Operations and Compliance Officer in Oxford

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Job Title: Operations & Compliance Officer

Contract Type: Permanent, FTE 37.5 hours per week

Responsible to: Domestic Operations Manager

Salary: £41,636 – £42, 794 per annum. Dependent on experience.

Benefits: Six weeks’ paid leave (pro rata) in each year on the basis of one week over festive period in December and the remainder to be taken at such time or times as shall be mutually convenient, and agreed in advance with line manager. Enrolment in the Oxford Staff Pension Scheme (OSPS) Free lunch is provided in College, when on duty and when the kitchen is open. Other benefits include; access to an Employee Assistance Programme, the College CycleScheme, and various discounts through the Oxford University card.

The College

Lincoln College was founded in 1427 in the University of Oxford and is a self-governing institution in which the ultimate authority for all decisions rests with the Rector and Fellows. Lincoln has 600 students in residence, of whom around half are graduates. The College is also a popular choice for both undergraduates and graduate applicants to the University. Lincoln College is located on an attractive historic site in the centre of Oxford, with excellent access to university libraries and the university’s departments and faculty buildings. More information on the College can be found on its website, www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk.

The Role

The Domestic Operations Manager (DOM) is responsible for the delivery of the facilities and domestic services of the College to its Fellows, students, staff and visitors to support its academic enterprise. Lincoln College’s domestic services include: catering, accommodation, estates & maintenance, the Lodge, safety & security, internal and external conferences & events. The DOM also has significant responsibilities relating to health & safety, other compliance activities (e.g. the Accommodation Code of Practice), accessibility, emergency response and business continuity planning, the biennial College ball, and sustainability. They are also responsible for maximising opportunities to generate income from the College’s facilities and services as far as is possible, without impeding its academic activities.

The Operations & Compliance Officer will provide comprehensive support to the Domestic Operations Manager to help fulfil the above responsibilities. This is a newly created post, providing an exciting opportunity for the successful applicant to help shape the role.

As well as providing day-to-day support with operational and compliance activities, the Operations & Compliance Officer will be responsible for individual projects to help ensure continuous improvement and the smooth running of the College’s domestic departments. The role will involve day-to-day contact with staff, academic Fellows, and students, therefore the ability to develop good working relationships is essential.

Key responsibilities

Key responsibilities are detailed below. These will vary from time to time as the needs of the College determine. The main duties of the role will include, but will not be restricted to:

Statutory Compliance

Helping the Domestic Operations Manager to ensure that the statutory requirements of the College operation are fulfilled, e.g.:

• Creation of a series of Emergency Response and Business Continuity Plans focused on specific emergencies
• Owning the operational updates to the Emergency Response and Business Continuity Plans; working with the DOM and other department heads to do an annual review of these plans
• Oversight and provision of support to department heads and other users of the SafetyNest Health & Safety Management System and the LearningNest e-learning platform
• Coordination and tracking of mandatory health & safety training for all staff
• Assisting the DOM with the management of the Accommodation Code of Practice (ACoP) annual self-audits and triennial external audits, and embedding ACoP as a ‘business as usual’ process
• Developing and owning a rolling accessibility plan and working with the DOM to prepare for annual reviews of the plan
• Ensuring that the relevant College operational policy frameworks are comprehensive, contemporary and meet our own and external standards

Continuous Improvement and Operations

Undertaking data analysis and individual projects to help ensure continuous improvement and the smooth running of the College’s domestic operations, e.g.:

• Tracking and analysing credit card spend within domestic departments so as to improve oversight and more closely manage the purchasing process
• Automating the processing of overtime claims for domestic staff

Operational Administration

Daily administrative tasks, e.g.:

• Arranging meetings and/or booking meeting rooms
• Preparing meeting agendas and simple reports; collating committee papers
• Taking minutes at committee meetings convened or chaired by the DOM, tracking actions arising from committee and other meetings
• Assisting with the organisation and running of biennial College balls
• Assisting with processing overtime claims for domestic staff
• Preparing communications
• Assisting domestic department heads with simple operational improvements using AI tools

This list is not exhaustive and the postholder will be expected to undertake any other duties consistent with the purpose of the job, as directed by the Domestic Operations Manager and other senior leaders.

The Candidate

The ideal Operations & Compliance Officer will be able to demonstrate that they have the following attributes:

Experience and Knowledge:

• Experience of working in a similar role, providing a comprehensive support service to senior managers
• Well-developed IT skills appropriate to a Windows-based office, including Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, and Teams, handling databases, and a preparedness to learn new applications as required
• Familiarity with AI tools and their use in operational and administrative environments
• Knowledge of health & safety, relevant legislation, and operational requirements

Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• An excellent standard of written and spoken English
• Strong numeracy skills
• Well-developed organisational skills and scrupulous attention to detail
• Ability to respond flexibly and adapt to changing circumstances
• An ability to work calmly under pressure, to manage several projects at any one time, to prioritise work, and to meet tight deadlines
• An ability to work unsupervised and on own initiative, with the ability to recognise problems and think laterally to identify appropriate solutions
• A confident and friendly approach, and the ability to build relationships with people at all levels within the College
• Experience of working across diverse teams
• A well-developed service-oriented mindset

Application Process

Candidates should submit the following documents by closing date of 15th November 2026:

• A completed Application (available on the College website through Employment Hero)
• A covering letter (no more one A4 page) explaining your interest in the post and demonstrating how you meet the requirements of the person specification.
• An up-to-date CV

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Recruitment monitoring information is collected for equality purposes only and does not form part of the selection process.