St John’s College seeks to appoint an experienced Head of Human Resources to provide strategic and operational leadership of the College’s HR function. The role will ensure the delivery of a high-quality, efficient and compliant HR service that supports the College’s academic mission, operational priorities, and people strategy.
The postholder will lead the implementation of the people strategy, embedding operational excellence, best practice and continuous improvement across all HR activities. The post-holder will act as a trusted advisor on academic and professional staff matters, ensuring a consistent and efficient approach to people management, policy development, organisational development, employee relations and change management.
The position offers an exciting opportunity to develop and deliver an excellent operational HR service and support the achievement of the College’s overall strategic aims through the successful implementation of the people strategy.
You will need to have a recognised HR qualification (ideally CIPD Level 7) or be able to demonstrate equivalent professional experience. Experience working with HR information systems is essential.
ABOUT THE POST
The Head of HR leads on all People related activities at the College and will be responsible for the implementation of our People Strategy which includes training and development, recruitment, enhancing performance, empowering and supporting people, and policy development. We are looking for an experienced HR professional who is equally happy and able to contribute on operational and strategic HR matters.
The post holder will report to the Finance Bursar on operational matters, and to the Principal Bursar on strategic HR matters. There is a “dotted line” to the Senior Tutor for academic staff matters and the postholders will work closely with other senior members of the Bursary leadership team. The HR team includes an HR Advisor, a HR Officer and a HR apprentice so previous experience of leading and motivating a team is essential.
We are looking for an individual with a pragmatic approach who is able to offer solution-oriented HR advice and show empathy and discretion in handling sensitive personnel matters and managing conflict situations. Previous experience in higher education is not essential, but it is important for the post holder to support the goals and ideals of the College’s role in fostering excellence in education and research in a vibrant and socially diverse community. Equality of opportunity and increasing the diversity of its staff profile are amongst the College’s aims, and the appointed person will need to show an interest in working with the President, the Fellow for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and other senior staff to champion and pursue new initiatives in this area.
Experience of working with HR information systems is essential as the College is currently modernising its processes, and the post holder is expected to contribute to these developments.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Salary: The salary will be in the range of £60k-£70k per annum depending on experience, inclusive of the Oxford Weighting Allowance (currently £1,730 per annum)
Hours of work: This is a full-time post at 35 hours per week. Normal hours of work are 8:30am – 4:30pm, with one unpaid hour for lunch. Some flexibility will be required according to the needs of the College. The College has a hybrid working policy which allows for one day to be worked from home in term-time, and two days outside of term-time.
Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days, including five days which are to be taken during the Christmas break when there is a fixed closure period, plus 8 statutory bank holidays. Bank holidays that fall within term-time may need to be worked. If this is the case, a day of paid holiday in lieu of each such day worked will be given. The holiday year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
Pension: The post is pensionable under the contributable Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
Meals: The post holder is entitled to free lunches in Hall and up to two lunches per week in the Senior Common Room on days they are working at the College site (except when the kitchens are closed).
Probationary and notice periods: The appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a 6-months probationary period, during which the notice period will be one month on either side. Once the appointment has been confirmed, the notice period on either side will be three months
The appointment is subject to the provision of an original document verifying the applicant’s right to work in the UK.
APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE
Applications consisting of a covering letter explaining your suitability for the post and a full CV should be sent by email to vacancies@sjc.ox.ac.uk.
Further particulars can be downloaded here:
Applicants are requested to complete our voluntary
Please provide the names, addresses and telephone number of two referees. Referees should be people who have direct experience of your work through working closely with you for a considerable period, and at least one of them should be your formal line manager in your most recent job. References will not be taken up before the interview stage.
Deadline for applications is noon on Monday 23 February 2026
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
First Stage interviews will be held on Wednesday 25th February and Thursday 26th February.
Second Stage interviews will be held Wednesday 4th March.
Data protection
All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post, and will be held in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act, General Data Protection Legislation and the College’s Data Protection Policy and recruitment monitoring process.
Equality of Opportunity
St John’s College is committed to providing equality of opportunity and avoiding unlawful discrimination. The policy and practice of the College requires that all staff are afforded equal opportunities within employment and that entry into employment with the College and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration. Subject to statutory provisions, no applicant or member of staff will be treated less favourably than another because of his or her sex, marital status, sexual orientation, racial group, age or disability.