St John’s College
Personal Assistant to President of St. John’s College
Grade 5 (£24,298 to £28,982 p.a)/Grade 6 (£27,328 to £32,600 p.a.) depending on experience
St John’s College is seeking to appoint a dynamic individual with excellent spoken and written
communication skills to join the team which supports the President of the College. The post is full
time and represents an ideal early career development opportunity, but a flexible working
arrangement could also be considered.
About St John’s College
St John’s College is one of the larger colleges within the University of Oxford with an academic body
of some 100 Fellows. Founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, the College is an independent, selfgoverning establishment, which functions both, as an academic institution and as a social and
residential centre for some 650 students. The College is committed to excellence and interdisciplinarity and to promoting equality and diversity.
For further information about the College, please visit our website at www.sjc.ox.ac.uk .
Overview of the Role
The President, Professor Maggie Snowling, CBE, is the head of the College and an honorary
Professor in the Department of Experimental Psychology where she conducts research on children’s
language and learning and is a world-renowned expert on dyslexia; she also chairs the Equality and
Diversity Forum for the Conference of Colleges.
The Personal Assistant works together with the Executive Officer to support the President in a wide
range of matters concerning the College, in interactions with alumni and professional colleagues
and with the wider collegiate University. The post holder will need to use initiative and judgment
in providing comprehensive administrative support and will be required to maintain the utmost
confidentiality at all times.
A defining feature of the role will be the ability to anticipate the President’s requirements and
to implement systems and processes that will enable the office to run as efficiently as possible.
This will include ensuring that requests for the President’s time are prioritised effectively and acting
as one of the first points of contact for students, staff, and visitors who wish to meet with the
President. This is very much a hands-on role, and it is essential that the post-holder is selfmotivated, flexible and possesses advanced skills in the use of standard IT systems.
The role represents a career development opportunity for someone interested both in
academic and research administration at university level and professional training will be
offered if appropriate.
Principal Responsibilities
To provide a comprehensive administrative and secretarial support service to the President,
including:
Day-to-day support

Managing the President’s diary, including using initiative to prioritise requests for meetings
and ensure efficient use of the President’s time

Proactively ensuring that the President has the necessary documents required for each
day, and that she is briefed on her daily schedule and prepared effectively for meetings
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
Producing reports and other documents in a timely and accurate manner, as required,
including searching administrative and research databases in order to extract relevant
information for others to act on

Acting as a first point of contact for postal, telephone and email enquiries, including
dealing with senior members of the University and other influential contacts

As appropriate, monitoring the President’s email inbox and dealing with messages
accordingly; resolving first-line queries where possible, and ensuring that the President
is aware of any urgent ongoing issues

Effectively managing any incoming correspondence, including (where appropriate) directing
such correspondence to other staff for action, and replying to a range of routine issues
without reference to the President (as appropriate).
Liaison

Dealing with President’s visitors and her role in College Guest Nights, including arranging
accommodation and/ or meals in College accordingly

Liaising with the Catering and Housekeeping teams, concerning arrangements for events and
accommodation in the President’s Lodgings

Liaising with other departments of the College, including especially the Development &
Alumni Relations Office, the Bursary, SCR and the College Office

Proactively ensuring that files (paper and electronic) are maintained in an accurate and
timely manner, and recording interactions with alumni on DARS.

Liaising with the College Archivist where appropriate to retrieve documents from the
archives and with the Keeper of the Pictures. At all times, the post holder should act in
accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and College policy, particularly
when dealing with confidential or sensitive information.
Travel arrangements

Administering travel and accommodation arrangements (including booking flights and
transfers, and making visa arrangements), both within the UK and internationally

Producing detailed travel itineraries, as appropriate

Proactively liaising with the Development and Alumni Relations Office to produce
briefing materials prior to travel, as appropriate
Meeting support

Attending meetings, taking comprehensive notes, and ensuring that professional typed
minutes are produced and distributed in a timely and accurate manner

When required, collating papers and preparing draft agendas in advance of meetings, and
circulating copies to committee members in good time before the meeting

Typing of notes based on oral or handwritten drafts; filing of committee papers and
reports, as appropriate

Booking rooms and facilities for meetings, as appropriate
General

Communicating with all members of College and its departments effectively and in a timely
fashion.
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
Providing cover for other administrative and secretarial support staff, as required.
The above is not an exhaustive description, and other requirements may emerge as necessitated by
changing roles within the College and its overall objectives.
The Personal Assistant will be expected to carry out such other duties as the President may from
time to time request, commensurate with the grade and responsibilities of the post. The duties
listed above may be varied from time to time without changing the essential character of the post.
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Selection criteria
Essential
Qualifications

Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience
Experience

Experience of working in a similar role, providing a comprehensive administrative
support service to senior managers

Proven record of successfully managing competing demands and working to deadlines

Strong experience of taking accurate minutes

Experience of working with confidential and/or sensitive information

Track record of building strong relationships with people of all ages and backgrounds,
and at all levels of an organisation

Diary management, including complex travel arrangements
Skills and knowledge

Accurate and fast word-processing skills to include audio-typing and copy-typing

Excellent IT skills with an advanced knowledge of MS Outlook and Word and a good
knowledge of MS Excel and PowerPoint

Ability to draft high-quality correspondence and minutes on behalf of senior managers

Strong organisational and planning skills

Proven ability to prioritise and multitask successfully and to work to tight deadlines

Excellent attention to detail and high levels of accuracy

Ability to work unsupervised and on own initiative

Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong working relationships with
people at all levels of an organisation

Strong verbal and written communication skills, including a confident telephone and
email manner
Personal qualities

Articulate and highly literate and numerate

Proactive and enthusiastic, whilst maintaining a professional approach

Self-motivated, with the proven ability to work in a busy and stimulating environment

Flexible approach to tasks and workload, and willing to work co-operatively
Desirable

Relevant secretarial or other administrative qualification

Experience of working in an Oxford college or other higher education environment
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Terms & Conditions
Department:
President’s Office
Responsible to:
President; (on a day-to-day basis reporting to the Executive Officer/Head of
Communications)
Liaison with:
The Collegiate body and external stakeholders.
Salary:
Grade 5, currently £24,298 – £28,982 per annum (or Grade 6, currently
£27,328 to £32,600) depending on experience, skills and qualifications.
Pension:
The post holder will become a member of the contributory St John’s
College Staff Pension Fund under auto-enrolment rules from the
commencement date of the appointment (or be eligible to join USS if
appointed on Grade 6)
Probationary and
Notice Periods:
The appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a six-month
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:
(a) After the initial probationary period, and up to four years’ service –
one month
(b) For each full year of continuous service after four years’ service – not
less than one week for each continuous year of service, up to a
maximum of twelve weeks’ notice.
Hours of work:
33.75 hours per week, to be worked in agreement with the President.
Hours of work will normally be worked within the period 8.30am to
5.30pm, Monday to Friday. However, exact work patterns may vary
according to the needs of the College, and the post holder will be
expected to work such hours as are reasonably required to carry out
their duties, to the satisfaction of the President. This includes working
on Bank Holidays when they fall within Full Term, and occasional
attendance on weekends if required Time off in lieu will be given for
such days worked.
Annual Leave:
38 days per annum, which includes 8 public Bank Holidays and 5 fixed days
of closure at Christmas. Bank Holidays that fall within term time may need
to be worked. If this is the case, a day of paid holiday in lieu for each such
day worked will be given. The holiday year runs from 1 January to 31
December.
All leave must be taken in agreement with the President, and
significant periods of leave will not normally be permitted during Term
Time.
Meals:
A free lunch in Hall is provided for the post holder while on duty and
provided the College’s kitchens are open.
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Application Procedure
Applications must include a letter, outlining how the applicant meets the selection criteria, full CV
and the name of two referees. Please send applications to [email protected], or by post
to Bursary Manager, St John’s College, St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JP.
Please state the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two people who are prepared to give
you a reference for this position. 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 until after the
interview stage.
The appointment will be subject (i) to the provision of an original document which indicates your
right to work in the UK and (ii) the completion of an initial probationary period.
Closing date for applications is Friday, 23 September at 12 noon.
Interviews are planned to be held in late September / early October.
Equal Opportunities Statement
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.
Data Protection
All data supplied by candidates will be used only for the purpose of determining their suitability for
the post and will be held in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the
College’s Data Protection Policy and recruitment monitoring process.
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