The College
Brasenose College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and a registered charity that furthers education, learning and research for the public benefit. During the academic year, there are approximately 365 undergraduates and 250 graduates in residence studying for first degrees and higher degrees. It is one of Oxford’s most popular Colleges and prioritises academic excellence within a very friendly and supportive environment.
Please note this vacancy will close at noon on Tuesday, 9th June. However we reserve the right to close this vacancy early.
The College Office
The College Office is responsible for student administration within Brasenose. It performs a wide range of tasks including schools’ outreach and admissions (including organising interviews for prospective undergraduates), student registry administration (student enrolment, course changes and transcript production), examinations (including both University exams and internal college exams, known as collections). The office is situated in the heart of the College and consists of the Senior Tutor, the Academic Registrar, the Deputy Academic Registrar, the Admissions Officer, the Head of Access and Retention, the Outreach and Schools Liaison Coordinator, and the Academic Assistant. The post holder will report formally to the Senior Tutor.
Admissions at Brasenose College
Brasenose’s core admissions objective is to recruit students with the greatest potential to benefit from an Oxford education, regardless of background. In recent years, the College has attracted a large number of applications from an increasingly diverse range of candidates seeking to become undergraduate or graduate members. On the undergraduate side, Brasenose admits 112 students a year across a balanced range of Humanities, Social Science, and Science subjects. The graduate population is strongly international and students are admitted for a wide range of Masters and Doctorate programmes across the four Divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, MPLS, Medical Sciences). Brasenose adopts the highest professional standards in admissions administration and the Admissions Officer attends the College’s Admissions Committee and contributes to admissions planning and delivery.
Purpose and Objectives of the Post
The Admissions Officer is responsible for the practical administration of the Undergraduate
and Graduate admission processes. They work closely with the Senior Tutor (who is also Tutor for Admissions), Tutor for Graduates, the Academic Registrar, and the rest of the College Office team. The Admissions Officer is supported by a share of the Academic Assistant’s time. In addition to providing support to College Tutors engaged in student selection, they also liaise with University (Departmental/Faculty) admissions coordinators and the central Admissions Office.
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Dealing with enquiries relating to admissions, in particular from prospective students, parents and schools, by letter, phone, or email.
- Organizing the Undergraduate Admissions Exercise (the peak period runs October-January), including managing communications with the University Undergraduate Admissions Office, other Oxford colleges, departments and faculties, tutors and applicants. They will need to liaise closely with Brasenose’s student hosts, plus College catering/domestic staff and porters if interviews are conducted in person. If interviews are conducted online, they will need to manage the additional administrative processes involved, including the bulk creation of Microsoft Teams invitations.
- Reviewing the organisation of the annual undergraduate interviews to identify improvements and maintain quality.
- Reviewing (with the Senior Tutor) the College’s agreed guidelines to be followed by selectors when admitting undergraduate and graduate students.
- Organizing the secure distribution of UCAS forms and written work, the production of timetables for interviews and the co-ordination of accommodation arrangements for candidates coming for interview (if interviews are in-person). Much of the Undergraduate Admissions Exercise makes use of University systems such as ADSS and eVision.
- Promoting and tracking tutor training, including University Admissions training and knowledge of the Contextual Data included on applicant UCAS forms.
- Providing administrative support to the Senior Tutor in the production of offer or rejection letters.
- Dealing with queries and other work arising out of the Undergraduate Admissions Exercise, including administrative support to Tutors in preparing feedback letters on individual candidates to schools.
- Handling the post-offer administration for undergraduate offer holders, including certifying qualifications, Financial Declarations, and letters to schools of conditional offer holders. The Admissions Officer is also responsible for the creation of student records on the College’s internal database and sending out reading-lists (in consultation with the Subject Tutors) and other documents to incoming students following confirmation of places in August.
- Organizing the administration of the results matching process in August under the guidance of the Senior Tutor, including assisting with managing the student number plan and producing confirmation of place letters for candidates.
- Reporting (as directed by the Senior Tutor) on the organisation of the Undergraduate Admissions Exercise.
- Compiling and presenting statistics on admissions for report to the College Admissions Committee or for other purposes (as directed by the Senior Tutor).
- Participating in the annual budget round and managing the agreed Admissions Budget under the supervision of the Senior Tutor.
- Drawing up annual undergraduate and graduate number plans to ensure that the College recruits to agreed admissions quota as far as possible.
- Preparing information needed for the annual review of admissions to graduate programmes and working with the Tutor for Graduates, Senior Tutor, and Finance Director on the annual allocation of graduate scholarship funding. Liaising with the Development Office over the introduction of new donor-funded scholarships.
- Liaising with and coordinating information flows with other departments, particularly the Domestic and Finance Bursaries (e.g. financial declarations, fees statuses, scholarship administration, information required by accommodation team)
- Organising the Organ Scholars admissions process, as well as providing support in the organisation of the Choral Scholars selection process, in association with the Chaplain and Director of Music.
- Organizing Graduate Admissions, including the administration of College decisions, managing communications with the University Graduate Admissions Office, departments and faculties, tutors and applicants. Much of the Graduate Admissions Exercise will make use of the University’s e-Vision system and SharePoint.
- Providing administrative support to the College’s Admissions Committee, to include minute writing.
- Assisting the Head of Access and Retention with the organisation of Open Days, school visits, mini-conferences and other events that further the College’s aim to admit candidates of the highest ability regardless of background.
- Assisting other staff in the College Office as is needed so as to ensure that the College Office provides effective administrative support for Tutors, students, and prospective students. (Members of the College Office team are expected to provide reciprocal cover for each other, as far as is consistent with their primary duties).
Education & Training
Essential
- Good standard of education to A-level (or equivalent)
Desirable
Work Experience
Essential
- Administrative experience demonstrating competence in activities comparable to those required of the post holder
Desirable
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Experience of Admissions administration or management in Higher Education
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Computer literacy, including fluency with databases and Microsoft Office applications (specifically Word, and Excel)
- Ability to work flexibly and logically, including the ability to prioritise tasks during the busiest periods of the Admissions process
- High standards of oral and written communication
- Ability to liaise with and coordinate information flows with other College departments, particularly Domestic and Finance Bursaries
- Sympathy for the College’s academic ethos, which includes the aim of admitting students of the highest ability and greatest potential, regardless of background
Desirable
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Familiarity with ADSS, e-Vision and other University IT systems. Familiarity with customer relationship databases, preferably CRM
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a high level of personal organisation and accuracy
- A high level of discretion and sensitivity to ensure confidentiality in admissions matters
- Ability to work independently
Appointment: This is a permanent post. The appointment will be conditional on verification of the successful candidate’s right to work in Britain and subject to the receipt of satisfactory references and medical clearance.
Salary: To be paid on the Oxford University Grade 6 scale, currently £35,851 - £41,806 pa (inclusive of the Brasenose Oxford Weighting). The starting point will depend on qualifications and experience. Advancement up the scale is on merit.
Hours of Working: Normal office hours are 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays. However, the Admissions Officer will be expected to work such hours as are reasonably required to carry out their duties. The administrative aspects of undergraduate admission reach a peak in Michaelmas term (October to December) and, although administrative assistance is available at this time, the post holder will need to be prepared to cope with a demanding work schedule. This will require working outside normal office hours during this period, including some weekend work.
Probation: This post is subject to a 6 month probationary period
Notice: 1 month's service or more, 2 months notice
Benefits:
- Pension: Eligibility to USS Pension scheme. (University Superannuation Scheme). The successful candidate will be entered into this scheme automatically on joining, but on-going membership of the scheme is optional.
- Salary Exchange Scheme: Staff who are eligible for USS, and who join our pension scheme will be enrolled into the Salary Exchange Pension Contributions Scheme on or around three months after joining Brasenose. This scheme is financially advantageous both to the employee, and the College as the employer.
- Meals: Employees are entitled to take lunch free of charge in Hall each day they work when the kitchen is open.
- Annual Leave Entitlement: The paid holiday entitlement for an equivalent full-time contract for a year is six working weeks (30 days) of annual leave (5 days to be taken over Christmas break when College is closed) plus 8 Statutory Bank Holidays. Annual leave shall be taken at mutually convenient times agreed in advance with the Senior Tutor, normally during University vacations. It will be necessary for the Admissions Officer to be available for two weeks in August (the period following the release of A-level results). The holiday year begins on 1 January and ends 31 December. For part years of service, the entitlement will be calculated as 1/12th of the annual entitlement for each completed month.
- Welfare Support – Employee Assistance Programme – a free confidential telephone helpline and online medical guidance. Free annual flu jab.
- Travel Pass Loan - a discounted travel scheme is available with monthly deductions from salary
- Cycle to Work Scheme/Bike Loan – monthly deductions from salary
- Sports Facilities – Access to the University Sports club
- University Card - for discounts in shops, cafes and restaurants and University leisure facilities.
Other Information:
No smoking is allowed in any part of the College, except the designated smoking area.
Recruitment Monitoring: This post is subject to recruitment monitoring to ensure that the selection process is consistent with the law and the College’s Equality and Diversity Policy and Code of Practice. You are asked to complete the Recruitment Monitoring Form which is completed through the online application process. The information supplied on the form will play no part in the selection process and will not be seen by any members of the shortlisting panel.
Data Protection: All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post and will be held in accordance with the principles of the General Data Protection Act 2018. In accordance with the GDPR regulations 2018 please see the relevant privacy notice on the website.
https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/policies/privacy/
Brasenose College is an equal opportunities employer.
About Us: Founded in 1509 and located centrally in beautiful Radcliffe Square, Brasenose College stands as a distinguished institution at the heart of Oxford's rich academic history. Over the centuries, we have evolved into a beacon of intellectual prowess, consistently upholding a tradition of academic excellence. Brasenose College boasts a vibrant community of students and alumni, creating a network that stretches far beyond the halls of the College. Our influence resonates globally, with scholars and professionals alike contributing to various fields around the world.
We are a medium sized college with around 370 undergraduates, 210 graduate students and 130 support staff. Outside of the three 10-week terms, during Easter and summer, the College is exceptionally busy hosting international conferences and Bed and Breakfast guests.
