WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD
Fixed-Term Tutorial Fellowship in Philosophy
Applications for this post are particularly welcome from women, and black and
ethnic minority candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in
Oxford. The College is an equal opportunities employer.
Worcester College proposes to appoint a fixed-term Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy from
1st October 2015. The election to the Fellowship will be for four years, and is subject to
satisfactory completion of a one-year probationary period.
The successful applicant will have a high standard of research and teaching ability and
will be required to teach elementary logic and introductory epistemology and
metaphysics. Other subjects will depend upon the areas of specialisation and competence
of the person appointed; but ability to teach one or more of introductory philosophy of
mathematics (including Frege’s Grundlagen), the philosophy of logic and language, the
philosophy of mathematics, knowledge and reality, the philosophy of religion, early
modern philosophy, and the philosophy of mind would be an advantage.
For details of these subjects as taught in Oxford, please refer to the Faculty of
Philosophy web site (www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/course_descriptions).
The Fellowship will carry full tutorial responsibility, and the appointee will be required
to assist with the administration of undergraduate studies in philosophy in all its joint
courses at Worcester College, including participation in the admissions process and
undertaking the pastoral care of students.
The Fellowship is a fixed-term career development position specifically intended to
provide a time-limited period of development for an academic at any stage of their career.
The College will arrange a mentor for the Fellow. Although the Fellow will not be
required to undertake examining or lecturing for the Faculty of Philosophy, it may be
possible for the Fellow to undertake such duties if this is agreed by the Fellow, the
College and the Faculty. The Fellow will be permitted to take one term’s research leave
in the 3rd or 4th year of the appointment; the particular term to be taken as leave will be
determined by agreement with the College.
The Fellow will receive a stipend in the range of £27,864-£33,242 per annum (revised
annually) and will have access to certain travel and research funds. The Fellow is entitled
to free accommodation if available (but will be responsible for Council taxes and utility
bills) or a housing allowance, currently £7,233p.a., and to free meals in the College when
the kitchens are open as a member of the Senior Common Room.
Further particulars and an Application Form may be obtained from
https://www.worc.ox.ac.uk/jobs or from the Academic Administrator at Worcester
College, Mrs Rhian Perridge (academic.administrator@worc.ox.ac.uk), to whom queries
about the application process should be addressed. Candidates who wish to speak to
someone about any aspect of the post may contact the Senior Philosophy Tutor at
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Worcester College, Dr Michail Peramatzis (michail.peramatzis@worc.ox.ac.uk), or the
Senior
Tutor
at
Worcester
College,
Professor
Tony
Blakeborough
(senior.tutor@worc.ox.ac.uk).
Applicants should complete an Application Form and send it with a covering letter which
should include a summary of teaching experience and research record and plans, and a
curriculum vitae (including a list of publications), together with the names and addresses
of
two
referees,
to
the
Academic
Administrator
on
th
academic.administrator@worc.ox.ac.uk by noon on Friday the 27 February 2015.
Applicants should send their referees a copy of these further particulars and
arrange for references to be sent to the Academic Administrator by the closing date.
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I
WORCESTER COLLEGE
Worcester College is one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It
occupies the site of Gloucester College, founded in 1283 for monks from the Abbey of St
Peter, Gloucester. It was re-founded as Worcester College in 1714, following a
benefaction by Sir Thomas Cookes, Bt., from Worcestershire.
The original Benedictine site was large, and eighteenth and nineteenth century additions
to it have resulted in the College occupying some 26 acres. The gardens were laid out to
include a lake in the early nineteenth century, and the adjoining sports field was
reclaimed from drained water meadows in the late nineteenth century. The mixture of
architectural styles, set amongst landscaped, wooded gardens and grounds, make
Worcester one of the most attractive colleges in Oxford.
The Governing Body, which is responsible for overseeing the running of the College and
the management of its endowments, comprises the head of College (the “Provost”) and
49 Fellows. A further 16 Research Fellows are not members of the Governing Body.
There arec.100 members of non-academic staff. The college has c.600 undergraduate
and postgraduate students in a wide range of subjects.
While Philosophy at Oxford does not form any single honours course, it is a component of
eight joint courses. The College admits around 20 students a year into seven of these:
Philosophy, Politics & Economics, Classics, Mathematics & Philosophy, Philosophy &
Modern Languages, Physics & Philosophy, Philosophy & Psychology, Philosophy &
Linguistics, and Philosophy & Theology. The Philosophy tutors have direct responsibility
for the pastoral care of 19 undergraduates. The Philosophy fellows also teach visiting
students of the College’s Junior Year Abroad programme. The successful candidate will be
required to teach elementary logic and introductory epistemology and metaphysics. Other
subjects will depend upon the areas of specialisation and competence of the person
appointed; but ability to teach one or more of introductory philosophy of mathematics
(including Frege’s Grundlagen), the philosophy of logic and language, the philosophy of
mathematics, knowledge and reality, the philosophy of religion, early modern philosophy,
and the philosophy of mind would be an advantage.
Apart from the advertised position, Worcester College has one other tutorial fellow in
Philosophy, Dr Michail Peramatzis, who teaches all the Ancient Philosophy options, Ethics,
Moral Philosophy, etc.
II
COLLEGE DUTIES
The appointee will be required:
(i)
to undertake for Worcester College up to 12 weighted1 hours of teaching in
Philosophy per week, averaged over the three eight-week terms which constitute
the academic teaching year;
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Hours are weighted according to group size as shown below.
Group 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 14 15
size
Weight 1 1.25 1.5 1.59 1.68 1.77 1.86 1.96 2.05 2.14 2.23 2.32 2.41 2.5 2.59
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(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
to engage in:
(a)
tutorial preparation;
(b)
the setting and marking of written work;
(c)
the setting, marking and returning of scripts for collections (internal
college examinations);
(d)
writing and submitting student reports;
(e)
liaison with other staff on teaching and pastoral matters, as appropriate;
to help with the organisation of philosophy teaching at Worcester College, and to
share the responsibility of acting as a ‘moral tutor’ to philosophy undergraduates
(that is, the person responsible for their academic and personal welfare);
to take part in the annual admissions procedures for the selection of philosophy
undergraduates at Worcester College, which includes reading application
material, marking and interviewing;
to act as a college adviser to some of the graduate members of Worcester College
reading for higher degrees in philosophy and related subjects;
as a member of the Governing Body of Worcester College, to attend Governing
Body meetings and Tutors’ Committee meetings (normally three of each per
term), and to take an appropriate share in the other committee and administrative
work of the College;
to engage in advanced study or research.
III
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The successful candidate will have completed a doctorate in a relevant subject.
The additional selection criteria for this post are as follows:
(i) the ability or potential to be an effective teacher in some or all of the following
subjects: elementary logic and introductory epistemology and metaphysics; introductory
philosophy of mathematics (including Frege’s Grundlagen); the philosophy of logic and
language, the philosophy of mathematics, knowledge and reality, the philosophy of
religion, early modern philosophy, and the philosophy of mind, to students of high
ability in a tutorial system, along with the personal qualities needed to foster a high level
of achievement in undergraduate students;
(ii) substantial achievement or potential (commensurate with the applicant’s career) in
a field of research relevant to the subjects being taught. The application should include a
list of the applicant’s publications. The Selection Committee may ask for copies of some
of these items;
(iii) the ability or potential to participate effectively in the administration and
development of philosophy studies in Worcester College;
(iv) a willingness to forge links with schools and colleges and to participate in access
initiatives with a view to encouraging applications from a wide range of educational
backgrounds.
IV
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The election to the Fellowship will be for four years, and is subject to satisfactory
completion of a one-year probationary period.
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The Fellowship is a fixed-term career development position specifically intended to
provide a time-limited period of development for an academic at any stage of their career.
The College will arrange a mentor for the Fellow. Although the Fellow will not be
required to undertake examining or lecturing for the Faculty of Philosophy, it may be
possible for the Fellow to undertake such duties if this is agreed by the Fellow, the
College and the Faculty. The Fellow will be permitted to take one term’s research leave
in the 3rd or 4th year of the appointment; the particular term to be taken as leave will be
determined by agreement with the College.
1
Terms and Conditions
The salary scale is set out below:
Point
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Salary Scale (£) p.a.
27,864
28,695
29,552
30,434
31,342
32,277
33,242
Stipend is determined according to qualifications and experience and includes payment
for any leave taken outside the academic term and for any bank holiday worked during
term time. Holiday cannot normally be taken during term and the period of
undergraduate admissions when Fellows are expected to be available in Oxford.
The appointee will be enrolled as a member of the Universities Superannuation Scheme
(USS).
In exceptional circumstances where it is necessary to give notice before the end of the
contract period, one term’s notice must be given by either party. On completion of the
term of appointment, all documents, student information/papers, and other property of the
College must be returned. The College conforms to the University policy over parental
and adoptive leave arrangements.
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Additional entitlements
The Fellow will have the following entitlements:
(i)
(ii)
a teaching room in College;
free dinners at the Common Table in term and vacation (when the kitchens are
open);
(iii) free lunches in the Senior Common Room (of which the appointee will be a full
member) in term and vacation (when the kitchens are open);
(iv) free accommodation in College if available (but will be responsible for Council
taxes and utility bills) or a housing allowance (currently £7,233 per annum). The
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(v)
housing allowance is pensionable; it attracts income tax, and National Insurance
and USS pension contributions from both the Fellow and the College;
an entertainment allowance (currently £419 p.a.) and an allowance to support the
Fellow’s research (currently £1,211 p.a.), for attendance at conferences, the
purchase of books or other research items for their own use etc. Such items remain
the property of the College. There is a fund to which Fellows may apply for limited
assistance with travel.
V
APPLICATION AND APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE
Applicants should complete an Application Form and send it with a covering letter which
should include a summary of teaching experience and research record and plans, and a
curriculum vitae (including a list of publications), together with the names and addresses
of
two
referees,
to
the
Academic
Administrator
on
academic.administrator@worc.ox.ac.uk by noon on Friday 27th February 2015.
Applicants should send their referees a copy of these further particulars and
arrange for references to be sent to the Academic Administrator by the closing date.
It is intended that interviews of shortlisted candidates will be held on Friday 13th March.
Those who do not live in or near Oxford will be offered overnight accommodation. All
reasonable interview expenses will be reimbursed.
Applications for this post will be considered by a selection committee consisting of
representatives of Worcester College. The selection committee is responsible for
conducting all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. It does not, however,
have the authority to make the final decision as to who should be appointed. The final
decision will be made by the Governing Body of Worcester College on the basis of the
recommendation made by the Selection Committee. No offer of appointment will be
valid until and unless the recommendation has been approved by the Governing Body
and the College has made a formal contractual offer.
The appointment will be subject to the provision of proof of the right to work in the UK.
Applicants who would need a work visa if appointed to the post are asked to note that
under the UK’s new points-based migration system they will need to demonstrate that
they have sufficient points, and in particular that:
i.
ii.
they have sufficient English language skills (evidenced by having passed a test in
basic English, or coming from a majority English-speaking country, or having
taken a degree taught in English); and
that they have sufficient funds to maintain themselves and any dependants until
they receive their first salary payment.
Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility
Applications for this post are particularly welcome from women, and black and
ethnic minority candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in
Oxford. The College is an equal opportunities employer.
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