St John's College

Career Development Research Fellowships 2025

St John's College, Oxford Career Development Research Fellowships 2025

The Governing Body of St John's College proposes to elect Career Development Research Fellows, in the following Arts and Science subjects: Computer Science, Fine Art, History of Art, Law, Mathematical Science, Modern Languages - literature & film and Psychology

The full-time research Fellowships will normally be tenable for four years from 1st October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Applications must be received by 1.00pm on Thursday 24th October 2024. Referees' references must be received by 1.00pm on Thursday 31st October 2024. Incomplete applications will NOT be accepted. Please make sure that your application and your references reach us before the respective closing dates.

To apply, you are required to register. This enables you to save your application and revisit/edit it before submitting, or to check its status. It is recommended that you register as soon as possible.

To register, please go to the Application Registration page.

Competition Details

Eligibility Requirements

  • The research fellowships are normally awarded to those researchers who are close to completion of a doctorate (and will have submitted their thesis by no later than 1 July 2025), or those who were awarded a doctorate after 1 October 2022.
  • Students (such as medical students) whose doctorate interrupted their professional training, should have completed their professional training after 1 October 2022.
  • Please view the Eligibility Requirements for further details. The administrator is unable to answer queries relating to your eligibility; please follow the instructions.
  • The appointment will be subject to the provision of proof of the right to work in the UK.
  • If candidates require a visa, we have a dedicated Staff Immigration Team to support successful applicants through the immigration process (for Skilled Worker visas) from job offer through to arrival in the UK. This is subject to the eligibility criteria being met for the required visa route. In particular, that they have sufficient English language skills (evidenced by having passed a secure English Language Test at CEFR B1 or above, or coming from a majority English-speaking country, or having taken a degree taught in English). They are also to asked to note that the visa application process will require them to submit no later than three months prior to the start date of this post, either a copy of their doctoral award certificate, or an academic reference confirming that their doctorate has been awarded, or an academic reference confirming that they have submitted their thesis, if they have not yet completed.
  • Statements of research are required. Unless otherwise specified in the further particulars for the subject, these should not be more than 1,000 words, outlining the work candidates would submit in support of their applications and the research they propose to pursue if elected. Please note that the statement will be read by people outside as well as inside the candidate's own discipline and should therefore be intelligible to scholars in other subject areas.
  • You have not already held a comparable career development appointment at Oxford or another university. A comparable appointment is deemed to be a salaried research-only appointment for the purposes of self-directed research.
  • Candidates must provide details for two referees who have agreed to submit a reference through the website by 1.00pm on Thursday 31st October 2024. The referees should be familiar with the work to be submitted and one should normally be the PhD supervisor.
  • Shortlisting, interviewing and appointing procedures will be conducted in early 2025.
  • The application must be submitted online by 1.00pm on Thursday 24th October 2024.

Written Work

  • Dissertations are not required at this stage, but it is essential to have written work readily accessible for those subjects which require it (Please refer to the further particulars of the subject you applying for). Those candidates whose applications are short-listed for further assessment will be invited by 15th November 2024 to submit a copy of their chosen written work if applicable, electronically, which should be received at St John's College no later than Friday 29th November 2024. Please ensure that your contact details on your application are kept updated at that time (preferably giving your email, mobile, or telephone details).
  • The College is concerned with the quality, rather than quantity, of the work submitted but, in order that an informed assessment may be made, it is important that sufficient material be available. As a rough guide, it is recommended that the work you submit should be about 15,000 words (or about one quarter the length of a PhD thesis).
  • Submitted work should normally be written in English. If candidates are intending to submit work in a foreign language, they should give notice by indicating this on their application where they enter the title of the work.
  • In addition to submitting written work, short-listed science candidates may be asked to provide a statement from their proposed Head of Department confirming that adequate space, finance and facilities are available. In cases where short-listed candidates are not already in contact with the Department, the College will provide assistance in initiating discussions with the Head of Department.

Fellowship Details

  • Career Development Research Fellowships are fixed-term posts, tenable for four years. The start date of a Fellowship may, with the agreement of the college, be brought forward or delayed in exceptional cases, to accommodate personal circumstances; if so, the termination date will be adjusted accordingly.
  • The basic obligation of a Career Development Research Fellow is to engage full-time in research and its dissemination in some branch of the Humanities, Sciences or Social Sciences. The successful candidate will be expected to propose, plan and manage a high-quality programme of original research; publicise the outcomes of that research through presentation of papers and publications; and engage in the life and activities of the College. While the principal focus of the CDRF post will be on the postholder’s programme of research, it will also include a proportion of time, approximately equivalent of 0.1 FTE, devoted to academic work other than research. This may be undergraduate teaching, or could include leading masters-level classes and seminars, giving lectures, access or outreach work, teaching outside of Oxford, or other academic service, as determined by the College in consultation with the postholder. The aim is to offer the individual postholder development opportunities and integration with the academic life of the subject in College and in Oxford.
  • The CDRF is intended to allow postholders to develop their early career by completing a research project, without embarking upon a medium-term or permanent appointment. Having taken account of the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002, the college would not regard appointment to a CDRF as entitling the Fellow to permanent employment on the following objective grounds:
    (a) It is the colleges’ policy that Career Development Research Fellowships should provide opportunities for academics at the beginning of their careers;
    (b) In order to achieve a turnover of appointments in a wide range of subjects so that this policy can continue into the future for a succession of academics at this stage of their careers, it is an essential feature of these Fellowships that they are limited in duration.
  • The annual salary is equivalent to point 7.5 on the University Scale (currently £40,521). The salary will normally be adjusted if the Fellow is in receipt of other remuneration and may be subject to annual increment.
  • This post will receive a pensionable £1,500 per annum Oxford University Weighting payment which will be paid in equal monthly instalments and pro-rated for part time appointments.
  • The appointee will automatically be enrolled in the USS pension scheme.
  • Successful applicants will normally be required to spend most of their time in Oxford during the tenure of the appointment.
  • CDRFs will enjoy full dining privileges in the Senior Common Room (access to lunches and dinners without charge when the kitchen is open). They will have a research & development allowance, currently £3k/year. CDRFs will be eligible to apply for certain competitive College grant schemes.
  • The College offers parental leave provision comparable to the University’s. Further details are available on request. St John’s College has a purpose-built college nursery which provides places for children of College and University staff and students. Further information is available at www.baintonroadnursery.co.uk.

Application Timetable

  • The application process begins on Thursday 19th September 2024.
  • The application must be submitted through the website by 1.00pm on Thursday 24th October 2024. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
  • Two references must be submitted through the website by 1.00pm on Thursday 31st October 2024.
  • Candidates will be short-listed by 15th November 2024.
  • Interviews, unless otherwise specified, are expected to take place weeks commencing 13-31st January 2025.
  • Elections will be made no later than week commencing 19th February 2025.
  • Successful candidates will enter into their Fellowships on 1st October 2025.