Vice-Principal - Stephenson College

The Role and Department

Situated in the historic cathedral city of Durham, Stephenson College is one of seventeen colleges at the world-leading Durham University. We are seeking to appoint and welcome an interim Vice-Principal to our friendly, vibrant, and inclusive community on a one-year fixed term basis. Founded in 2001, Stephenson is a modern, progressive, values-led College established in and for the 21^st Century. Our College is named after the great inventor and social innovator, George Stephenson. Sustainability, innovation, global citizenship and civic engagement are the core pillars of Stephenson College life, and our College ethos is “change starts with us.” It is an exciting time for our College community as we look forward to celebrating our 25^th anniversary in 2026.

We are a mixed community of around 1200 undergraduate and postgraduate students from across the UK and around the world, of which 430 reside in College. The College has two physical sites in Durham City – our Howlands Farm site comprising the College’s fantastic facilities and undergraduate residences and our Ernest Place residential site for postgraduates. The student body has a strong sense of responsibility and maturity, collaborating and initiating creative responses to opportunities and challenges in close partnership with the College staff team.

The Vice-Principal will be a member of the College senior management team and will have a strong strategic and developmental emphasis. The post holder will be involved in a wide range of activities aimed at furthering Stephenson College and University strategy, especially in relation to the enrichment and personal development of students (namely through our Connections Programme which encompasses sport, societies, careers and leadership, performing arts, volunteering, intellectual curiosity and global citizenship opportunities), embedding the wider student experience, and the future development of the College.

Working as a part of a close-knit team, the Vice-Principal will work alongside the College Principal, Assistant Principal, Operations Team and Student Common Rooms (a) in ensuring the College offers a supportive and stimulating environment for academic study, cultural and developmental activities, and social interaction which engages students, staff, Senior Common Room members, Fellows, visitors and alumni; and (b) in promoting, enabling and developing students’ graduate attributes, wellbeing and resilience, and a sense of community and responsibility among all students. The balance and focus of responsibilities will be agreed with the Interim College Principal, who will be stepping up into the role for academic year 2025/2026. The postholder is expected to be a visible member of the College community and due to business needs, w ill be expected to work from the College’s main site at Howlands Farm. The postholder will also participate in the out-of-hours student support duty rota throughout the year.

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

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