Chapel Director 2026 - 2029
Somerville was founded as a non-denominational hall, and its Chapel was built in the 1930s as an unconsecrated ‘House of Prayer for All Peoples’. This beautiful building at the heart of the College grounds is therefore now used both as an inter-faith space and in a number of different ways, including for music, art, drama and activities related to wellbeing.
One key event is a weekly ‘Choral Contemplation’ on Sunday evening, made up of choral music by the choir accompanied by speakers and readings from a range of faiths or none, in order to reflect the interfaith tradition of the college. These Sunday events are built around a coherent termly theme. The Chapel Director runs this programme in coordination with the Director of Chapel Music.
The Chapel Director also administers the other activities for which the Chapel is used, especially weekly wellbeing classes such as yoga and mindfulness, conducted by professional practitioners, and has a general responsibility for the use of the building by other groups.
This is a fixed-term post, subject to funding and continuing need, designed to support an Oxford student working towards a DPhil, or a recent DPhil graduate or very early career academic who is sufficiently close enough to the Oxford student experience to be able to provide engaging, relevant and responsive services to our community. The role is designed to be managed in a few hours each week, term-time only, so as to enable the post-holder’s academic pursuits to be prioritised.
The role is available from 1 September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter to enable the post-holder to plan and prepare for Chapel activities in Michaelmas Term 2026. Please note that accommodation is only guaranteed from 1 October 2026.
Candidates must have suitable right to work in the UK.
Full further particulars are available via the link below:
