Part-Timeadministrative Assistant (Fixed Term)

Job Description

Part-timeAdministrative Assistant (Fixed Term)

Introduction

The Quill Project at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, is designed to help readers understand how the foundational negotiated texts of the modern world have been created, with a particular focus on the creation of the 1787 Constitution of the United States, its subsequent history and influence.

The project’s bespoke software is designed to recreate the context within which constitutional conventions, legislative assemblies, and other formal groups have made their decisions. We combine this technological approach with the subject-matter expertise of legal and political historians, and outward-looking partnerships with educational non-profit organizations. This allows us to produce academically rigorous materials useful both for researchers and in a much broader range of educational contexts.

Our flagship project examines the history of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Alongside this work, the project runs a comprehensive programme of seminars and other events. We foster the exchange of ideas between networks of scholars and conduct educational work that promotes the study of the history of the United States Constitution and its global influence, with a view to informing an international audience.

This project aims to become the definitive resource available for the study of the origins of the Constitution of the United States and, subsequently, the processes that created state constitutions. The project is transforming access to the founding documents of American constitutional law through an unprecedented and interactive presentation of the source materials available. To this end we have begun work with colleagues at the Library of Congress and other experts in American K-12 education to develop a better understanding of the digital tools we could provide to assist classroom teaching in the United States.

The project has had a busy and successful year since launching its first public material in October 2016. It has won several awards, including the prize for the best paper at the ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in 2017. We maintain collaborations with scholars in the UK and the USA, including a close and developing collaboration with the Centre for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University. Thanks to a TORCH grant, we have established the Negotiated Texts Network, based in the Humanities Division of Oxford University, and will be framing an Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant application based on the work of that network in the coming months.

Background to the post

The project’s director is Dr Nicholas Cole, who combines academic leadership of the project with project management of our various collaborations, management of software development, fund-raising, grant-writing, and teaching and outreach activities connected to the project. The project’s other staff include Dr Alfie Abdul-Rahman (contracted part-time from the Oxford e-Research Centre), and administrative assistants on flexible contracts. From January, we will be joined by a second post-doc or software engineer. Dr Cole also works closely with the Changing Character of War Centre (also based at Pembroke College), and has a number of other teaching obligations.

Overview of the role

We are seeking to appoint an individual with relevant administrative experience, who hasexcellent organisational and interpersonal skills, and a flexible and positive approach to their work. The successful candidate will need to be a good team player, able to work well within a small, professional, and friendly team and be able to work on their own initiative.

The post holder will need to have a broad awareness of the activities of the project and assist with project-managing the various strands of activity that the project is undertaking, as well as providing support to the project’s director in grant-writing and fundraising activities.

Familiarity with Oxford University and with external grant applications or managing research projects would be an advantage.

Main Duties

Assist in a broad range of administrative duties, including:

• Provide high quality PA and secretarial support to the project’s director, including helping to manage his diary effectively.
• Assist with project-managing the various activities of the Quill Project, including prioritising and dealing with communications, forwarding queries as appropriate and ensuring that actions are followed up expeditiously.
• Assist with the framing of research grant applications, reports on the project’s activities for its donors and other stake-holders, and other documentation that may be required.
• Assist with running conferences or other events run by the project over the course of the academic year.

Person Specification

• Proven administrative experience.
• Good time management skills, and the ability to organise information efficiently.Ability toprioritise work effectively and takeappropriate action to meet deadlines.
• Good communication skills and an excellent grasp of English, both written and verbal.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; a sensitive and professional approach to working with a wide range of people that include: high level donors/alumni, students, staff, senior academics, and distinguished guests.
• The ability to work accurately and with close attention to detail.
• High level of IT literacy, including a thorough knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook and presentation software; comfortable with social media.
• Educatedtoat least A-Level or equivalent

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