the **Issues** tab and include the run link. I reply within one business day.

### Related tools

- [Public RSS Feed Monitor](https://apify.com/snappytools/rss-feed-monitor): watch public RSS feeds for new items
- [Workday Career Site Jobs Scraper](https://apify.com/snappytools/workday-jobs-monitor): export jobs from Workday career sites
- [Hacker News Search and Who-is-Hiring Extractor](https://apify.com/snappytools/hackernews-algolia-scraper): search Hacker News and pull Who-is-Hiring posts

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `string`):

Search words you would type into the jobs.ac.uk search box, for example a discipline or job title.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of job listings to save in one run (1 to 1000).

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of search result pages to read (1 to 40). Each page holds up to 25 listings.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": "physics",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "maxPages": 1
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": "physics",
    "maxItems": 20,
    "maxPages": 1
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": "physics",
    "maxItems": 20,
    "maxPages": 1,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": "physics",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "maxPages": 1
}' |
apify call snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,snappytools/jobs-ac-uk-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/tpPEBWYEH8GoTJd1X/builds/MFoGik1ogulWMRqXQ/openapi.json