Junior Dean for Welfare

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MERTON COLLEGE

JUNIOR DEAN FOR WELFARE

FURTHER PARTICULARS FOR CANDIDATES AND REFEREES

Job Title: Junior Dean for Welfare Location: Merton College Contract Type: Fixed term until 31 August 2026 Start date 15 September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter Remuneration: £7,084 per annum and accommodation Reporting to: Head of Welfare and Senior Welfare Adviser (operational line manager)

MERTON COLLEGE

Merton is one of the oldest and most beautiful colleges in Oxford, tucked away behind the High Street, with glorious views across Christ Church Meadows but within easy reach of other University buildings and the city centre.

We are a vibrant, diverse, inclusive community with a strong record of academic success. The College community currently comprises around 590 students (320 undergraduate and 270 graduate), alongside some 70 Fellows, 50 other academic staff, and over 100 members of support staff. More information about the College is available on our website:

JOB PURPOSE

The Junior Dean for Welfare assists in the provision of welfare support to Junior Members
(undergraduate and postgraduate students) of Merton College.

The Head of Welfare has overall responsibility for student welfare within the College. The Head of Welfare leads a Welfare Team which comprises a part-time College Nurse, a full-time Senior Welfare Adviser, a Welfare and Student Support Administrator and three Junior Deans for Welfare.

In addition, the Middle Common Room and Junior Common Room each elect two welfare representatives every year. These representatives, the Junior Common Room (JCR) and Middle Common Room (MCR) Presidents, and a number of other JCR representatives are trained as peer supporters. The College Doctors are Dr Leaver and Partners at the Jericho Health Centre.

A termly Welfare Forum, held over lunch, brings together JCR and MCR representatives, key College Officers and welfare team members, Merton link personnel in the Disability Advisory Service and Oxford University Counselling Service, and the College Doctors.

A full induction for the individual appointed will be provided.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

The Junior Dean for Welfare will need to develop a close working relationship with other post holders across the College and with all members of the Welfare Team. They will work particularly closely, on appropriate matters, with:

 The Deputy Principal of Postmasters (the Junior Dean for Discipline).  The Academic Registrar and Senior Tutor on academic-related matters.  The Head Porter and other College Porters.  College staff across a range of departments.  Junior Members’ welfare representatives.

DUTIES

1. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to live in College at least between the start of –1st Week (-2ndweek in Michaelmas term) and the end of 10thWeek of each term.
2. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be part of an on-call rota, available to provide an immediate response to urgent welfare concerns, particularly out of standard office hours (e.g. overnight and at weekends). Exact hours on-call will vary week to week. Whilst there is some flexibility in the2

on-call rota’s compilation, the Junior Dean for Welfare is required to have good availability throughout the full term.

3. During vacation periods (outside of –1st week to 10thweek ) the rota is organised so that one person is normally available during evenings/nights and weekends. They will be expected to live in College during these duty periods.

4. When on-call, the Junior Dean for Welfare must be contactable by phone (provided by College) and able to return to College within 20 minutes to respond to urgent welfare incidents and/or be a key point of contact in out-of-hours student emergencies.

5. When on-call, the Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to accompany students attending A&E where appropriate, e.g. in serious situations. The Junior Dean for Welfare will also be expected to assist the Head of Welfare, nurse and Senior Welfare Adviser in some day-to-day support of students, e.g. checking in on students or accompanying them to appointments if required.

6. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to get to know many College members personally and to be a visible, approachable presence in the community, promoting welfare and belonging. They will also be expected to act as first responder for urgent incidents and emergencies occurring out of hours when on duty, liaising with statutory services and/or other College members as appropriate. It is not intended that the Junior Dean for Welfare should develop long term pastoral relationships with students.

7. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to attend relevant meetings including Welfare team meetings, and the termly Welfare Forum. The post holder may be invited to attend other groups or committees for items of business concerning welfare issues.

8. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to provide support for welfare events in College. This includes contributing to events run by the Welfare Team in Freshers’ Week, and assisting the Welfare and Student Support Administrator and Senior Welfare Adviser in running welfare and wellbeing events at other times of year.

9. The Junior Dean for Welfare must produce timely, confidential written incident logs for incidents they attend , and contribute to the Head of Welfare’s annual welfare report to the Warden and Tutors' Committee.

10. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be expected to attend training and supervision relevant to their role, including but not limited to Junior Dean training provided by the Counselling service, College-delivered Junior Dean induction and training, First Aid training, Prevent and Safeguarding training.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Applicants should:

1. be engaged in academic study at Oxford University at postgraduate or postdoctoral level for the duration of the period in which this position is held. This is because it is expected that the postholder’s student experience is sufficiently recent to that of current students for the best performance of duties. Please note that postgraduates of other Oxford colleges do not migrate to Merton on taking up this appointment;
2. be able to relate professionally and informally to, and work co-operatively with, a wide range of people including colleagues and Junior Members of the College;
3. have excellent listening and interpersonal skills;
4. work effectively and constructively as part of a team;
5. demonstrate ability to work independently, take personal responsibility and possess the judgement to know how and when to take initiative and when to refer to others;
6. have a sound appreciation of the requirement for confidentiality allied with an awareness of the demands of the College’s duty of care;
7. have tact, sensitivity and discretion in responding to matters of a personal and sometimes challenging nature;3
8. be a visible, approachable and engaged member of the College community, and willing to proactively contribute to the student experience of Junior Members;
9. be able to demonstrate an interest in student welfare issues, and be committed to promoting a welcoming and inclusive College environment in which students feel well supported;
10. be highly reliable, and willing and able to have a high degree of flexibility and availability in discharging duties;
11. have had at least one year's experience of academic life in Oxford or Cambridge or of holding a comparable position elsewhere, by September 2025.

Prior experience of a welfare role will be an advantage.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. The Junior Dean for Welfare will receive a grant of £7,084 per annum.
2. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be entitled to free board. They may take all meals with the Junior Members in Hall free of charge when the kitchens are open. In addition, the post holder will have the right to two free lunches and two free dinners per week at the Common Table. 3. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be provided with free single accommodation with access to a shared kitchen.

1. The Junior Dean for Welfare will be appointed until 31 August 2026.
2. Employment is conditional upon satisfactory provision of proof of the right to work in the United Kingdom and a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check.
3. This post is compatible with the Education Committee’s guidelines on paid work by postgraduate students – see
4. Individuals engaged in postgraduate or postdoctoral level study at the University of Oxford are eligible to apply.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Those wishing to apply for this post should complete the online application form at and e mail the following as a single PDF document (in this order) to [email protected] in the named format ‘Last name First name Application’:

 a covering letter outlining their motivation for applying and how their skills and experience equip them to undertake it;  a curriculum vitae.

Please put your last name and Junior Dean for Welfare in the subject line of the email.

The closing date for applications is 9.00am on Tuesday, 26thAugust 2025. Late applications will not be accepted.

Candidates are encouraged to complete an Equal Opportunities Recruitment Monitoring form at the end of the Application form. The information collected on the equal opportunities recruitment monitoring form does not form part of the selection process and will not be circulated to the selection panel. It will be used solely to monitor the effectiveness of the College’s Single Equality Scheme which is published at

References Applicants should ask their referees to send references direct to the HR team at [email protected]. Applicants are responsible for requesting references from their referees and for ensuring that references arrive by 09:00 on the closing date of 26thAugust 2025. Applicants should therefore give referees enough time to write in their support. The College will not request references directly from referees.4

Applicants should ask referees to name their reference document with the applicant’s name in the format
‘Last Name First Name Junior Dean for Welfare Reference Last Name of Referee’. If the applicant is a registered graduate student, one of the referees must be the applicant’s University supervisor.

Applicants are also requested to inform their referees that, under the 1998 Data Protection Act, the references they provide will be regarded as disclosable to the subject of the reference unless marked
“strictly confidential”. This instruction must appear on the letter of reference itself and not just on the envelope in which the letter is contained. Referees should also be asked to note that even where a reference is marked “strictly confidential” it could still be disclosed to the subject of the reference if that subject so requested and the College’s Data Protection Officer deemed it appropriate.

The position may be discussed with the Head of Welfare, Helen Webster (email: [email protected])

It is anticipated that interviews will be held on 3rdSeptember 2025. The closing date for applications is 9:00am on Tuesday, 26th August 2025 and references should reach [email protected] by this date.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

This appointment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria related to the duties of the post. No applicant will be treated less favourably than another because of sex, marital status or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, racial group, disability, age, religion and beliefs, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.

The College is committed to improving employment opportunities for ethnic minorities. We therefore particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as well as other under-represented groups.

PRIVACY NOTICE

To view our Privacy notice please see here .

Merton College is an Equal Opportunities Employer.