"Welfare Dean"

Reuben College, Reuben College is a new graduate-only college which employs around 35 staff, across a wide range of roles, who work closely together. This is an exciting opportunity to join the College and play a central role in supporting the welfare and wellbeing of its graduate community.

About the role

We are seeking a highly skilled and compassionate individual to join Reuben College as Welfare Dean (Maternity Cover). In this pivotal role, you will lead the College’s welfare provision under the Senior Tutor, working closely with students, staff, University-wide support services, and external health professionals to ensure that all students receive timely, appropriate, and effective support.

You will provide direct one-to-one welfare support to students, respond to acute and complex cases, assess risk, and coordinate with multiple teams including the College GP, NHS services, and the University’s Student Welfare and Support Services. Alongside your support responsibilities, you will oversee the development and delivery of the College’s welfare strategy, welfare-related policies, and an annual programme of wellbeing events, including induction sessions on Welfare, Consent, and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

You will represent the College at University-wide welfare forums, act as Safeguarding Lead, Prevent Lead and Harassment Advisor, and provide leadership to key student-facing welfare roles such as Sub-Deans, peer supporters, and Welfare Reps.

This is a highly varied and rewarding role where you will use your professional expertise, emotional resilience, and excellent judgement to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of graduate students.

About You

You will be a trained and registered professional in a relevant field: such as mental health nursing, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, occupational therapy, or psychological wellbeing practice and bring significant recent experience of supporting adults or young people in a mental-health or welfare-focused setting.

You will have outstanding interpersonal skills, the ability to put people at ease, and the confidence to manage sensitive, complex and at times distressing situations with discretion and professionalism. You will be highly organised, able to work independently while collaborating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, and capable of providing calm leadership in urgent or high-pressure circumstances.

Familiarity with student welfare issues and an understanding of the context of Higher Education, particularly the challenges facing graduate students is highly desirable. You will demonstrate strong awareness of disability-related concerns, and the ability to work securely and appropriately with confidential information.

This role requires flexibility across the working week, with some limited out-of-hours availability by agreement. This position is primarily College-based, and remote working will normally not be possible.

This maternity-cover appointment is offered on a part-time to full-time basis (equivalent to 22.5 – 37.5 hours per week) and will commence on 4 May 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter, running until 9 July 2027, or earlier should the substantive postholder return or leave the post.

If you would like to discuss the role informally, please contact the Senior Tutor Caroline Mawson at senior.tutor@reuben.ox.ac.uk.

Application Process

You are required to upload your CV and a supporting statement addressing each of the selection criteria outlined in the job description. Only online applications received before noon on [date] will be considered. Interviews will be held in person at the College on Tuesday 3 March 2026.

Committed to equality and valuing diversity

Contact Person: HR Manager
Vacancy ID: 184669
Contact Phone: 01865 616471
Closing Date & Time: 03-Mar-2026 12:00
Pay Scale: STANDARD GRADE 8
Contact Email: human.resources@reuben.ox.ac.uk
Salary (£): Grade 8: £49,119 -£58,265 per annum pro-rata