Three Summer School Assistants for the International Human Rights Law Residential Courses

Deadline: midday Friday 24 February 2023

The Oxford Law Faculty and Bonavero Institute for Human Rights offer two courses in International Human Rights Law (IHRL): a four-week Summer School and a two-year part-time and distance-taught MSc in International Human Rights Law which includes a summer residence in Oxford. For both the Summer School and the MSc residence, students are based at New College. Classes are held in the St Cross Building and the Manor Road Social Sciences Building and some events will take place at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. 

Summer School Assistants (sometimes called “Student Deans") are a vital part of the smooth running of these residential summer courses, liaising closely with the Course Administrator and Directors, the tutors, the college staff and the participants. They are the “bridge" between the host college and the course staff and good communication is key to their smooth and successful running.

In total, around 170 students will be staying at New College for between four and five weeks in July/August. In addition, around 25 tutors teaching on these programmes will be based in and around Oxford.

Residing with participants in college, and working closely with the Course Administrator, Course Directors, and tutors, the Summer School Assistants will undertake a wide range of administrative and organisational tasks:

  1. Welcome and register students;
  2. Be a first point of contact for students, tutors and guest speakers throughout the programmes;
  3. Liaise with staff at New College, Manor Road, St Cross and Bonavero Institute of Human Rights plus external suppliers ,
  4. Help with arrangements for tutors, guest speakers, formal dinners, informal social events;
  5. Provide tours;
  6. Attend meetings with the Course Administrator as required assist tutors in preparing for any hybrid teaching;
  7. In the absence of the Course Administrator and Course Directors, deal with any incident (e.g. medical emergency, theft) affecting a member of the summer courses, and promptly inform the relevant staff of the Department and college; and
  8. Be ‘on call’ throughout the summer courses, except with the prior permission of the Course Administrator. Further information about being ‘on call’ is provided below.

Duration and hours

Three Summer School Assistants will be required to help with the IHRL courses in 2023.

Start date:

x2 will run from Wednesday 28 June until Saturday 29 July. 

x1 will run from Wednesday 28 June until Saturday 5 August.  This is slightly longer to provide support for a further week when only first year MSc students and a smaller group of tutors will be in residence. 

Applicants must be available to start and finish on the given dates. 

Hours:

Normal working hours will be 40 - 48 hours a week, spread over 6 days per week. There are five days when all assistants must be available (Thursday 29 June, Friday 30 June, Saturday 1 July, Tuesday 4 July and Friday 28 July).  A timetable will be drawn up by the Course Administrator in consultation with all assistants to ensure Working Time Regulations are met. Under these regulations:

  • The Assistant will not be required to work more than 48 hours per week calculated over the whole of the engagement
  • The Assistant will have one day off each week (to be discussed with the Course Administrator)
  • The Assistant will have an 11-hour break overnight

Please note:

  • All Assistants will also be "on call" to deal with emergencies throughout the course, except on their day off.  ‘On call’ hours do not count towards the 48-hour week unless the Assistant is actually called out.
  • The working day is likely to be longer at the start of the course and shorter towards the end. 
  • The first 90 minutes of any informal social event organised by the assistants count towards the maximum 48-hour working week but that anything longer than 90 minutes is considered to be in the assistant’s own time.

Full-time graduate students in the Faculty of Law may work up to 8 hours per week, or a common sense average across the year, regardless of the type of work.

Reporting

The Summer School Assistant(s) will report to the Course Administrator, who will provide supervision and all necessary induction and training. 

Requirements

Essential:

  • have excellent organisation and administrative skills
  • have strong communication skills, with the ability to deal professionally, tactfully and confidently with people at all levels, including those from different cultures
  • have a high degree of accuracy and consistent attention to detail
  • have the ability to prioritise the workload, respond to changing deadlines or unexpectedly urgent issues and be calm under pressure
  • be able to work independently and as part of a small team
  • have experience of and enjoy organising groups of people 
  • have a positive and flexible attitude 
  • have completed at least one year of a university course
  • be able to demonstrate a keen interest in human rights law

Desirable

  • be a current Law student at the University
  • be knowledgeable about Oxford and the University of Oxford
  • have experience of a similar role

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to students. The Faculty’s restrictions on working hours will apply to any Law Faculty students who apply.

Rate of Pay

The work will be paid at £11.56 per hour (equivalent to University Grade 2, point 5, and including the exceptional non-consolidated uplift for 2022-23), on the basis of completed and approved timesheets which must be submitted to payroll@law.ox.ac.uk by the last Friday of each calendar month for payment on the last working day of the following month.

In addition, paid annual leave will be assumed to be taken in the month in which it was accrued.

Full board and accommodation is provided at New College, but travel costs to Oxford cannot be remunerated.

How to Apply

A short CV and covering letter should be sent by email  to ihrl-events@law.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible but no later than 12 noon (midday) on Friday 24 February 2023. The letter should state your current course of study and year, your reasons for applying, your relevant experience and examples of how you meet the selection criteria. Supervisors may be asked for a reference.  Applications will be considered in a gathered field by the Course Team and interviews will be held during Weeks 7 and 8.

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