Night Porter (Receptionist)

Further Particulars Lodge Porter (Receptionist) – Nights Job Title: Lodge Porter Department: The Lodge Location: Merton Lodge, Merton Street, Oxford, OX1 4JD Lodges at Merton Street and Holywell Street Shift Pattern: Nightshift Contract Type: Permanent Responsible to: Head Porter The Lodge at Merton Merton College was founded in 1264 by the former Bishop of Rochester, Walter de Merton. Located in central Oxford, the College now has over 70 Fellows and approximately 600 undergraduate and graduate students. Having gained a world-wide reputation for outstanding academic excellence and its research accomplishments, Merton is an inclusive international community in which great importance is placed upon equality and diversity. Merton has 2 lodges operating 24/7, 365 days per year; the main Lodge is on the College site on Merton Street, and a smaller Lodge is on the site of student accommodation, a short distance away on Holywell Street. Both Lodges play a vital role within the College community as they provide a “first port of call” for all College members and are a reception point for visitors. This role requires the post holder to work alone on rotation at both Holywell and Merton Lodges. Main Purpose of the Role The Lodge is the gateway to the College on both sites. On a daily basis our team of Porters welcome and assist a significant number of Fellows, students, staff and visitors from all over the world. The Porters therefore work in a busy and public facing role that requires them to provide the highest standards of customer service at all times. The small team of Porters plays a core and essential role in the day-to-day life of the College. In addition to public facing duties, the Lodge team routinely works closely with colleagues in other departments, helping to facilitate numerous events and activities that take place throughout the year. Importantly, the Porters also provide first aid support and indirect assistance to the College welfare team.Main Duties of the Role Reception Duties  Act as the first point of contact and use initiative to solve day-to-day problems within the College in a calm and efficient way, utilising good oral and written communication skills, including via telephone and email.  Issue room keys and fobs to guests and staff and issue keys, fobs and badges to contractors as part of the security procedure.  Use KX booking system to check students and guests in and out of college rooms.  Receive any visitor who attends the College in an efficient, professional and courteous manner, including conference delegates, candidates for interview and prospective students.  Have a reasonable knowledge of the College’s history to be able to answer questions that visitors may ask.  Collect and accurately record all monies paid by visitors or tour parties.  Dealing with incoming and outgoing post and deliveries.  Dealing with incoming telephone enquiries to the College, identifying and transferring each call to the correct College recipient. Fire & Security  Responsible for the physical security of College members and premises when on duty.  Monitoring and responding to CCTV systems, fire and security alarms as required.  Checking and responding to any incidents of unauthorised entry to the College.  Carry out regular security patrols to check windows, external gates and buildings are secure.  Recording and reporting accidents and security and fire safety incidents.  Recording and reporting any faults or defects found via the Service Desk System.  Liaising with Thames Valley Police in emergency security situations as well as Oxford University Security Services staff in non-emergency situations where applicable.  Working closely with the College Discipline and Welfare teams to assist in the implementation of College Rules, including challenging noisy or unruly behaviour within the College.  As a trained fire marshal, assist in responding to fire alarm activations. Incidents  Deal with any emergency in a swift and prompt manner, following the College Fire Plan and other emergency plans.  Provide first aid promptly should an occasion arise. Training will be provided, and you will be required to pass relevant training courses.  Provide written incident reports to a good standard of written English.Other  Put up and take down flags as instructed, in accordance with procedure.  Responsible as part of the Lodge team to ensure an efficient handover between shifts and effective communication within the Lodge and wider College community.  Support the Maintenance team in making out-of-hours initial assessments of maintenance problems, calling the maintenance team as necessary.  Comply with any other reasonable request as instructed by the Head Porter. Salary and Benefits The starting salary for this role is £29,833.44 per annum increasing to £30,117.36 per annum after satisfactory completion of a 6-month probationary period. Plus, an annual night shift allowance of £2,100 paid monthly (£175 per month). Overtime is also applicable to this role. Additional hours are paid at the rate of time and one half for Saturday, Sunday and public holidays and also Monday to Friday where less than 24 hours’ notice has been given. Premium rates are offered for working Christmas public holidays. The post holder will be required to work 12-hour shifts, from 18.30 hours to 06.30 hours, on a ‘3 days on, 3 days off’ 6-week cycle averaging 42 hours per week which will include weekends and bank holidays. An example shift pattern is shown below. You will be expected to be flexible, and overtime will be required at certain times to cover absence and holidays or other operational requirements. You will be required to cover for the opposite shift pattern on an occasional basis. Including the normal English bank and public holidays, you will be entitled to 27 days holiday, which is the equivalent of 7.6 weeks’ holiday. Benefits include membership of the University of Oxford Staff Pension Scheme (OSPS), uniform, travel pass loan, cycle to work scheme, private medical insurance, free car parking, use of the fitness room and meal allowance when on duty at either Lodge. Night Shift Pattern Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun Week 1 R R N N N R R Week 2 R N N N R R R Week 3 N N N R R R N Week 4 N N R R R N N Week 5 N R R R N N N Week 6 R R R N N N R R = Rest Day, N = 12-hour night shift (18.30 – 06.30)Experience Required Essential  Excellent oral and written English communication skills.  Experience of working in a customer service and public facing role.  Approachable and able to deal with a wide-ranging customer base.  Able to work effectively as part of a team or alone.  Punctual, reliable and of professional appearance.  Confident to challenge individuals whilst maintaining good relationships.  Able to remain calm and polite when under pressure, including in emergency situations.  Able to be flexible in working hours and duties undertaken.  Ability to maintain confidentiality when dealing with sensitive situations and personal data of college members.  Willingness to contribute to improvement activities.  IT skills. Able to use Microsoft Windows applications and other systems e.g. key fob programming. Desirable  Experience of working alone. Please note that while you will initially work alongside a colleague during the first 4-6 weeks training period, you will be required to manage the reception entirely on your own thereafter.  Experience of working in a similar environment.  Experience of working night shifts.  Previous training and / or certification in SIA, First Aid and Fire Warden. Application Process Those wishing to apply for this post should complete the online Application form at and then email to [email protected] the following:  A detailed covering letter outlining your motivation for applying and how your skills and experience equip you to undertake the role.  A CV Please name the documents ‘Last Name First Name Cover Letter’ and ‘Last Name First Name CV’. Please put your last name and ‘Lodge Porter - Nights’ in the email subject line. Closing date: The vacancy will close on Monday 12thJanuary 2026, at 12.00 noon. Candidates are encouraged to complete the Equal Opportunities Recruitment Monitoring form at the end of the Application form. The information collected on the equal opportunities recruitment monitoring form does not form part of the selection process and will not be circulated to the selection panel. It will be used solely to monitor the effectiveness of the College’s Single Equality Scheme which is published at Merton College Single Equality Scheme | Merton College - Oxford.Please direct any queries to the HR team at [email protected]. This appointment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria related to the duties of the post. No applicant will be treated less favourably than another because of sex, gender reassignment, marital status or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, racial group, disability, age, religion and beliefs or sexual orientation. Merton College is an equal opportunities employer. Merton College is a registered charity (1139022)