Teaching and Research Fellow in Character and Leadership (Flourishing Futures)

The Teaching and Research Fellow will play a central role in the development, delivery and evaluation of the leadership components of a new cross-Departmental programme, Flourishing Futures. The programme, headed by Prof E. J. Milner Gulland in the Department of Biology, seeks to nurture the next generation of leaders with nature as a core concern. It will integrate character and leadership development with opportunities for students to engage with the natural world. The postholder will have particular responsibility for the research and development of a framework for character-based leadership for nature, designing and delivering associated character and leadership development activities, and undertaking research to understand and evaluate their impact.

The Oxford Character Project (OCP) explores how leadership can be a force for good in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world, with a distinctive focus on the role of character. Through conceptual and empirical research, the OCP investigates the importance of character for good leadership and how virtues of character can be effectively cultivated across diverse institutional context

The successful applicant will design and refine programme content and teaching materials, drawing on the Oxford Character Project's theoretical and empirical research. You will also manage student programmes by recruiting participants, facilitating workshops, hosting guest speakers, and overseeing events and associated administration. In addition, you will undertake collaborative theoretical and empirical research into character and leadership development, and design and conduct quantitative and qualitative studies to gather participant feedback and evaluate programme impact.

You will hold of be close to be completion of a doctoral degree in the humanities or social sciences relating to character education and leadership development. You will also have a strong track record in character and leadership education, supported by excellent theoretical and empirical knowledge in these fields, and also bring expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research methods suited to studying character and leadership development.

This position is full-time and fixed-term until 30 September 2028, available from 1 January 2027.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact the DPIR HR Team at vacancies@politics.ox.ac.uk. All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence and will not form part of the selection decision.