University College invites applications for the Janice Scott Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), tenable for a period of three years from October 2005. The Fellowship is open to both men and women, and will be awarded within the field of English. Junior Research Fellowships are intended to provide opportunities for academics at the beginning of their careers, and the Statutes of the College currently provide that the successful candidate should be under thirty-five years of age.
The chief criterion for appointment will be research excellence. Candidates must have a strong educational record; be approaching the end of their doctoral research or have begun postdoctoral study; have research expertise as demonstrated by publications, or demonstrate promise of such achievement; and have a coherent plan of research for the duration of the Fellowship.
While the College welcomes candidates working in any period of English Literature, it would particularly like to recruit in the areas in which it has existing expertise, namely the period 1688-1832, or in the 1509-1740 period.
University College has a strong commitment to supporting the process for the recruitment and admission to the College of academically gifted students with disabilities. The Janice Scott JRF will be expected to assist with this endeavour, and to provide support for disabled students, jointly with other College officers with duties in this area. Training will be provided in collaboration with the University's Central Disability Unit in the equal opportunities office.
The annual stipend is currently £16,242, but this figure will normally be adjusted if the Fellow is in receipt of other emoluments. The Junior Research Fellow will be offered free meals and single accommodation in College if available, or a housing allowance (currently £4,250) in lieu. There will be an academic allowance (£1,438), an entertainment allowance (currently up to £576 a year), membership of USS, and private health insurance. There will be an opportunity for the Fellow to carry out a limited amount of teaching for the College.
Selected candidates may be asked to submit a piece of written work, such as offprints of one or two published articles, or a chapter of their theses. Applicants should indicate on their application forms which material they propose to submit, if invited to do so, but should not at this stage submit any written work.
Candidates should send eight copies of their application form to the College Secretary, University College, Oxford, OX1 4BH (tel. 01865 276790, e-mail jrf@univ.ox.ac.uk). The application form is available from the College Secretary or can be downloaded from the College website (http://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/). The closing date for applications is 14 April. At the same time, applicants should arrange for references from three academic referees to reach the College Secretary by the same date.