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Senior Tutor
Application Deadline: 23 June 2025
Department: College Office
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: Brasenose College
Reporting To: The Principal
Compensation: GBP 64,228 to GBP 74,191 per annum and College accommodation (if available) or a Housing Allowance of GBP 18,302 per annum.
Description
Brasenose College is seeking to appoint a new Senior Tutor to succeed Dr Simon Smith. The Senior Tutor is the academic lead for the College, responsible for undergraduate education, supporting the College's tutors, and thinking strategically about the College's position in the wider University and the changing landscape of higher education.
The College
Founded in 1509, Brasenose College is a thriving academic community, situated on Radcliffe Square at the heart of Oxford. One of the most successful colleges in Oxford University, Brasenose provides an academically rich and friendly environment and a strong and supportive community for students and staff alike. The College's beautiful historic buildings offer modern facilities and services, including a newly extended library and new student accommodation built to the highest environmental standards. Brasenose is an academically ambitious college with an outstanding record on schools access and outreach, encouraging the most promising applicants to apply and ensuring that they thrive as students and in their future careers. Brasenose was one of the first all-male colleges to admit women in 1974, and is proud to be an inclusive, diverse and welcoming community.
Brasenose is a self-governing institution and a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission. As stated in its Statutes: 'The object of the College is to advance education, learning, religion and research, for the public benefit, through the provision, support and conduct of a perpetual College in the University of Oxford.'
The College currently has 365 undergraduate students, 220 postgraduate students, 90 academic staff (of whom approximately 45 Fellows constitute the Governing Body), 30 associated academics and 120 non-academic staff. The College attracts undergraduates and postgraduates from a wide range of nations and backgrounds and provides a welcoming environment with a good balance between academic priorities, and cultural, sporting and social activities. The College sets great store by its friendly atmosphere and by its sense of inclusiveness as a community. The College values academic excellence and is concerned to promote high-quality teaching and research.
As part of Oxford University's collegiate structure, Brasenose seeks to retain its own distinctive identity and institutional autonomy whilst maintaining collaborative and constructive working relationships with the University's departments, faculties, divisions and central administration and other colleges.
Further information about the College, including its Statutes and By-Laws and annual Trustees' report and accounts, can be found at www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/official-information.
Brasenose Today
Brasenose is consistently one of the most popular colleges for undergraduate applications. A vigorous and successful outreach programme encourages the ablest students to apply for degree courses across medicine, humanities and the arts, physical and social sciences, regardless of social background, educational history or nationality. Around one-fifth of undergraduates are international students. The College aims to provide the best possible welfare support to enable students to thrive and achieve their full potential. Brasenose undergraduates have achieved a strong record of degree results, placing the College in a strong position within the collegiate University.
At postgraduate level, the College admits around 60 taught masters and 30 doctoral students each year. Approximately two-thirds are drawn from outside the UK. The College provides a welcoming social and intellectual community for graduate students with regular graduate dinners, featuring invited speakers, and regular evening discussions in which senior academics and graduates present their research together. Currently, just over 60% of graduates are funded either by the College or through partnerships. To ensure that Oxford can attract the most academically outstanding graduate students, the College is keen to increase its graduate funding.
Brasenose is a lively community with a busy programme of cultural, artistic and sporting events. A particular highlight is the annual Arts Week, a student-run festival of music, drama and the arts. The Frankland Visitor scheme ensures that we have a well-known artist, writer or director in residence each year. There is a thriving chapel choir and regular concerts with both Brasenose performers and invited guests, organised by the College's Director of Music. The College has a boat club and a sports ground, and there are opportunities for students to participate in sport at any level of ability. Student societies provide forums for debate and discussion, often with invited speakers, including alumni.
The College houses undergraduate students in main College site and in the Frewin Annexe, and nearly all undergraduates choose to live in College accommodation. The College currently has up to 90 rooms for postgraduates at its St Cross and Hollybush Row sites and has the ambition to offer more graduates the option of accommodation, to build a larger residential community.
With the generous help of donors, the College has developed its facilities substantially over the last few years, with new kitchens and improved communal dining spaces completed in 2012, a complete refurbishment and expansion of the library and archive in 2017, the refit and expansion of our main lecture room in 2019, and a new 30-room accommodation block in the Frewin Annexe in 2023. We are currently refurbishing the historic Frewin Hall to provide improved accommodation, new study and social spaces and to bring the building up to very high environmental standards. In addition to the expansion of postgraduate accommodation, the College's plans include improvements to existing student accommodation, environmental upgrades, conservation work on the Chapel ceiling, a new Porters' lodge and improved storage and access to our historically important rare book collection.
The College takes pride in Fellows' research, which ranges widely from astrophysics to zoology and from archaeology to zero-hours contracts. It operates a generous sabbatical leave scheme and, where possible, has enabled Tutorial Fellows to apply for prestigious grants. It also provides academics with funding to support their research. Brasenose offers a dedicated Fellowship scheme for both senior researchers and early career academics whose university posts are not attached to a college. The College also supports its lecturers, many of whom are post-doctoral researchers in the University, by providing access to research funds and an entitlement to sabbatical leave.
Brasenose's governance and financial structures are robust. The College reviews its governance regularly and in 2017 it made a commitment to an external review of governance every ten years. The first of these is planned for 2026-27. Although the College faces the same cost pressures as all organisations, the generous support provided by its alumni community and beyond have enabled it to plan ambitiously. Previous benefactions have built an endowment approaching GBP 200 million which funds about 40% of the College's ongoing operational activities.
More information about the College is available on its website at www.bnc.ox.ac.uk. The Statement of College values is available at:
https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/downloads/official_information/Brasenose_Colleg...
Further Particulars for the Post of Senior Tutor
The College is seeking to appoint an energetic and approachable Senior Tutor to replace Dr Simon Smith who is retiring. The new Senior Tutor will be wholeheartedly committed to recruiting students from all backgrounds and enabling them to fulfil their potential.
The Office of Senior Tutor
The Senior Tutor exercises overall responsibility for the education and student experience of undergraduates. The Senior Tutor is a member of Brasenose's senior management team directly responsible for the College's academic budget, student support budget, and administrative support budget. This is the College's academic operations. The Senior Tutor works closely with the office of the Tutor for Graduates, held by a Fellow on a fixed-term basis (usually three years), overseeing the student experience of full-time and part-time graduates. The Senior Tutor is responsible for co-ordinating strategic planning of all aspects of the College's academic activities and for the presentation of recommendations on policy to the Governing Body for decision.
Academic lead and strategic thinking
The Senior Tutor is responsible for co-ordinating strategic planning of all aspects of the College's academic activities and for the presentation of recommendations on policy to the Governing Body for decision. The Senior Tutor will work with the Tutor for Graduates, the Research Convenor, the Schools Liaison and Admissions teams, and the Tutorial and Research Fellows and College Lecturers to gain an overview of academic issues within the College. The Senior Tutor will work with Fellows and other members of academic staff to provide strategic direction in achieving the College's academic ambitions. The Senior Tutor will advocate for the College's interests within the University in academic matters. They should be well informed on financial, cultural and policy developments in higher education and across the university sector (including research) and will help the College to anticipate and respond to challenges and opportunities.
Tutors and Tutorial Teaching
Tutorial Fellows are responsible for arranging teaching in their subject areas. They are expected to deliver a large proportion of this teaching personally; the remainder is done by College Lecturers, Research Fellows, and other appropriate tutors, mostly from outside the College. The Senior Tutor will supervise the administrative arrangements for the appointment of College Lecturers and, in conjunction with the Principal, the election of Tutorial Fellows. Tutorial Fellows are typically appointed jointly by the College and the University, and the Senior Tutor will be responsible for overseeing appointment procedures and the College's obligations in probation and re-appointment.
The Senior Tutor coordinates with Departments, Faculties and Divisions to: attract leading academics from all backgrounds to apply for Tutorial Fellowships; work with Tutors and the HR team to fill College Lecturer positions with highly qualified academics; assist post-holders in developing their research and teaching; and contributes to the career development of teaching staff and overall academic retention.
The Senior Tutor will, in consultation with the Bursar, be responsible for administering and monitoring the College's teaching budget and the returns made by Tutorial Fellows, College Lecturers and others to record their College teaching. The Senior Tutor will also be responsible for collating student report forms and (in conjunction with Tutorial Fellows and Lecturers) for monitoring the academic progress of undergraduates. This includes holding termly meetings with individual students, together with the Principal and subject tutors. In conjunction with the Principal, the Senior Tutor will administer and monitor feedback from students on the tuition they receive. The Senior Tutor will be responsible for ensuring that the University's teaching database, the Teaching Management System (TMS), records the teaching provided by the College's staff and to the College's undergraduates and that the Bursary has the information needed to deal with payment for external tuition.
The Senior Tutor has a role in the rare case of any under-performance by lecturers (but not Tutorial Fellows).
The Senior Tutor will liaise with subject tutors in reviewing the academic progress of undergraduates and ensure that they are receiving appropriate guidance and support, and, when appropriate, will make recommendations to the College's Academic Oversight Committee. In cases of unsatisfactory progress by students in which disciplinary action is deemed to be appropriate, the Senior Tutor will gather such evidence and take such action as is laid down in the College's academic disciplinary procedures. The Senior Tutor is responsible for advising Governing Body and relevant committees on the appropriate policies for managing and supporting students' academic activities.
Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach
The Senior Tutor is responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the admissions procedures in College, although the selection of individual candidates is the responsibility of the Tutorial Fellows in their respective subjects. Subject Tutors are committed to ensuring that candidates are selected on the basis of ability and potential. In the case of appeals, the Senior Tutor will gather evidence and oversee the College's response to any questions or complaints.
The Senior Tutor and the Admissions and Schools Liaison teams work closely with the Tutorial Fellows in fostering and developing relations with schools. The College has an outstanding programme of school visits, access events, talks, tours and open days, and is proud of its record on outreach. The Senior Tutor must be committed to maintaining the College's strong performance in attracting high numbers of undergraduate applicants from diverse backgrounds and providing an excellent educational and pastoral experience. They will monitor the College's performance in relation to outreach targets and will develop access strategies in collaboration with Tutorial Fellows and the Schools Liaison team.
WelfareThe Senior Tutor plays a full part in welfare activities, in conjunction with the Fellow holding the post of Dean, who retains overall responsibility for student welfare and safeguarding. The Senior Tutor will work with Subject Tutors and Welfare Officers (including the Chaplain, Sub Dean and Fitness To Study Lead) to ensure undergraduates achieve their academic potential and receive appropriate support to help them do so.
The Senior Tutor provides a visible, accessible and friendly presence for students. The Senior Tutor's duties require personal contact with students and, sometimes, sensitive, empathetic and confidential liaison with Tutorial Fellows and other individuals with welfare responsibilities in the College (Dean, Chaplain, Equality Fellow, College Doctor and Nurse), and other members of staff and external agencies, including the University Counselling Service and Disability Advisory Service. They have a significant role in convening the business of Welfare Committee and act as the designated safeguarding lead for students under the age of 18 and the academic adjustments lead for disabled students. They are a member of the College's Health and Safety Committee and play an active role in promoting a safe environment for members of the College.
Graduate Students
The Senior Tutor plays a key role in supporting the College's graduate community in conjunction with the Fellow holding the post of Tutor for Graduates, who retains overall responsibility for their academic welfare. The Senior Tutor oversees the administrative arrangements for the admission of graduate students, the provision of College Advisors for graduates, elections to graduate scholarships, and the award of graduate grants towards the costs of research trips, attendance at academic conferences, etc. The actual teaching and supervision of graduate students typically lies with Faculties and Departments, not with the College, but individual Fellows are appointed to act as Advisers to graduate students.
Graduate meetings which monitor the progress of graduate students are conducted by the Principal and Tutor for Graduates. The Senior Tutor organizes the circulation to relevant individuals of supervisors' reports on graduate students, and takes such action as is appropriate in cases of examination failure or other difficulties.
Student supportThe Senior Tutor convenes the College's Disbursements Committee and oversees the student support budget, which is currently nearly GBP 1million. They are supported by the Finance Bursary and work with the Development Office to ensure that College's student support and discretionary support meets student academic needs and other areas identified as greatest need.
The Senior Tutor has some involvement in development matters but we do not fundraise from prospective students' families or from on-course students' families.
Research and Career DevelopmentAs part of their overall responsibility for the academic strategy and delivery of the College, the Senior Tutor works closely with the Principal, the Convenor of the Research Committee and with all the Tutors to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between the research commitments of the academics and the teaching needs of the students. The Senior Tutor compiles data on teaching hours and teaching stints, collaborating with Tutors to ensure that teaching and administrative loads are well distributed and managed. They collate and oversee the administration of applications for sabbatical leave, teaching buyouts and special leave, which are presented to Academic Committee. The Senior Tutor is available to Tutorial Fellows to discuss the balance between teaching, administration and research, and between University and College duties at different points in an academic career, working together to ensure that the College continues to support excellence in research as well as teaching.
College Office
The Senior Tutor is supported by the following team of full-time staff in the College Office:
- Academic Administrator
- Graduate Administrator
- Head of Access and Retention
- Admissions Officer
- Outreach and Schools Liaison Coordinator
- Academic Assistant
The College Office is currently organised into two complementary departments. Student registration, the organisation of teaching and graduation services are overseen by the Academic Administrator who reports to the Senior Tutor and line manages the Graduate Administrator, and Academic Assistant. The Academic Administrator is also involved with the Senior Tutor and Director of HR in academic personnel matters. Admissions and outreach work is overseen directly by the Senior Tutor and, as Tutor for Admissions, they line manage the Head of Access and Retention, Admissions Officer, and Outreach and Schools Liaison Coordinator.
College Committees and Governing BodyThe Senior Tutor will be elected an Official Fellow and member of the Governing Body. They will work closely with the Principal, Vice Principal, the Bursar, the Dean, the Tutorial Fellows and all teaching staff. As is the case with all Officers and Fellows, the Senior Tutor is subject to the overriding authority of the Governing Body. They convene and prepare business for the relevant committees which report directly to the Governing Body: the Academic Committee which makes recommendations on academic policy and administration; the Admissions Committee; the Disbursements Committee (which is responsible for the student support budget) and the Academic Oversight Committee, concerned with matters relating to students' academic performance. Additionally, the Senior Tutor makes a significant contribution to the business of the Welfare Committee and is a member of the College's HR Committee. The College has procedures for the regular appraisal and review of all Officers.
For the first four committees referred to above, the Senior Tutor prepares the agenda, provides papers, including recommendations where appropriate, oversees the production of minutes (subject to the approval of the Principal), and acts on the recommendations, as well as monitoring and reporting on the pattern and deployment of teaching resources in the college. The Senior Tutor serves on college committees as determined by the Governing Body and represents the College as necessary on Conference of Colleges (the body that seeks to co-ordinate matters between colleges and shares information between them) and other University committees relating to academic matters, including the Senior Tutors' Committee and the Admissions Committee. They also represent the College in student academic and disciplinary hearings conducted by the University which involve Brasenose students and interests.
There is occasional need for offsite work although most of the work takes place in College and the University.
Personal Qualifications
The successful candidate will have:
* a good Honours degree (2.1 or above) and a postgraduate degree is desirable;
* experience of administrative or managerial responsibility in an academic institution, and understanding or experience of the requirements of teaching and research in a university and college context;
* an understanding of academic careers and the requirements for top-level research;
* advanced oral and writing skills, and an ability to present information and arguments clearly;
* excellent interpersonal skills including empathy and sympathy;
* IT skills appropriate to a modern office environment;
* experience in dealing with committees and an ability to work consultatively and collaboratively within democratic structures;
* sympathy with the aims, objectives and academic values of an institution at the top level of the university educational system with a commitment to the highest possible standards;
* a readiness to work co-operatively within the structures and traditions of the collegiate University as a whole;
* the ability to take initiatives in developing relationships, initiatives and options for action that might benefit the College.
It is anticipated that the successful candidate may be either:
* an established academic who wishes to re-focus their career to provide strategic thinking, administrative support and all-round service to an academic community, or
* an academic administrator who has worked closely with academic staff, endorses the values of a collegiate university with a strong tradition, and seeks a leading role in the service of a high-achieving academic community.
Individuals with appropriate qualifications but different kinds of career experience are encouraged to consider applying.
Terms and Conditions
The appointment will be subject to a probationary review in the first year.
Salary: The salary is on the College Scale Grade 10 GBP 64,228 to GBP 74,191 per annum. The starting salary will depend on qualifications and experience. Advancement up the scale is on merit, with an annual review, usually in August.
Housing or Housing Allowance: College accommodation (if available) or a Housing Allowance of GBP 18,302 p.a. Accommodation is taxable and the Housing Allowance is paid as taxable, pensionable income;
Pension: Employment with the College provides access to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and it is for this scheme alone that it will pay the employer's contributions. The successful candidate will be entered into this scheme.
https://www.uss.co.uk/members/members-home/resources/factsheets-and-memb...
Salary Exchange Scheme: The successfulcandidate will also be enrolled into the Salary Exchange Pension Contributions Scheme on or around three months after joining Brasenose staff. This scheme is financially advantageous both to the employee and the College as the employer.
Medical Health Insurance: The College can pay for the premiums (up to set policy limits)on behalf of the employee and their family. This is a taxable benefit.
Senior Common Room and Meals: The Senior Tutor will be a member of the Senior Common Room and will be entitled to all meals free when the kitchen is open.
Location: Brasenose College, Radcliffe Square, Oxford OX1 4AJ.
Annual Leave Entitlement: Full time Annual leave entitlement is 30 days (5 days of which must be taken over the Christmas break when the College is closed) plus statutory Bank Holidays. It is not usually practical to take holidays (including bank holidays) during the University 8-week term or at other periods when the Senior Tutor's presence is essential (including the admissions procedure in December, periods of University examinations, the announcement of A-level results in August and Open Days in the summer).
Other Information: No smoking is allowed in any part of the College, except the designated smoking area.
Medical: The successful candidate will be required to complete a confidential medical questionnaire which will be assessed by the University Occupational Health Department to decide fitness to perform this role.
Please note that the first stage of interviews are likely to take place on Tuesday 8th July and/or Friday 11th July.
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