Head of HR

St John's College seeks to appoint an experienced Head of Human Resources to provide strategic and operational leadership of the College's HR function. The role will ensure the delivery of a high-quality, efficient and compliant HR service that supports the College's academic mission, operational priorities, and people strategy.

The postholder will lead the implementation of the people strategy, embedding operational excellence, best practice and continuous improvement across all HR activities. The post-holder will act as a trusted advisor on academic and professional staff matters, ensuring a consistent and efficient approach to people management, policy development, organisational development, employee relations and change management.

The position offers an exciting opportunity to develop and deliver an excellent operational HR service and support the achievement of the College's overall strategic aims through the successful implementation of the people strategy.

St John's College is one of the larger colleges in the University of Oxford. Founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, it is a long-established member of the thirty-eight colleges of Oxford University. Like all colleges, it is an independent, self‑governing establishment, which functions both as an academic institution and as a social and residential centre for its members. The College has around 650 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The Fellowship includes approximately 100 academics, of which 60 are members of the College's Governing Body that has overall responsibility for all aspects of the running the College. There are approximately 200 professional staff. For further information about the College, please visit our website at

The Head of HR leads on all People related activities at the College and will be responsible for the implementation of our People Strategy which includes training and development, recruitment, enhancing performance, empowering and supporting people, and policy development. We are looking for an experienced HR professional who is equally happy and able to contribute on operational and strategic HR matters.

The post holder will report to the Finance Bursar on operational matters, and to the Principal Bursar on strategic HR matters. There is a “dotted line” to the Senior Tutor for academic staff matters and the postholders will work closely with other senior members of the Bursary leadership team. The HR team includes an HR Advisor, a HR Officer and a HR apprentice so previous experience of leading and motivating a team is essential.

We are looking for an individual with a pragmatic approach who is able to offer solution‑oriented HR advice and show empathy and discretion in handling sensitive personnel matters and managing conflict situations. Previous experience in higher education is not essential, but it is important for the post holder to support the goals and ideals of the College's role in fostering excellence in education and research in a vibrant and socially diverse community.

Equality of opportunity and increasing the diversity of its staff profile are amongst the College's aims, and the appointed person will need to show an interest in working with the President, the Fellow for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and other senior staff to champion and pursue new initiatives in this area.

Experience of working with HR information systems is essential as the College is currently modernising its processes, and the post holder is expected to contribute to these developments.

• Operational Excellence and Service Delivery
• Ensure the effective, efficient, and compliant operation of all HR services, including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, reward, payroll liaison, absence management, and leavers.
• Develop and continuously improve HR policies, processes, and systems to enhance service quality, consistency, user experience in line with changing employment legislation and best practice.
• Lead, manage and develop the HR team, ensuring clear objectives, high performance, and professional development.
• Monitor HR performance in the College, through…