Join our team as a Student Out of Hours Support Officer

News

Posted on Friday 19 September 2025

Join the network of colleagues supporting our students out of hours. The Student Out of Hours Support Officer is a new paid role, which any member of University staff at Grades 5 or 4 can apply to take on in addition to their main role.

What the role involves

You will be working with Campus Safety and the Student Life and Wellbeing (SLAW) Manager to respond to individuals who need immediate support. The focus is on making a plan with students to help ensure that they are safe and have adequate support in the short term until wider support services are available.
Where necessary, you will ensure issues are escalated to other services within and outside the University, including our dedicated clinical helpline.
If you need assistance, you'll always be able to speak to the on-call Student Safety Decision Maker, a senior member of the SLAW management team who can provide support and guidance.

What we offer

A standby payment of £36 per weekday shift and £60 per weekend shift, regardless of whether you are called out.
If you're called out, you will receive a minimum of two hours of overtime pay, with enhanced rates for weekends and public holidays
Your travel expenses are reimbursed if you need to attend campus
You'll received full professional training from our Student Life and Wellbeing team, as well as regular management supervision and support for the role
You'll join the Out of Hours Support team network, with a Slack group, regular training and socials

Who can apply

The role is primarily aimed at colleagues with substantive posts at Grade 5, however colleagues at Grade 4 are also eligible to apply. Your substantive role does not need to be permanent, however the Student Out of Hours Support Officer role will end when your fixed term role ends.

You need to live within approximately 60 minutes of campus to ensure you can travel promptly when required.

How to apply

Complete the form to express your interest. We'll get in touch, and ask you to attend an informal discussion and interview.

If you'd like to find out more, or if your line manager/section head has any questions about the role, please email Martin Crosby (martin.crosby@york.ac.uk).

FAQs

When will I be on call?

Typically, you can expect to be on call five to ten times within a given rota period (around four months), but there’s flexibility to take on fewer or more shifts based on your availability. During busier periods, we may have more than one Student Out of Hours Support Officer on rota.

Shift timings:

Week days: 5pm to 9am
Weekends/holidays: 9am to 9am

What training will I receive?

As a Student Out of Hours Support Officer, you will receive our specialist student safety role training made up of modules including:

Safetalk
Responding to disclosures of sexual violence
Notetaking and recording
Safe working

What happens when I'm on call?

You will be able to go about your everyday life as normal, but with the expectation that you:

Will be available to answer the phone
Can attend campus within 60 minutes
Do not use alcohol while on call

Your on-call number will be available to colleagues at Campus Safety who will call if they need assistance on a student wellbeing matter. You will either be able to take action over the phone, or will attend campus. Depending on the nature of the issue you will be either able to take action to resolve it or, if you need advice or a significant decision is needed, you can escalate it to the Student Decision Maker on call. After the issue is then resolved, you will write up the interaction.