Job description for residential warden
Job Description
Please see Notes for Job Applicants for general background information on St. Clare's.
Please see the Additional Information notes

Purpose of the job
The Warden of a residential house at St. Clare's stands in loco parentis , and is responsible for:

  1. the welfare of the students in his or her care;
  2. upholding St. Clare's standards of conduct and behaviour;
  3. encouraging an atmosphere of consideration and international understanding;
  4. ensuring the fabric of the building is maintained;
  5. upholding the good name of St. Clare's.

It is important for a Warden to support colleagues in other houses and in the classroom, liaising with the Personal Tutors, Senior Resident, Dean of Students, Vice Principal and the Principal as necessary.
The relationship of a Warden with the students should be modelled on that of a responsible parent with sons or daughters of the same age living at home. There may be differences of style between one Warden and another, but all Wardens are expected to follow the procedures below and College policies as advised by the Vice Principal from time to time, bearing in mind that common sense should prevail since all eventualities cannot be itemised.

Reporting relationship
A Warden reports to the Senior Resident. On day-to-day matters contact is more likely to be with other people as follows:

  1. on the care of the house and contents – the Estates Manager;
  2. on contractual terms and conditions of service - the Bursar;
  3. on house security - the Central Facilities Manager;
  4. arrangements for relief and holiday cover – the Senior Resident;
  5. changes in student accommodation - the Student Services Officer;
  6. on medical issues relating to students - the College Nurse;
  7. disciplinary and welfare matters - the Dean of Students.

Other details are given below.

Duties and responsibilities
A Warden is required to be available to students in his or her house at suitable times as specified in the “Regulations for Wardens”.

A Warden is responsible for:

a) Discipline and communication

  1. upholding the College Regulations as notified, in his or her house, and promptly reporting student misbehaviour to the Dean of Students or Vice Principal, as appropriate;
  2. personally checking that students are in the house by curfew and following extensions to curfew, in line with agreed policy;
  3. for maintaining an atmosphere conducive to study in the house;
  4. for submitting reports on individual students or groups of students as required by the College and specified by the Vice Principal and/or the Dean of Students;
  5. attendance at Wardens' meetings at times notified by the Senior Resident;
  6. for holding regular house meetings where students are encouraged to share their views on house and College issues that affect them;
  7. maintaining the house noticeboard(s) with policies, notices and documentation as specified by the Senior Resident;
  8. liaison with neighbours to ensure that they are not unduly disturbed by College students or activities.

b) Pastoral Care and Welfare

  1. for paying individual attention to the progress and needs and also the difficulties of the students in his or her care and offering help and advice as appropriate and where necessary for communicating with colleagues as appropriate;
  2. for taking appropriate action when a student is sick. Initially, the student should be referred to the College Nurse. Outside her hours, or if the student needs to see a doctor urgently, an appointment should be made with a GP - the Student Services Officer can help in this regard - and should be recorded, eg. in the house weekly report;
  3. for reporting any emergencies to the Duty Manager, who will call the police if necessary. Should a student need to visit hospital outside College opening hours then the Warden, or Duty Manager, should accompany the student and remain with the student as appropriate to his or her age and the seriousness of his or her illness or injuries;
  4. in the event of an emergency involving an immediate or on-going risk to persons or property the Warden may call the emergency services as appropriate;
  5. acting in loco parentis it is desirable that the Warden will support and encourage the students in his or her house in their College activities, both academic and non-academic, eg. attendance at concerts, plays, orientation events and other events as suggested from time to time by the Senior Resident;
  6. to use the house hospitality allowance to entertain students, eg. subsidising house trips to theatre, cinema, restaurants etc. The Senior Resident will advise on suitable uses of this allowance.

c) Domestic

  1. for the care of the College house and contents, reporting maintenance requirements, damage etc. to the College to the Estates Manager and/or the Senior Resident as appropriate;
  2. for liaising with the cleaner as appropriate, especially on student welfare and disciplinary issues;
  3. for instructing the students to keep their own rooms in order, make beds, keep the common room tidy etc;
  4. for encouraging students to take care of College property and to be economical in the use of electricity, fuel and water.

d) Health and Safety

i) for complying with all health and safety regulations as notified by the Central Facilities Manager, and in particular ensuring that:

  • fire exits are kept free at all times;
  • fire drills are carried out at least once each term including one within the first three days of term;
  • fire drills are carried out within the first two days of each vacation course;
  • no unauthorised electrical appliances are used by students, the warden and/or his or her family;
  • students do not cook in bedrooms or bathrooms;

ii) for reporting any security concerns, eg. window restrictors removed, overloaded sockets, broken locks etc. to the Central Facilities Manager.

e) Other

  1. a Warden is required to assist other Wardens, eg. covering a house if a Warden has gone to hospital with a student, and to co-operate fully with the Duty Manager so as to ensure appropriate pastoral care for students and support for colleagues;
  2. planned absence of a Warden from his or her house for extended periods, eg. whole evenings (see “Regulations for Wardens") or days over the weekend, should be notified in advance to the Senior Warden on duty so that appropriate supervision can be organised;
  3. attendance at professional development sessions organised by St. Clare's for up to 10 hours per year;
  4. any other duties reasonably assigned by the Principal or Vice Principal.

A Warden is required to comply with conditions and arrangements as detailed in Section 5 of the Agreement for Service Occupancy.

Further enquiries and applications
Tessa Ely, Senior Resident
St. Clare's, Oxford, 139 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7AL
Tel: 01865 517368
Fax: 01865 310002
Email: recruitment@stclares.ac.uk

Closing date for applications: Wednesday 4 July 2007

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