The Nicky Manby - Linda Montgomery Career Development Fellowship in German Culture from 1770 - Fixed-Term for Five Years in Oxford

This new Career Development Fellowship (CDF) at Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is intended for an early career academic in German, who wishes to further their experience of undergraduate teaching in German literature and culture from 1770 alongside their postdoctoral research. The objectives of the College in making this appointment are to support the Tutorial Fellows in undergraduate provision. The appointee will help strengthen the research profile of the College and more generally contribute to the goal of maintaining the University of Oxford as a leading centre for research in Modern Languages.

The College’s definition of ‘early career’ indicates that applicants should normally have been awarded their doctorate in the last seven years, although we welcome applications from those for whom career breaks such as maternity/paternity/adoption leave, and caring responsibilities, mean that their career trajectory does not fall precisely within this limit. Modern Languages is among the top three largest subject groups at LMH. The funding for this five-year post has come about through the generosity of two distinguished Modern Languages alumnae of the College: Nicky Manby (née Croome, French and German, 1976), and the husband and family of alumna Linda Montgomery (née Merrall, 1950-2025, French and German, 1969). LMH remains keenly committed to teaching and research in Modern Languages in the twenty-first century.

We currently have three Tutorial Fellows in Modern Languages at LMH who are also full members of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford. They are: Professor Marie-Chantal Killeen (French Literature), Dr Hanne Eckhoff (Slavonic Studies and Linguistics) and Dr Hannie Lawlor (Modern Spanish Literature and Film). We are also supported in Italian by an LMH College Lecturer who is Professor and Tutorial Fellow at Somerville College, Francesca Southerden. We have a College Lecturer in Portuguese, Dr Luisa Coelho (Cameos Lecturer in Portuguese, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford). We have 42 students studying for undergraduate degrees (sole and joint) in Modern Languages. In addition to the languages stated above, our cohort includes students on joint languages degrees with Czech, Polish, and Modern Greek, as well as with Classics, English, Philosophy and History. We expect to welcome 14 new undergraduates in Modern Languages and joint degrees in October 2026, with three studying German. The continuing cohort of students (2026-27) in German will number six.

Background and Context

LMH was founded in 1878 to make academic study in Oxford available to women in a college for the first time, living and working together in an academic community. Today the College is as firmly committed as ever to extending equality of educational opportunity to an increasingly diverse and international group of students and teachers enabling them to work together and share in the intellectual, cultural and community life of LMH. Since the College was founded, those leading it have understood that advanced scholarship has the capacity to transform contemporary society.

Key Responsibilities

Teaching

The postholder will provide tutorial and class-style teaching to undergraduates of LMH and to a small number at Worcester College (or by exchange with other colleges). They will be required to teach across a range of papers on the undergraduate syllabus for eight hours per week averaged over the three eight-week teaching terms each year, across LMH and Worcester College. The successful candidate must have the skills needed for effective tutorial teaching, including the ability to explain problems and ideas lucidly, to listen to students’ questions and views sympathetically, and to enthuse and inspire. The teaching will be divided between some, though not necessarily all, of the following “papers” (the Oxford term for courses). The Preliminary courses are taken in the first year of study; Final Honours School (FHS) papers are taken from year two onwards.

• Preliminary Paper II: Translation into and from German
• Preliminary Paper III: Drama and Poetry – Essay and Commentary
• Preliminary Paper IV: Prose and Film - Essays
• Preliminary Paper XI: Introduction to German Film Studies
• Final Honours School (FHS) Paper I: Translation into German and Essay in German
• FHS Paper II: Translation from Modern German
• FHS Paper VIII – Modern German Literature (1770 to the Present): Texts, Contexts and Issues
• FHS Paper X: Modern Prescribed Authors
• FHS Paper XIV: Dissertation

Other Duties

• To assist the Modern Languages tutors in the undergraduate admissions exercise;
• To undertake training for tutorial teaching and admissions interviewing as required;
• To participate and support LMH’s undergraduate access and recruitment activities, including Open Days and Taster Days;
• To undertake administrative tasks directly associated with the post, supported by the Academic Office at LMH, and via the Senior Tutor at Worcester College;
• To act as Graduate Adviser to suitable graduate students at LMH enrolled on degrees in the University;
• In addition, the postholder may be required to supervise relevant undergraduate dissertations, and to teach occasional Visiting Students if within stint.

In addition, the Career Development Fellow will be required:

• To conduct and publish research;
• To give, at least annually, a lecture or seminar in the College on the research activity undertaken and its broader context, to a wider general audience of, inter alia, undergraduate and graduate students of the College, and alumni and friends;
• To play a full role in the intellectual life of the College.

Worcester College

Worcester College has a small cohort of students studying for degrees in German within their Modern Languages cohort. The postholder will liaise with the Modern Languages tutors at Worcester and also the Senior Tutor at Worcester to ensure that core, shared activities – teaching and admissions – are understood and co-ordinated. The postholder will be entitled to two lunches and to one dinner per week during term, and will be able to book a teaching room at Worcester.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Qualifications

Applicants should have successfully completed a doctorate. Candidates should additionally have a project which they intend to complete in the period of the Fellowship. Candidates who have not previously taught at Oxford will be expected to familiarise themselves with the syllabus.

Selection Criteria

• Level of academic achievement relative to career stage;
• Tutorial teaching potential and an interest in teaching;
• Importance, clarity, and feasibility of proposed research;
• Ability and willingness to contribute to the intellectual life of the College;
• The organisational skills to fulfil the administrative demands of the post.

Salary, Benefits and Method of Application

The salary will be on the University Grade 7 scale, starting at £39,424 per annum, at current rates. The Career Development Fellow will be entitled to all meals (Common Table rights) whenever the kitchens are open. An annual research allowance of £1,500 will be available, with expenses reimbursed via the Academic Registrar. The postholder, having completed no fewer than six terms in post, will be entitled to one term of sabbatical, to be taken at an appropriate time as directed by the Tutorial Fellows in Modern Languages at LMH, to suit the teaching and administrative needs of German at LMH and Worcester. Sole occupancy of an academic study in LMH for teaching and research.

Method of Application

Applications can be submitted via the 'Apply Now' button to arrive not later than noon (UK time) on Wednesday 24 June 2026. Applicants are asked to supply:

• A brief covering letter setting out their suitability for this post, including relevant teaching experience;
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae. Applicants should submit both documents as one pdf in the 'Resume/CV' section.

We hope to interview shortlisted candidates at LMH on Tuesday 7 July or Wednesday 8 July 2026. Should you be shortlisted, you will need to ask two referees, to write directly via email to Mrs Jo White at academic-recruitment@lmh.ox.ac.uk. References must be sent by email from an institutional email address. A copy of the Further Particulars should be passed to referees, and the Selection Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank referees for their help. Referees should be aware that under the 2018 Data Protection Act, the references they provide will be regarded as disclosable to the subject of the reference unless marked “strictly confidential” at the top of the letter itself. All applicants will be sent an emailed confirmation of receipt of their application as soon as possible after it arrives. This will be sent to the email address given in the application unless specified otherwise by the applicant. Please state clearly in your application if email communication is problematic for you. Interviews will be held in person on Tuesday 7 July or Wednesday 8 July 2026 and the date will be confirmed as soon as possible. As part of the interview process, applicants will be asked to give a short (10-minute) presentation on a teaching topic related to the requirements of the post. Further details will be made available after shortlisting.

Please note that any personal data submitted to Lady Margaret Hall as part of the job application process will be processed in accordance with the GDPR and related UK data protection legislation. For further information, please see the LMH Privacy Notice at: https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/privacy-notice

Informal enquiries about the post should be directed to: Dr Anne Mullen, Senior Tutor, LMH – senior.tutor@lmh.ox.ac.uk; Dr Helen Parish, Senior Tutor, Worcester College – senior.tutor@worc.ox.ac.uk.

A principal aim of this College’s Equal Opportunities Policy is to ensure that in the recruitment, selection, training, appraisal, development and promotion of employees, the only consideration must be that the individual best meets, or is likely to meet, the requirements of the post. Lady Margaret Hall is committed to providing a learning, working and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its members are respected, and which is free from prejudice, intimidation and all forms of harassment, including bullying. We seek to ensure that no-one suffers, either directly or indirectly, as a result of discrimination.