Background to the post

St. Clare's, Oxford is an independent, non-profit-making educational charity. Our aim is to advance international education and understanding. We offer a range of short course programmes, the majority of which take place during June, July and August.

Job description

The temporary wardens are appointed to look after young adult students accommodated in St. Clare's' residential houses during the summer to cover the annual leave of our permanent staff. Usually this will be for a period of 2, 3 or 4-weeks duration. The house warden stands ‘in loco parentis' and is responsible for the welfare of the students in the house. It is essential that the warden encourages an atmosphere of consideration and co-operation and that they uphold the good name of the college. Temporary wardens report to the Summer Courses Dean of Students on a daily basis whilst courses are taking place, and to the Senior Resident or Director of English Language Courses on contractual matters and on any serious incident.

Warden profile

We are looking for responsible individuals who have strong presence and who are prepared to be fully committed to the demands of the job. You will need to demonstrate empathy for the students whilst maintaining their respect, and ideally to be experienced in dealing with students of this age group in international education and/or in residential contexts. Ideally wardens will have a minimum age of 25, although younger candidates who can demonstrate a high degree of maturity, with relevant experience, will also be considered.

Duties and responsibilities

• Checking individual pigeon-hole in staff room each day for any important information or communication; collecting student lists each Thursday and then again checking for last minute update or change to the list after 17.00 each Friday before a course arrival Sunday.
• Management of house information and systems: ensuring that the student notice-board is kept up-to-date; signing in/out procedures are adhered to; visitor times are regulated; keys are issued and key/damage deposits collected from each new student in the house; non-smoking or alcohol policy is maintained; fire exits are kept free and students are made aware of exit points, alarms and fire fighting appliances.
• Accommodation: relaying any problems with accommodation to Student Services, Domestic Supervisors or maintenance department, as appropriate.
• Welfare: liaising with the College Nurse, Summer Dean of Students, and/or Student Services in cases of student illness; being aware of any student in the house with an existing medical condition e.g. asthma or allergies, or on medication. Making doctor appointments or arranging hospital visits if illness occurs out of college hours.
• Discipline: liaising with the Dean of Students on all matters relating to student discipline and for serious offences or in the absence of the Dean of Students, with the Director of English Language courses.
• Keeping to hand copies of the college rules and checking with the Dean of Students that all students in the house have read, signed and understood them.
• Informing the Director of English Language courses and/or Dean of Students of any known class absence due to illness.
• Reporting any loss or damage to St. Clare's' property to the Domestic Supervisors, Dean of Students or Director of English Language courses.
• Checking student rooms each night, ensuring that all students are in by the curfew time (23.00 or 24.00), and informing the Dean of Students of any unaccountable absences or late returns.
• Remaining on the house premises after curfew and minimum up to 07.30 next morning, and being willing to deal with any unexpected emergency that may occur in the house during the night.
• Being especially vigilant regarding street noise, of returning students in the Lathbury Road area, and telephoning the Dean of Students if there is persistent noise or disruption.
• Arrival days: being available in the house from 14.00 on each arrival Sunday to meet and greet students, administer keys and collect deposits, show them to their rooms, point out communal facilities and to hold a short house meeting to brief new students on the house rules and systems.
• Departure days (usually Saturday): returning key/damage deposit once you are in receipt of room keys and the room has been checked for damage; ensuring that rooms are vacated by 10.00.

Terms and conditions

Appointments will be made for a varying number of weeks within the Summer course dates of Saturday 14 June - Saturday 16 August 2008. Once appointed the Temporary Warden will receive a comprehensive pack of information with more detail and guidance on the duties listed above. They will also be fully briefed by a permanent member of staff.

Wardens may be required to work for different periods of time in different houses, but with the exception of emergency cover, this will not be for less than one whole week in any one house. Working hours are based on an average of 4 per day/evening which includes some flexibility on arrival days. Accommodation will be provided, consisting of a single bedroom, use of kitchen, toilet and bathroom (possibly shared). Where the Temporary Warden has use of the permanent member of staff's accommodation he/she must not tamper with, rearrange, damage or remove any personal items belonging to the permanent warden. Similarly, wardens must not remove or damage any property belonging to St. Clare's. Any such damage must be reported immediately.

Payment

Weekly salary - £156.44

Meals are provided in the College dining hall or snack bar. Wardens are given an ID card with a full daily meal allowance entered on it. This covers breakfast, lunch and dinner in the college dining hall or snack bar. This allowance cannot be exchanged for money.

All payments are credited automatically by bank transfer weekly, one week in arrears.

References & checks

All offers of employment and contracts are issued subject to satisfactory references and satisfactory outcomes on completion of all necessary checks, including establishing the right to work in the UK. In some cases some or all of these checks will have been undertaken before an offer is made. In most cases, taking up employment will be subject to the satisfactory completion of all necessary procedures.

Under the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools, we are required to undertake additional checks on all employees working with our residential students who are under 18:

• Full written references, and phone references on quoted referees, including current employer, may be obtained before or after interview. You should indicate specifically if you wish St. Clare's to refrain from contacting your current employer.
• Police checks / Criminal Records Bureau checks must also be undertaken, for which employees / prospective employees are required to provide information and consent.
• Contact with all previous employers where the employee has worked with children or vulnerable adults is also required. This is to establish the reason for leaving the position. On occasions, further information and a reference may be sought in writing, by phone or by other means. By providing details of previous employment, it is assumed that the employee/prospective employee has given consent for this contact, and no specific consent of the employee / prospective employee will be sought.
• The College reserves the right to contact any previous employer and to make any additional enquiries it considers necessary in order to meet its responsibilities in relation to employment of people working with students who are under the age of 18.

Statutory deductions

Tax and National Insurance will be deducted from salaries in accordance with UK employment regulations. St. Clare's, Oxford will require P45s (if available) and National Insurance numbers before commencement of employment.

Applications

Please apply with short covering letter and current c.v., including two referees, one of which should be your current or most recent employer to:
Tessa Ely, Senior Resident
St. Clare's, Oxford, 139 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7AL
Tel: +44 (0)1865 517368
Fax: +44 (0)1865 310002
Email: recruitment@stclares.ac.uk