MPLS Research Staff Forum - Co-Chair Nomination

The Roles

We are currently seeking two researchers to serve as Co-Chairs, responsible (with support from other departmental research staff representatives) for representing the interests of research staff from the MPLS departments at divisional and University level. In the past the people taking on this role have been very successful in getting policy changed and making a real difference for their fellow research staff. They have often gone on to gain more senior roles within the University such as: Chair of Oxford Research Staff Society or more recently the Research Staff Consultation Group. This has meant that they have sat on committees such as: University Council and Research and Innovation Committee. An MPLS research staff rep was on the selection panel for the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University! They have used these roles to develop their leadership and influencing skills as well as building their CV.

Each Co-Chair receives £2000 per annum towards their professional development costs. This can be spent on courses or programmes or go towards items such as conference attendance.

Responsibilities

To represent research staff from MPLS on a number of committees at divisional and University level with administrative support. For further details please download the MPLS Research Staff Forum Co-Chair Role definition (Word doc). You can also view the Co-Chair role definition as a webpage.

Eligibility

To be eligible for nomination or to vote you will need to meet the following definition of a researcher or member of research staff:

Researchers are defined as individuals whose primary responsibility is to conduct research and who are employed specifically for this purpose by a higher education institution or research institute. Within this group, it is recognised that these staff often have different contract types, levels of training, experience and responsibility, as well as different career expectations and intentions. Disciplinary and institutional context can also mean a broad range of job titles fall within this definition.

Each nominee should have an employment contract which lasts until Trinity Term 2026.

Nomination Process

• Candidates should have a proposer and a seconder who are current researchers (as defined above).
• Each candidate will be asked for a short statement of interest (SOI 200-300 words) with any past committee or representative experience. These will be made public.
• Once their candidature has been approved they will be asked to respond to a set of questions set by the election administrators. Their answers to these questions will be made public. For further details please download the MPLS RSF Co-Chair Selection Policy 2024 (Word doc). You can also view the Selection Policy as a webpage.
• Please complete the MPLS RSF Co-Chair Nomination Form (Word doc) and return it to training@mpls.ox.ac.uk by Friday 20th June 2025. You can also view the content of the Nomination Form as a webpage.

Elections

Elections will be held in the Trinity Term 2025.