Priority Candidate Support Scheme Process

The priority candidate support scheme can be contacted by emailing pcss@admin.ox.ac.uk

Once the team have received an email, they will contact you directly either by email or over the phone.

Initially you should contact the PCSS to let them know you would like to engage in the service. If your circumstances change and you no longer want to be a part of the scheme please notify PCSS.

The criteria for becoming a priority candidate remain the same.

All priority candidate applicants who meet the essential requirements or could do so with reasonable retraining or a short period of on-the-job experience should be interviewed.

Whilst the COVID-19 situation has driven a faster solution in creating the function, the Recruitment Project led by the Focus team had already identified that increased support for priority candidates was needed.

During the initial 12 months, the work of the team will be monitored and reviewed as part of the University-wide review of the recruitment freeze and redeployment protocol.

If you are offered a job at one of the Colleges, you will lose your continuous service with the University. Each College acts as an independent employer and has their own terms and conditions, you are not considered as a priority candidate for College jobs.

Yes, you are still able to apply for jobs and to be considered a priority candidate even if you are furloughed. We recommend speaking to your Line Manager or equivalent before you are furloughed so they can provide you with a priority candidate letter which you can then easily attach to your application.

If you are offered a role, the salary offered will reflect the role and your experience and skills. When you contact the PCSS, we will discuss your salary expectations to ensure that we notify you of roles that meet your expectations.

Under the University's redundancy procedures, in some circumstances a limited period of salary protection may be available (for example in some cases where a voluntary severance payment has been offered). You should speak to your departmental contact about whether this applies in your case so that the PCSS team can bear that in mind when reviewing possible vacancies.

Yes, you are required to interview all priority candidate applicants who meet the essential requirements or could do so with reasonable retraining or a short period of on-the-job experience.