Career Development Research Fellowships 2025

Career Development Research Fellowships for full-time research offered by St John’s College to early career researchers who have recently completed or are close to completion of a doctorate (and will have submitted their thesis no later than three months before their start date of this post), or who have recently been awarded a doctorate. They provide an unrivalled opportunity to establish a research profile as a member of a collegiate community.

St John’s College Oxford proposes, provided that suitable candidates present themselves, to elect up to seven such Fellows, with effect from 1st October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter, one in each of the following subjects:

• Modern Languages – (modern and contemporary Literature and Film. Preference may be given to applicants working on topics in French, German, Comparative Literature and/or Film Studies).
• History of Art (modern and contemporary Art History)
• Fine Art
• Law
• Mathematical Sciences - further details can be found here - Career Development Research Fellowships 2025 | St John's College, Oxford
• Computer Science - further details can be found here - Career Development Research Fellowships 2025 | St John's College, Oxford
• Psychology (applications are welcomed from candidates with research excellence in any area of psychology, including cognitive and behavioral neurosciences, provided that the proposed research is feasible via appropriate resources and infrastructure within Oxford, and that these are available to the applicant) - further details can be found here - Career Development Research Fellowships 2025 | St John's College, Oxford

Please see the further particulars and details of how to apply below, except for the subjects separately linked in the list above.

Candidates must indicate for which subject they are applying. Interdisciplinary applications will be allocated within this list of subjects at the discretion of the College.

Candidates must indicate for which subject they are applying. Interdisciplinary applications will be allocated within this list of subjects at the discretion of the College.

Applications for these posts are particularly welcome from candidates who are women, have a disability and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, who are under-represented in academic posts in Oxford. 2

Duties

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.

Terms and Benefits

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 terminal date will be adjusted accordingly.

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 College’s 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) plus 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 Universities Superannuation Scheme pension. Further details can be found here - USS

The salary will normally be adjusted if the Fellow is in receipt of other remuneration 3 and may be subject to annual increment.

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 additional research funding from 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 http://www.baintonroadnursery.co.uk/

Selection Criteria

Candidates should:

• Hold a doctorate, or be close to completion and will have submitted their thesis no later than three months before the start date of this post. Those who formally submitted their doctoral thesis for viva voce examination prior to 1 October 2022 are not eligible, unless they have had a career break (e.g. a period of parental leave, family commitments, illness or other circumstances), or there are exceptional circumstances. Students (such as medical students) whose doctorate interrupted their professional training, should have completed their professional training since 1 October 2022;
• Have research expertise in their chosen field as demonstrated by a completed (or close to being completed) doctoral thesis and/or published or forthcoming books, or articles in refereed journals, as relevant to the candidate’s field; or promise of such achievement, as relevant to the candidate’s field;
• Have the ability to present research findings effectively to fellow professionals at national and international conferences or in professional research seminars;
• Have a coherent plan of research for the duration of the appointment which can either be the further development of the doctoral work or an entirely new area with the potential to make an outstanding contribution to the candidate’s field of research;
• 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.

Successful candidates will be expected to contribute fully to the life of the College.

How to Apply

Applicants are asked to indicate on their application their chosen subject area, from those listed, which best matches the area of research they would undertake should their application be successful. Applicants whose subjects might be thought to fall into more than one of the subject areas listed are asked to indicate this fact in their application and are invited to draw the attention of the College authorities to factors which they consider relevant to the classification of their research project.

Applications will be accepted only if made according to the following instructions:

• Hard copy applications are not necessary and late applications will not be accepted.
• Candidates applying more than three years since submitting their doctoral thesis or since completing their professional training should bring to the College’s attention any special factors to be considered.
• Candidates requiring laboratory or studio space must communicate with the relevant department at the time of application and will be required to submit a letter of support from the host department if they are called for interview. The College cannot meet expenses associated with research beyond the annual allowance mentioned above.
• Applications should be submitted electronically via this website, where detailed instructions on how to complete the application can be found via the above ‘Apply’ button.
• For those subjects specified separately above (Maths, Computer Science, Psychology), please see the instructions in the respective linked further particulars.

The closing date for receipt of applications is noon on 24th October 2024. Late applications will not be accepted. Please ensure you check all junk and spam folders for communications.

References

Every candidate is asked to name two referees in their application and referees will be e-mailed to asked to provide a reference. Hard copy references should NOT be sent.

Candidates are responsible for notifying referees that the college will be contacting them to provide a reference; they should therefore give referees enough time to write in their support by the closing date.

Selection Process

Interviewing and appointing procedures will be conducted in December 2024 or early 2025. Interviews will normally be conducted via Teams. 5

St John's College is committed to equality of opportunity. It is the policy and practice of St John’s that entry into employment and progression within employment will be determined only by criteria which are related to the duties of a particular post and the relevant salary scale. No applicant or member of staff will be treated less favorably than another because of their age, disability, ethnicity, marital or civil partnership status, parental status, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

The appointment will be subject to the provision of proof of the right to work in the UK.

If you 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.

Applications and references should be submitted electronically via the above ‘Apply’ button.

About St John’s College

Established in 1555, St John’s College fosters excellence in education and research. It is one of the largest among Oxford Colleges and nearly every subject studied at the University has its representation. Today, St John's is home to approximately 390 undergraduates, 250 graduate students, 100 fellows and 25 College lecturers. A vibrant international community, it fosters intellectual rigour, creativity, and independence in its students, teachers, and researchers. The College supports a range of research activities including discussions, seminars, workshops, public lectures and visiting scholar schemes. While scholarly publication is naturally at the heart of our research endeavours, the fellowship is also committed to informing policy and public debate, and to teaching that is informed by research findings. Further information about the College is available at http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk