Master Appointment Brief Prepared by Alex Stewart and Deborah Loudon May 2015 REF: AABSC Saxton Bampfylde 35 Old Queen Street London SW1H 9JA +44 (0)20 7227 0800 www.saxbam.com
Introduction Professor Frank Kelly has been the Master of Christ s College since 2006 and has indicated that he will be stepping down in August 2016. Responsibility for electing his successor as Head of House rests with the Fellows. The position, although traditionally known as the Master, may be held by either a man or a woman. The College intends to elect a person who has attained distinction in his or her own field and who has a commitment to furthering the aims of the College as a place of teaching, learning and research. The College 1. The College is one of 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge and was re-founded in 1505 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII. Although it is part of the University, it is an independent, self-governing corporate body, with its own property and income. Its affairs are regulated by Statutes approved by The Queen in Council, and it has its own Governing Body. The Governing Body consists of the Master and Fellows, together with representative students. The administration of the College is divided between the Governing Body and a 13-strong Council chosen from its members. The Master chairs both the Governing Body and the Council, and also certain College committees. The College is a registered charity, with the Council serving as its Trustees.
2. The College has approximately 450 undergraduate students. It is responsible for admitting them and for their welfare, and provides small-group teaching for them. The academic performance of its undergraduates has put the College in the top third of Cambridge colleges in recent years and there is lively College participation in sport, music, drama and other activities. There are over 200 graduate students, who are taking advanced courses or are doing research. Most undergraduates, and some of the Fellows, live on or close to the main College site. Many Fellows hold University appointments, and there is a strong commitment to research in a wide variety of subjects. Among the College s alumni, Fellows and former Fellows, there are many who have achieved distinction in learning, research, business or public life. More information about Christ s may be found on its website, http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk.
The Mastership 3. The Master is formally required to preside over the Fellows, Scholars and other members of the College and to administer the affairs of the College according to the Statutes. Within and beyond the formal processes of governance, however, the central role of the Master is to give leadership. 4. The strategic direction of the College, taking account of changing external circumstances and setting appropriate priorities, is the responsibility of the Governing Body, chaired by the Master. The Master therefore needs to maintain close acquaintance with every member of the Fellowship and to be aware of the opinions and aspirations of each. 5. By long tradition in the College, the Master knows and is known to the great majority of students individually. Students receive hospitality at the Lodge on various occasions throughout their time at the College and many of them meet the Master also in connection with the other College activities. Although the Tutors are primarily responsible for student welfare, it is understood that students also have a right of access to the Master. 6. The Master must be accessible to the alumni of the College, knowing many of them individually. The College has recently launched a major fundraising campaign, addressing both alumni and other potential benefactors, and it is a critical part of the Master s role to lead and to participate actively in this work. The Master is supported in this by a professional fundraising team and by the Fellowship. 7. The Master s presence around the College is important and, for this reason, the Master traditionally resides within the College, in the Master s Lodge. To foster the sense of cohesion in the College, it is expected that the Master will entertain Fellows and students, will dine regularly in Hall, and will preside at college functions, including important events organised by the students. Functions are often held in the evening and/or on weekends.
8. In addition, there are certain other key roles in the College that can only be played by the Master. The Master has a crucial role in the identification and integration of new Fellows, some of whom may remain with the College for the remainder of their working lives. The Master has certain responsibilities towards the College Chapel, including participation in the annual service of commemoration of benefactors, but the College is of course happy to consider candidates of any or no religious persuasion. 9. The Master represents the College within the University as a member of the Colleges Committee, which meets regularly with the senior University officers, as a member of University committees (e.g. for appointments) and on ceremonial occasions such as degree ceremonies. The Master also represents the College externally, for example with policymakers and regulators and with the media. Terms of appointment Full time or part time? 10. The present Master has performed the role very effectively on a part time basis, while maintaining a wide range of academic and other responsibilities. He has been supported by an elected President who bears some of the administrative load and presides at certain College events. The College would therefore be happy for the next Master also to continue to pursue other interests outside the College, in the University or elsewhere. (The consent of the College Council would be formally required before the Master undertook any work which would be likely to impact on the agreed level of commitment to the College.) 11. However, given the nature of College life, a substantial degree of commitment to the College role is inescapable. The College Statutes require the Master to reside in College during two-thirds at least of every term and for 210 days at least in every year unless dispensed from this duty by the Council.
12. There are three terms in the academic year, each 12 to 13 weeks long and extending from early October to early July, with short breaks between them. Within each term, there is a period called Full Term, lasting nearly nine weeks; this is the time when all the students are in residence and all the teaching takes place. In practice, it is important for the Master to be available for College activities during each Full Term, during the first part of July and in late September. 13. The College is also willing to contemplate a full time appointment for a suitable candidate. This is likely to be linked to an increased level of involvement in active fundraising, with a greater requirement for travel. Remuneration and benefits 14. The term of office of the Master is determined by the Fellows before election; currently, it may not extend beyond the end of the academic year in which the Master reaches the age of 67. However, the College is in the process of removing this restriction on age, so that any appointment would be simply for a fixed term, probably of five to seven years. (This change requires approval by the Privy Council and may not be implemented until late in 2015.) The stipend will be negotiated with the incoming Master at the time of appointment. It will depend upon the extent of other commitments and be linked to the University s professorial range. The Master also has other entitlements as follows: Membership of the national Universities Superannuation Scheme. Occupancy of the Master s Lodge, for the Master and any immediate family. There is no rent payable, although a relatively small tax liability arises in relation to certain ancillary services provided. The College pays for central heating, gas, electricity, water, repairs and window cleaning. The College maintains the Lodge in reasonable decorative condition and provides cleaning services and a housekeeper. The Lodge is partly furnished by the College, which provides most of the furnishing for the principal rooms, used by the Master for College-related purposes much of the time, and for the guest rooms. The Master provides most of the furnishing for the rooms that are for private use. The Master s Garden is maintained by the College gardeners. Like the Fellows, the Master and his/her partner are entitled to lunch and dine at High Table; seven of these meals per week are free of charge. The services of the College butlers and kitchen staff are available to the Master for functions and entertaining and the Master is billed for food, wine and services provided. The cost of functions that are College-related are funded from the Master s Entertaining Allowance, which is agreed from time to time to reflect expected requirements. There is dedicated secretarial support for the Master s College-related work.
How to apply The College s adviser, Saxton Bampfylde, will be happy to talk informally in strict confidence with potential candidates. It is probably most convenient to arrange this by email: AABSC@saxbam.com. Applications should be sent by email to AABSC@saxbam.com or can be made through Saxton Bampfylde s website at www.saxbam.com/jobs. Alternatively they may be sent by post to: Alex Stewart Saxton Bampfylde (ref: AABSC) PO Box 198 Guildford Surrey GU1 4FH The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 19 June 2015. Applications should include: A CV; Details of two or three proposed referees who may be contacted at the appropriate point; A brief statement of why the candidate wishes to take on the role. The choice of the College will not be limited to those whose names come forward in this way.
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Please complete this form, and send with your application to: Saxton Bampfylde, PO Box 198, GUILDFORD GU1 4HD POSITION APPLIED FOR Master 5 letter job code: AABSC SURNAME FIRST NAME INITIAL(S) TITLE ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) EMAIL ADDRESS LATEST EMPLOYER (ORGANISATION) LATEST JOB TITLE SALARY
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Please tick or complete the appropriate boxes. The following information is requested for monitoring purposes only and will not form part of the sifting or shortlisting process. AGE DATE OF BIRTH AGE GENDER FEMALE MALE ETHNIC ORIGIN Please show which group best describes your ethnic origin or descent by ticking only one of the boxes in the right hand column below. Are you W HITE? Are you BLACK? of Caribbean origin of African origin of other origin (please describe) Are you ASIAN? of Indian origin of Pakistani origin of Bangladeshi origin of East African origin of Chinese origin of other origin (please describe) Do you belong to some other group or groups (please describe)? DISABILITY Do you consider yourself to have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010? The Equality Act 2010 defines a person with a disability as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. If YES, please tell us separately about any adaptations which you may require either to carry out the role or to participate in the selection process. YES NO