Middlebury-CMRS Junior Dean Vacancy 2024

Middlebury-CMRS (M-CMRS) seeks to appoint a Junior Dean on a one-year contract from 1 August 2024 (exact date by mutual agreement), with a possible annual extension of up to a further two years. The Junior Dean position is year-round, provides a single-occupancy room free of charge in M-CMRS’s central Oxford property, and an annual stipend of £6,000.

Applications and informal enquiries to: mcmrs@middlebury.edu There is no application form or required format for applications.

Applications deadline: 5pm on Sunday 12 May 2024. Applications must include a covering letter, a CV, details of two referees, and evidence of entitlement to work in the UK.

Interviews will take place in Oxford in the week beginning Monday 13 May 2024.

Please note:

•               Applications will not be considered from Tier 4/Student Visa holders as the hours required for this position exceed the Visa allowance.

•               Applications will only be considered from candidates who are already entitled to work in the UK. M-CMRS does not hold the appropriate licence to sponsor migrant workers.

M-CMRS is an independent Study Abroad program associated with Keble College. It welcomes around 35 students from leading north American institutions each Autumn and Spring for the ‘Semester Program’, and around 15-20 students for its ‘Museum Studies’ program in the summer. M-CMRS sometimes hosts programs for other American universities in the summer. Junior Deans have a welfare and facilities role.  They are required to be on duty on alternate nights (5pm – 9am) in case of emergency, to oversee the facility, to implement our Fire, Health and Safety Policies, and to be a first point of call for out-of-hours welfare issues. They are also required for some day-time duties at the beginning and end of each program. Other duties throughout the year include, but are not limited to, accompanying full-day field trips, and supervising JCR elections.  Some duties are more limited over the summer. (Please note that the hours required for this position exceed the Student visa allowance.)

JOB DESCRIPTION: JUNIOR DEAN

There are two elements to the role of Junior Dean at M-CMRS: facilities and student well-being.  Facilities duties cover the whole year; student well-being responsibilities usually relate only to the M-CMRS programs.

1. General duties

a) Your line manager is the Senior Tutor. You will also be required to work closely with the Principal, Administrator and Facilities Co-Ordinator, and with your fellow Junior Dean. You will meet at least once a week with the Senior Tutor and/or other members of staff.  This is a small organisation, where all staff are expected to be flexible.

b) You will be required to attend First Aid and Mental Health training (if you have not done so already), and may be required to attend other training. This will be at no cost to you.

c) Hours

When on duty, you will be responsible for the Junior Dean mobile phone, keys, information folder, and First Aid kit.

You should arrange a rota for each 4-week period with your fellow Junior Dean, and communicate it to the Administrator for distribution to other staff members and students.  One of you must be on duty each night from 5pm until 9am. Between 5pm and 8pm, and from 7am to 9am, the on-duty Junior Dean will be within 10 minutes travelling distance within a good reception area for the Junior Dean mobile phone (which is to remain turned on at all times), and you will also make sure to be in a position to respond immediately to any emergency call. Full details on how to contact the on-duty Junior Dean will be available at all times to students and other staff members.  Between 8pm and 7am, only very brief necessary or emergency absences should be contemplated.

d)  Supervision of Building and Facilities

As Junior Dean, you will be responsible, out of office hours, for the supervision of St Michael’s Hall and its facilities. This will include, but not be limited to, the implementation of Fire, Health and Safety policies, and the enforcement of M-CMRS regulations. It will also be your responsibility to empty the bins at weekends, and occasionally at other times if necessary.

You must tour the building each night before going to bed to check that entrance doors are shut, windows are secure, cookers and hobs are switched off in the kitchen, and that there are no building problems.

You will have received training in the appropriate emergency procedures in the event of fire or the fire alarm going off, and the operation of the fire alarm panel. You will act as Fire Marshal in the event of a fire.

You are responsible, with your fellow Junior Dean, for holding two fire drills per semester.

If required, you will supply paper or replace toner cartridge in student printers, and reboot the network.

In case of serious electrical, plumbing or other building problems, you will have the emergency numbers of the contractors who should be contacted.  The Principal must also be informed of any serious building issues. Minor problems that can wait till the next day should be reported promptly to the Administrator for action.

e) Emergencies

If a resident becomes ill or has an accident, you will take appropriate action.  This could include, but is not limited to, providing First Aid, calling 111, referring students to the medical practice at 28@Northgate or their out-of-hours service, or calling the emergency services, and occasionally accompanying a student to A&E.

You must notify the Principal of any out of hours emergency at once.

You must record any accidents on an Incident Report Form, in the Accident Book, and report to SiteSafe as instructed.

2. Program duties

Middlebury-CMRS operates two 14-week semesters, one around the University of Oxford’s Michaelmas Term, the other around Hilary Term.  It also operates a Museum Studies program in the summer and hosts programs from other American universities and colleges. You are responsible for out of hours student discipline and welfare during these programs.

a) Student well-being:

Our students are academic high achievers at demanding American institutions.  They have been admitted on the basis of their academic work, and their social maturity.  However, the intensive nature of Oxford’s tutorial system, together with the general adjustments required by a new academic environment in a new country, can sometimes create challenges for students’ well-being. M-CMRS is deeply committed to student well-being in the widest sense. Responsibility for student well-being ultimately lies with the Principal, together with the Senior Tutor, the Administrator and the Facilities Co-Ordinator.

You are the first line of care for M-CMRS students out of office hours. You should be attentive to students who are ill and watch out for any who appear to be troubled.  It is not your role to provide counselling, but you should inform students of counselling arrangements and other opportunities for support as appropriate.  You must inform the Senior Tutor of any concerns about individual students.  You should strive to be on good terms with the students, without becoming so friendly that it undermines your authority.

You must be familiar with and, if required, act upon M-CMRS policies detailed in the Middlebury-CMRS Oxford Humanities Program Student Handbook

b) Student discipline and behaviour:

Our students are expected to behave as responsible adults, in accordance with the norms of their own institutions and of British universities.  You will be responsible for enforcing the M-CMRS rules and regulations out of office hours, and should inform the Senior Tutor of infringements as soon as possible.

For example, you must ensure that unauthorized parties do not take place and that authorized parties are conducted properly, ending at the agreed time.  You should monitor the student kitchen at night to make sure it remains tidy and that electrical appliances are switched off.

c) Specific duties:

You will be responsible for contributing to orientation events at the beginning of each program, and to end-of-program procedures. In particular, you will be required to meet students at Gloucester Green at the beginning of each program, bring them to St Michael’s Hall and assist the Administrator with showing students to their accommodation following check-in. At the end of each program, you will inspect the student rooms for faults or damage and run departure day for the students.

Early in each program, the Junior Deans are responsible for organising elections to the M-CMRS JCR committee, and for organising and implementing a ‘kitchen cleaning rota’. (This determines which student is responsible, as a last resort, for kitchen hygiene on any given day.) You must share that rota promptly and efficiently with students and other members of staff, and ensure that it is updated as appropriate. It is your responsibility to oversee and encourage students to carry out this duty.

You will need to accompany full-day field trips out of Oxford, as required. There are usually 4 field trips in the autumn and the spring, and each Junior Dean will normally be required to cover half of these. Summer program field trips are to be determined.

3. Out of Program duties

Outside of the M-CMRS programs, St Michael’s Hall sometimes hosts various other externally-organized programs. You will not be pastorally responsible for these students except by arrangement with you. However, you will remain responsible for supervision of building and facilities, and responding to emergencies, as specified in Section 1, above; and you will be required to contribute to the arrival/departure and orientation activities, and possibly some other activities for these programs.

4. Terms of employment

a) Full terms of employment will be detailed in the contract.

b) It will be regarded as gross misconduct if you embark on any sort of romantic or sexual interaction with any M-CMRS student, or any other student based in St Michael’s Hall.  This may result in summary dismissal.