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].

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.

Dr Frances Medaney
Deputy Head of Researcher Hub
[email protected]

Frances joined the Researcher Hub in August 2023 as Deputy Head. She joins us following five years spent managing international research and innovation programmes for UKRI. Frances is a scientist by training, having studied microbiology at University of Manchester followed by a PhD at Royal Holloway University of London. 

She worked as an R&D scientist developing medical diagnostics, and had a brief stint as a postdoc at the University of Cambridge before deciding to pursue opportunities beyond the lab.

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 Oxford University Newcomers’ Club (OUNC) and Oxford Research Staff Society (OxRSS). Coordination and reporting on the University’s HREiR award 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.

Moyun (Morine) Liang
Societies and Volunteering Coordinator
[email protected]

Morine is the Societies and Volunteering Coordinator for the Oxford University Newcomers’ Club (OUNC). She is from a theatrical performance and visual cultural background. She is an art practitioner and reader by default. Having lived in China, Singapore and the UK, she is passionate and highly interested in local cultures.

She is always delighted to connect with people and provide support, please contact her if you would like to know more about OUNC.

Frances Roqueza
Senior Communications & Engagement Manager
[email protected]

Susana Salinas
Researcher Development Consultant
[email protected] 

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.

Maria Waskiel-Smit
Hub & Events Coordinator
[email protected] 

Maria started her Researcher Hub and Events Coordinator role in September 2022. She manages all the Hub’s events for fixed-term research staff from booking to completion. She also supports colleagues with the planning and delivery of different projects. She has experience in event planning and holds a Master’s degree in Hospitality and Administration Management.

She enjoys meeting new people and having interesting conversations over coffee. Please contact her if you would like to know more about the Researcher Hub.