About the Hub

Our purpose

Are you one of Oxford’s approximately 5,000 researchers on a fixed-term or open-ended contract?

We are here for your development at Oxford and your career beyond.

We also have an important role in assisting academics and Principal Investigators in managing their research colleagues effectively, and building positive, supportive research cultures across the University.

The Researcher Hub plays a key coordinating role in Oxford’s efforts to meet our commitments to the national Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, signed by the University in April 2021, as set out in our institutional Concordat Action Plan 2022-2025 with three overarching goals:

          1. Creating a supportive, inclusive and equitable research environment.
          2. Recognising and valuing the diverse contributions of researchers.
          3. Supporting researchers to achieve a range of career goals.

Our approach

We work with practitioners and leaders across the University who are invested in improving the everyday environments of researchers. The Researcher Hub is part of the People & Organisational Development team in Human Resources.

Culture change takes time and can be tough, particularly in a large, decentralised University. Our collective work aims to build on what is good at Oxford and to address issues that undermine the experiences of researchers and their academic managers/PIs, and compromises the quality of their research.

Our key successes and future ambitions

We have:

• Coordinated the co-creation of the Concordat Action Plan for 2022-2025, involving researchers, academics and professional service colleagues from across the University.
• Enabled and continued to support the researcher representation framework and researcher representatives
• Developed and delivered termly training for managers and researchers, including The Confident Manager ‘Essentials of People Management in Research’, and ‘Developing Teams’ modules
• Hosted regular welcoming events for new researchers and created a Welcome to Oxford page for researchers with helpful videos and information
• Appointed Careers Advisors for Researchers for 1:1 support for research staff and events
• Created resources like the Researcher's Trailmap and Career Development Review Guides
• Supported researchers in planning and using 10 days of professional development pro rata per year.

We are working to increase the visibility of the University’s commitments and related researcher responsibilities for their career development. 

In collaboration with divisions, the Careers Services, HR teams and Research Services, we are growing and tracking the reach, uptake and effectiveness of the existing provisions for researchers and their academic managers.

We will also continue piloting and evaluating innovative and scalable approaches that enable researchers to develop their careers​.

Meet us

We are keen to say hello and answer your questions. 

To book into our weekly open office hours (Thursdays 3–4pm, in-person or online) please email [email protected].

We also have highly experienced careers advisers who are part of our team, from the Careers Service. If you’d like to set up a confidential appointment with them, please find their details below.

The Hub Team

Dr Rachel Bray
Head of Researcher Hub
[email protected]

Rachel is Head of the Researcher Hub. Her former roles include Careers Adviser to researchers at Oxford, and a series of fixed-term research leadership and teaching positions at four Universities in the UK and South Africa.

She is a social anthropologist whose academic work focuses on understanding poverty, childhood, family and inter-generational relationships with the aim of informing policy and practice. Her current research is in partnership with ATD Fourth World, a non-profit social movement in which people living in poverty are active leaders and shapers of research and action.

Linda Andrews
Policy Development Consultant
[email protected]

Linda is Secretary to the Research Staff Steering Committee, Research Staff Consultation Group, and Research Staff Working Group and supports these groups in policy and implementation of the University’s Concordat for Researcher Development Action Plan 2022-25, and broader initiatives that arise from the committees. 

She supports the University’s researcher representation structure, as well as Hub colleagues in their support of the Oxford Research Staff Society (OxRSS). Coordination and reporting on the University’s Concordat for Researcher Development Action Plan 2022-25 is also within Linda’s remit.

Dr Ann Gilletti
OxRSS Administrative Officer
[email protected]

Ann is the Administrative Officer for the Oxford Research Staff Society (OxRSS) and is its Committee Secretary, and she is a researcher in the Humanities Division. OxRSS hosts social and networking events and is run by researchers at Oxford who volunteer their time.

She supports OxRSS events, manages the budget and communications, and coordinates Committee activities. Please contact her if you would like to know more about OxRSS.

Frances Roqueza
Senior Communications & Engagement Manager
[email protected]

Fran works closely with divisional and central University colleagues to strengthen the University’s research culture work, in particular, its Concordat Action Plan activities for the career development of researchers.

She’s a solutions-focused communications professional with over 15 years of international experience across various industries, including the higher education, not-for-profit and corporate sector. She is passionate about fostering a supportive, inclusive and equitable research environment and helping others reach their full potential, through bridging communication gaps and building meaningful connections.

Susana Salinas
Researcher Development Consultant
[email protected] 

Currently on leave.

Susy works collaboratively across divisions and teams at the university to support researcher development. Her focus currently is on providing access to leadership and management development opportunities for fixed-term researchers and managers of researchers at the University.

She is a Human Resources professional who is passionate about talent development and wellbeing. She has international experience in a variety of different industries including consumer goods and footwear/apparel. She also has experience in learning and development, specifically creating virtual programmes for employee skills and career development.

Louisa Chandler
Researcher Hub & Events Coordinator
[email protected]

As the Events Coordinator for the Researcher Hub, Louisa delivers a range of events aimed at supporting early career researchers throughout their time at Oxford. Her role also involves collaborating with colleagues across the university divisions and central teams to ensure the seamless coordination of activities and initiatives that support Oxford's commitment to the national Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

With a comprehensive academic and professional background in psychology, health and well-being, Louisa is deeply passionate about creating events that foster a strong sense of community, support, and encouragement, enabling individuals to thrive.

Dr Susan Black
Careers Adviser for Researchers
[email protected]

Susan offers career support to research staff across all the departments, divisions, and colleges at the University of Oxford. Prior to this she spent many years as a researcher in the medical sciences, joining Oxford as a senior postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Structural Biology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine.  Industrial partnership was a core part of her research agenda undertaking long term collaborative projects with Unilever and Merck among others.
 
While she was a doctoral student, the University of Aberdeen became a signatory to The Concordat to support Career Development of Researchers.  Having seen early in her career the benefits this had for her postdoctoral colleagues and then later herself, this area became a continuing passion.  She coordinates the Narrative CV training team with divisional and departmental colleagues and offers one-to-one careers support across all disciplines and career sectors.

Dr Chris Jeffs
Careers Adviser for Researchers
[email protected]

Chris is a Careers Adviser at the Careers Service supporting research staff. Before his current role, Chris worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the (now replaced!) Zoology Department in Oxford, before pursuing a career switch into the charity sector leading on public engagement, outreach, and career development projects.

In addition to supporting researchers through 1:1 appointments and development workshops, Chris coordinates the annual ‘Careers Beyond Academia’ conference for researchers, running online panel events and a careers fair with employers seeking to recruit researchers transitioning to new career paths.



Dr Anne Wolfes
Careers Adviser for Researchers
[email protected]

Anne offers careers support for grade 6-9 research staff, and helps drive researcher development support on various committees and working groups at the University. Anne initially trained as a neuroscientist and has postdoc experience from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, but also worked at a start-up biotech and in medical communications.

She joined the University’s professional services in 2022, and has been working as a freelance workshop trainer and consultant for different research institutions in Europe. As a link between the Researcher Hub and Careers Service, she joins a range of Hub and Careers workshops and events to support research staff, and runs the monthly Postdoc Power Hour (open to any research staff).