Further Particulars:
University of Oxford
Head of Humanities Division
September 2015
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
Introduction
The internationally-renowned University of Oxford invites nominations and applications for the
Head of the Humanities Division appointment. The University wishes to appoint a
distinguished academic in any field of the Humanities to head the prestigious Division, one of
the four constituent academic divisions of the University of Oxford. The Division houses nine
Faculties and the Ruskin School of Art. The range and breadth of the Humanities Division is
considerable and the priority for the next Head will be to provide exceptional leadership and
vision to drive forward the Division’s strategic agenda for research and education, within its
highly consensual framework.
This is an exciting opportunity to build on the distinguished foundations of the Division and
shape the development of Humanities at one of the world’s leading universities. The Faculties
within the Division are among the largest and most eminent globally, and the breadth and
range of activities undertaken within the university offer an unparalleled environment in which
to study the Arts and Humanities.
This is a full-time senior management position within the University, responsible for academic
and administrative leadership. The successful candidate, however, will be encouraged to
continue their own programme of research and scholarly activities and will have scope to
maintain their academic interests. The appointment will be made by a selection committee
comprising the Vice-Chancellor, and seven other members. A college affiliation will also be
made available to the appointee. The University expects to have the successful appointee in
post from 1 October 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Queries about the post should be addressed to Ms Hannah Lloyd (contact details at the end of
this document). All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence and will not form part of the
selection decision.
The University of Oxford
Recognised as the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford has been producing
academic leaders for 800 years, through a distinctive method of both research and teaching.
Oxford’s self-governing community of scholars comprises: Statutory, Full and Associate
Professors; senior and junior research fellows; over 2,500 other university research staff; over
11,000 undergraduates; and over 10,000 graduates of which over 4,500 are taught and over
5,500 conduct research. Through its constituent parts Oxford aspires both to lead the
international research agenda and to offer a unique and exceptional education to its
undergraduate and graduate students.
The University aims to provide facilities and support for colleagues to pursue innovative
research and outstanding teaching, by responding to global developments in the intellectual
environment and society at large, and by forging close links with the wider academic world, the
professions, industry and commerce. The Strategic Plan, detailing strategy for the period
2013-18, can be found at http://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/strategic-plan
Research at Oxford combines disciplinary depth with an increasing focus on inter-disciplinary
and multi-disciplinary activities addressing a rich and diverse range of issues, from deciphering
ancient texts and inscriptions using modern scientific and computational methods developed in
Oxford, through to global health, climate change, ageing, energy and the effects on our world
of rapid technological change. Oxford was ranked first by the 2014 Research Excellence
Framework (REF: http://www.ref.ac.uk/) the official assessor of research quality across
universities in the UK, in twelve subjects covering the four academic divisions of the university.
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
Oxford’s distinctive collegiate system is at the heart of the University’s success, giving
students and academics the benefits of belonging both to a large, internationally renowned
institution and to a small, interdisciplinary academic community. Oxford seeks to admit
undergraduate students with the intellectual potential to benefit fully from the college tutorial
system and small group learning to which Oxford is deeply committed. Meeting in small groups
with their tutor, undergraduates are exposed to rigorous scholarly challenge and learn to
develop their critical thinking, their ability to articulate their views with clarity, and their personal
and intellectual confidence. They receive a high level of personal attention from leading
academics, which is increasingly rare in the current higher education environment.
Oxford has a strong postgraduate student body which now numbers over 10,000; over 4,500
are on taught masters-level courses and more than 5,500 are doctoral students.
Postgraduates are attracted to Oxford for a number of reasons including but not limited to: the
international standing of the academic staff; the rigorous intellectual training on offer; the
excellent research facilities available; and by the resources available from its network of
museums, libraries and collections, including the world famous Bodleian Library.
For more information please visit www.ox.ac.uk.
The Humanities Division
The Humanities Division is one of four academic divisions in the University of Oxford, bringing
together the faculties of Classics; English; History; Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics;
Medieval and Modern Languages; Music; Oriental Studies; Philosophy; and Theology and
Religion, as well as the Ruskin School of Art. The Humanities Division has 500 permanent
academic staff and some 175 research staff. Additionally there is an extensive humanities
community across the Colleges, which is closely allied with the faculties of the Division. There
are over 4,000 undergraduate students (more than a third of the total undergraduate
population of the University), and over 700 graduate students undertaking taught courses and
nearly 1,000 DPhil students. The Division’s physical estate comprises some 15,000m2, and
there are firm plans to develop this estate at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site (ROQ).
The Division offers world-class teaching and research, backed by the superb resources of the
University’s libraries and museums, such as the aforementioned Bodleian Library, with its 11
million volumes and priceless manuscript collection, and the Ashmolean Museum of Art and
Archaeology. Such historic resources are linked to cutting-edge agendas in research and
teaching, with an increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary study.
The Division’s faculties are among the largest and best in the world, enabling Oxford to offer
an education in Arts and Humanities unparalleled in its range of subjects, from music and fine
art to ancient and modern languages.
The Humanities Divisional Board has identified five key strategic areas of focus and
development. These include: producing highest quality research; provision and widening
access of education; development of its academic standard and quality; wider engagement
with local and international communities; and attracting the highest calibre academics from
around the world. In addition, the Divisional Board aims to ensure that TORCH | The Oxford
Research Centre for the Humanities plays a key role in incubating new interdisciplinary
research agendas and fostering and brokering interdisciplinary collaboration with academic
staff, early career researchers, graduate students and with college research centres.
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities
TORCH is based in the historic Radcliffe Humanities building and acts as a hub for students
and scholars alike. TORCH enables researchers from across Oxford’s colleges to interact with
one another, encouraging inter-disciplinary study and collaboration. TORCH is currently
sponsoring eight research programmes: “Comparative Criticism and Translation”, “Dance
Scholarship Oxford”, “Digital Humanities”, “Enlightenment”, “Environmental Humanities”,
“Humanities and the Public Good”, “Medicine, Science and Humanities”, “Visual Research”,
and “Women and the Humanities”. In addition TORCH provides a strong networking platform
with the aim of fostering a collaborative research culture. TORCH hosts a number of
distinguished Visiting Professors, whilst Early Career Fellows, sponsored by TORCH, are
encouraged to interact and share knowledge across boundaries.
TORCH also plays a key role for students across the university, hosting book launches,
seminars, lectures and other unique events. Established in 2013, TORCH is in a formative
stage and its future will be shaped by the Divisional Board, and the Faculties therein. Whilst
TORCH has its own Director and management committee the Head of the Humanities Division
will play a crucial role in its future growth, helping to expand existing projects as well as
instigating the development of new projects. TORCH is an important part of humanities at
Oxford University, and will continue to be so, particularly as a showcase – both nationally and
internationally - for research emanating from Oxford’s Humanities Division.
For more information please visit http://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/.
The Humanities ROQ Project
The Humanities Division plans to establish a Humanities hub on the Radcliffe Observatory
Quarter (“ROQ”), which will provide a focal point for the Humanities at Oxford. A central
nucleus equipped with learning, teaching and research space, amenities for collaborative
interdisciplinary scholarship and potential for public engagement and to showcase the arts.
The Humanities development is likely to encompass over 12,000 square meters at an
estimated cost of GBP 70 million. Subject to a full planning and approvals process, the
Division aims to begin construction in 2018.
Such high quality facilities and resources are crucial to maintaining world-class research and
teaching, and will further emphasise Oxford Humanities’ strength on the world stage. The
incoming Head of the Humanities Division will be responsible for ensuring that the ROQ
project is driven towards completion, and will play a leading role in the fundraising and
development efforts, in conjunction with the Development Office, to ensure that the funds are
secured before construction begins.
System of Governance
Oxford is a collegiate university, consisting of the central University and colleges. The central
University is composed of divisions, academic departments and faculties, research centres,
administrative departments, libraries and museums. The 38 colleges are financially
independent, self-governing institutions, which are related to the central University in a federal
system. Oxford University’s system of governance is designed to enable strategic planning
and policy definition at the centre while delegating significant authority to the subject or other
operational level. Academic activity is divided into four divisions. Each division is overseen by
a divisional board which has overall responsibility, within policies and plans approved by
Council, for teaching and research in the relevant area.
The Head of Division is responsible to the Vice-Chancellor for the management and academic
leadership of the Division.
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
The Head of Division chairs, and represents, the Divisional Board and its major committees.
The Head is responsible for ensuring that the Board discharges its responsibilities under the
Statutes and Regulations.
Under present arrangements Heads of Division are ex officio members of the University
Council, and its General Purposes, Planning and Resource Allocation and Personnel
Committees, which are responsible for determining overall university strategy; for setting the
central frameworks and guidelines within which the divisions operate; and for monitoring the
activities of the divisions. In this role the Head will cooperate with other members of these
bodies in balancing the interests of all divisions for the overall good of the collegiate
University. The terms of reference of the Council and these committees can be found at
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/councilsec/governance/council.
There is scope for the appointee to continue to pursue their personal research interests. It
should be borne in mind that the divisional responsibilities of the post holder will be full time.
For an external appointee, negotiations will take place about the provision of any reasonable
affiliation to an appropriate faculty within the Division.
The Head of Division is supported by a number of Associate Heads, each of whom has
responsibility for a particular functional area.
The Divisional Office is divided into five areas: education, research, planning and resources,
finance, and fundraising and development. The staff consists of a Divisional Secretary, who
heads the Division’s administration, a Financial Controller, and 25 academic-related and
support staff, including an Executive Assistant to the Head of Division. In addition, all the
faculties of the division have their own administrative and support staff.
Job Description & Key Responsibilities

Maintaining and developing the international reputation of the Humanities at
Oxford in both research and teaching, with a particular focus on the development of
interdisciplinary study and research;

Responsibility for the academic leadership and management of the division, to
include divisional strategy and academic planning, development, finances, educational
policy and standards, and academic personnel matters;

Developing the Division’s research strategy, to include: preparations for the next
REF, with particular attention to the Division’s impact strategy; TORCH | The Oxford
Research Centre in the Humanities; sustaining internationally leading achievement,
including the creation of a supportive environment, the fostering of appropriate
interdisciplinary links, and influencing national research policy;
Building on the established relationships with the University’s other academic divisions,
especially the Social Sciences Division, to develop strong interdivisional links across the
spectrum of academic activity;

Developing financial strategies for sustainability, addressing the Division’s
structural deficit and supporting the Division in maintaining and building on its excellence in
research;
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
 Maintaining excellence in teaching for undergraduate and graduate courses, in close
collaboration with Oxford’s colleges;
 Developing a sustainable Humanities student number planning framework, in
partnership with the central University and the colleges;
 Further developing a human resources strategy that supports the recruitment and
retention of outstanding academics;
 Fundraising to achieve both sustainability for the Division’s academic programmes and
the capital to enable the Division to realize its plans for a new Humanities development on
the Radcliffe Observatory site (ROQ);
 Oversight of the work of the Faculty Board Chairs and the Head of the Ruskin School
of Art;
 Line management of the Director of TORCH and the Director of the Ertegun Graduate
Scholarship Programme in the Humanities1;
 Chairing the Divisional Board, acting on its behalf, and ensuring that the board
discharges its statutory responsibilities;
 Playing a crucial role in setting University strategy via membership of Council and its
key committees.
Person Specification
Applications will be judged only against the criteria which are set out below. Applicants should
make sure that their application shows very clearly how they believe that their skills and
experience meet these criteria. Oxford is committed to fairness, consistency and transparency
in selection decisions. Chairs of selection committees will be aware of the principles of equality
of opportunity.
The successful candidate will have the following essential qualities:

The vision and leadership to continue to develop a successful divisional structure
and sub-structures, building on the highly consensual style of self-government, to further
academic planning and development of the broad subject area, and to contribute to the
general strategic and operational development of the University;

The capability and significant academic reputation necessary to gain and retain the
confidence of the division as a whole, across the range of subject areas, academic and
managerial issues;

The ability to liaise effectively with intercollegiate bodies and representatives of
individual colleges in areas of common interest;

The ability to represent the division in a positive and effective way within the
collegiate University and, by extension, to represent the University externally, to
1
For further information about this programme, please see: http://www.ertegun.ox.ac.uk/
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
government, research councils, industry, and other bodies, including potential donors;

The ability to plan and manage resources, particularly in terms of finance and
academic staffing issues;

Skills of collaboration and negotiation, enabling the Head to deal effectively across
the range of issues within the division, with other divisions, with the academic services,
and with central committees and their officers (including the Vice-Chancellor and ProVice-Chancellors);

The talents and experience needed to deal effectively with external bodies,
including the commercial sector, government and major national and international
research bodies;

The skills and experience to lead fundraising in the interests of the Division, its
faculties and other units;

The ability to deal sensitively with issues concerning recruitment, retention and
appraisal of senior academic staff;

Administrative ability; including the capacity to maintain effective working
relationships with the divisional secretariat and other central officers, to oversee the
operation of the structures now established and to identify and implement necessary
further developments.
Application Process
There is no application form. Applications must include:

Your full contact details including email and full postal addresses, and a telephone
number;

A covering letter or statement explaining how you meet the criteria set out above;

A full CV and publications list;

An indication of where you first heard about this post.
References will be taken up at the end of the recruitment process.
Applications should be sent by email to Ms Hannah Lloyd at hannah@moredifference.com
The deadline for applications is Monday 14 December 2015.
The full membership of the selection committee will be published in the University Gazette
(www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/) when it is finalised. All applications will be acknowledged after receipt
and will be considered by the selection committee as soon as possible after the closing date.
The committee is free to search for other candidates at this or any subsequent stage in its
proceedings. All shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and will be asked to give a short
presentation to the electors as part of the interview. The committee’s decision will be
communicated as soon as possible after the interview but in some cases there may be a delay
while deliberations are ongoing.
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
Terms and Conditions of appointment
Salary and pension
This senior position attracts a competitive salary. Eligible staff may join the Universities
Superannuation
Scheme.
Details
are
available
on
the
website
at
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/finance/pensions/uss/.
Length of appointment
The period of appointment will be for five years, and (subject to the retiring age provisions
below) the Head will be eligible for reappointment (subject to an appropriate review) for an
additional period of up to five years. In the case of an external appointee, depending on the
individual’s circumstances, a further position at an appropriate level may be available at the
end of the period of office. If the incumbent already holds a substantive tenured appointment
in Oxford she or he will be able to return to it on ceasing to be Head of Division.
The Head of Division is subject to the normal university rules on retirement; the normal
retirement date is 30 September immediately preceding the 68th birthday. There is a
procedure for requesting an extension of employment beyond that date.
Further details are available on the website at
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/end/retirement/acrelretire/ejra/.
Sabbatical leave and outside commitments
Heads of Division will not be permitted to take sabbatical or other leave during their period of
office as Head. If the Head is reappointed for a second term of five years, consideration may
be given to a period of leave.
For existing Oxford employees with sabbatical leave entitlement, a five-year period of office as
Head of a division will count as eighteen terms of qualifying service for the purpose of
calculating eligibility to apply for sabbatical leave from the University. Any pre-existing
qualifying service will not be affected (further details are available upon request).
The Head of Division is expected to maintain a range of outside interests, including
involvement in external agencies such as research councils, within the normal University rules
for the holding of outside appointments, including consultancies. A maximum of 30 days per
annum may be spent on such activities, subject to the approval of the Vice-Chancellor and to
consideration, inter alia, of any conflicts of interest which may arise or be perceived to arise.
There is no limit to the amount of money which may be earned from these activities.
Full details are available on the university website at
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/staffinfo/academic/approvaltoholdoutsideappointments/.
Guidance on ownership of intellectual property
(http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/182-052.shtml) and managing conflicts of
interest (http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/researchsupport/integrity/conflict/policy/) is also available
on the university website.
Substitute provision
If the current holder of an Oxford University or college post is appointed, the University will be
prepared to make reasonable substitute provision to the department/faculty and/or college of
the successful applicant for the coverage of her or his normal duties, if appropriate in the
shape of a substantive replacement appointment. Research support may also be available to
enable the Head of Division to carry on her or his academic interests. (The total provision
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
would not be expected to exceed the salary costs of any underlying university appointment
which the Head might hold.)
Save as set out above, appointment to the Headship will not change the terms and conditions
of any Oxford University appointment held by the successful candidate. If the successful
candidate holds only a college appointment, the current standard university terms and
conditions of appointment will apply.
Membership of Congregation
Appointment to this post carries with it the right to vote in Congregation, the sovereign body in
the University.
More information is available at www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/governance and
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/781-121.shtml.
Relocation expenses
Subject to HMRC regulations and the availability of funding, a relocation allowance may be
available.
Assistance with house purchase
Where exceptional difficulty arises in regard to housing for a successful candidate who has to
move to the Oxford area to take up appointment, the University may in certain circumstances
be able to assist with house purchase.
Family support
The University has generous family leave arrangements, such as maternity, adoption and
paternity leave. Eligible employees may also benefit from the Shared Parental Leave system,
which enables them, if they so wish, to share a period of up to 50 weeks’ leave and up to 37
weeks’ pay with their partner, in the 52 weeks immediately following the birth or adoption of
their child. Details of the different family leave arrangements are available on the website at
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/during/family/.
All staff are eligible to apply to use the University nurseries (although there is a long waiting list
for nursery places), and the full range of tax and National Insurance savings scheme is in
operation. Details are available on the University’s childcare website at
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/childcare/.
The University will try to accommodate flexible working patterns as far as possible and there is
considerable flexibility in the organisation of duties.
More information on family support and flexible working policies is available on the website at
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/during/family/.
Information for parents and carers is available at
www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/parentsandcarersinformation/.
Facilities and Services
The University has a range of facilities and benefits for its staff; more details are available on
the website at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/staffinfo/benefits/.
The University Disability Office provides support to staff and students with a disability and may
be contacted through its website at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/disab/
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University of Oxford
Head of Humanities
Contact
Hannah Lloyd
More Difference
DD +44(0)203 655 7905
M+44(0) 7899 903 545
Hannah@moredifference.com
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