Job Description

The Oxford School of Global and Area Studies

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) as the Senior HR Officer and EDI Officer on a full time (part-time at 80% will be considered) and permanent contract basis.

About the Role:

This is a key role managing the HR function in the Oxford School of Global Area Studies (OSGA). The HR team is one of five teams within OSGA's friendly Professional Services team. The post-holder will ensure the provision of an effective HR service in OSGA, will proactively supervise two Grade 5 HR officers, and will work closely with the Divisional HR team who provide additional HR support. The role reports to the Head of Administration and Finance (HAF) who oversees the HR team.
The Senior HR Officer will be responsible for providing essential guidance to the HAF, and Head of School (HoS), and HR Officers on HR-related matters including: development and implementation of School HR policy and procedures, employment relations, personnel matters, recruitment, work permits, and visas. The post-holder will lead on all permanent academic recruitment exercises for the School.
The postholder will also act as the School's EDI Officer helping to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within OSGA and support an inclusive working environment, facilitate the work of OSGA's EDI Committee, and coordinate EDI initiatives. The post-holder will work closely with the Deputy Head of School, the Head of Administration & Finance, OSGA's Divisional research forum representative, and the HR team proposing and implementing improvements to current working methods and developing protocols where necessary.
The School holds an Athena SWAN bronze award.

About You:

Qualified or working toward CIPD graduate level or with equivalent experience, you will have experience of working in an HR role and managing HR processes. You will have a sound knowledge and experience of UK employment law and UKVI regulations, and also have experience of using HR systems and producing reports, with the ability to deal accurately and confidently with numbers. Your communication skills will be excellent, with the ability to demonstrate experience of providing a high level of customer service and develop professional and effective working relationships with key stakeholders. HR experience within the University of Oxford or other higher education institutions is desirable.

Application process:

Applications for this vacancy should be made online.

When applying to this position, you will be required to upload a CV and a supporting statement addressing how you meet each of the selection criteria, as listed in the job description. Further details regarding the selection criteria and details on how to apply can be found in the attached job description.

Informal enquiries are welcome, please email recruitment@area.ox.ac.uk. Any queries or matters that are not referred to in the job description/further particulars will be passed to the Head of Administration and Finance, Dr Elizabeth Hodges. Please quote the vacancy reference

180928

in all your correspondence.

The closing date for applications is

12.00 noon on Tuesday 12th August 2025

. Applications received after the closing date cannot be considered.

Interviews will be held in person on

Wednesday 3rd September

.

If you, as an applicant, require reasonable adjustments to be made in the interview process, please do reach out and discuss this with our HR team. We will do our best to facilitate and accommodate reasonable adjustments.

What We Offer:

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees' wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:
An excellent contributory pension scheme 38 days annual leave A comprehensive range of childcare services Family leave schemes Cycle loan and electric or ultra-low emission vehicle scheme Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans Membership to a variety of social and sports clubs.

The University of Oxford holds an institutional Silver Athena Swan award, acknowledging the progress made in addressing a number of gender gaps across the University. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse working environment. Applications are particularly welcome from men and black and minority ethnic candidates who are under-represented in professional services in the University of Oxford.