Careers Advisers for Research Staff recognised in Vice-Chancellor’s Awards 2025
The Careers Service is delighted to be celebrating our dedicated Careers Advisers for Research Staff at the University of Oxford, who were recognised at the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards.
- Dr Susan Black
- Dr Chris Jeffs
- Dr Abby Evans
- Dr. Anne Wolfes, now Senior Project Manager at the Department of Psychiatry
...and our communications support professional
- Corina Lacurezeanu
The researcher support team was a finalist in the Research Culture Award, which recognises those who have contributed to a positive, inclusive and equitable research culture. Through careers advice appointments, workshops, information sessions, detailed written guidance, the annual careers conference for researchers, and more, the team has supported thousands of researchers on their career journeys both within and beyond academia.
Thanks to the leadership of Suzi, Anne, and Chris—and the brilliant communications work of Corina—we’ve transformed careers support for research staff, raising engagement from under 20% to nearly 60% in just two years. From Post-doc Power Hours to university-wide careers events, the team have truly gone the extra mile (often quite literally!) to inspire and support our research community. Together, we’ve delivered over 2,500 one-to-one appointments, offering personalised guidance that makes a real difference. I’m delighted that this exceptional work has been recognised with a place as finalists for a Vice-Chancellor’s Award.
- Dr Abby Evans, Head of Careers Team
Dr Chris Jeffs and Dr Susan Black were also finalists as part of the 'Cross-university Narrative CV support team: recognising diverse contributions', again in the Research Culture Award category, a testament to their dedication to supporting researchers across the University.
Research Culture Award Finalists
Recognising those who have contributed to a positive, inclusive and equitable research culture.
Careers Advisers for Research Staff
The Careers Advisers for Research Staff team at the Careers Services deliver 30 1:1 appointments each week, careers workshops including for disadvantaged groups, an annual careers conference, and more. Since 2022, the ‘CareerConnect’ platform has seen careers engagement rise from only 18% to 53% of researchers registered.
About the Vice-Chancellor's Awards
The Vice-Chancellor's Awards recognise the achievements and celebrate success across the University – from academics and researchers to professional, technical and support staff, whether they are in colleges, divisions, departments, central services, libraries, museums or elsewhere.
There were 160 award entries across the 11 categories this year, with 1,300 individuals included in the nominations.
The Vice-Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey, CBE FRS FMedSci presented the awards at a special ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre on 15 May 2025. Find out more about the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards.
