Get Involved at OURFC

Grace Gibson
May 21
7 min read

Updated: Jun 4

As we look toward the 2025/26 season, we would like to invite you to consider these opportunities for getting involved with OURFC across many different areas of our operations.

Coaching

We have a variety of positions available with our Men*s, Women*s, and college coaching programmes for next season.

The Men*s Blues (1st XV) are looking to add an assistant coach to the programme. You will help Head Coach, Ian Kench, with planning and delivering coaching and have the opportunity to become part of the matchday experience at Iffley Road, meeting the many world-renowned teams the Blues face under Friday Night Lights. The fixture schedule is filling up with international and Premiership teams for a year full of exhibition games, culminating in the Varsity Match. The Dark Blues are a unique team, with generations of history and accolades creating an environment which spans across the student and professional game.

The Men*s Greyhounds (2nd XV) and Whippets (3rd XV) are also looking for additions. These teams also sit outside of BUCS, creating an opportunity for all OURFC members to play matches against adult and touring clubs, including Championship and international teams. This year, both teams executed convincing Varsity victories and are looking for coaches keen to build on this success throughout the upcoming season.

The Women*s Blues (1st XV) had a very successful year with new Head Coach, Scott Hall, finishing third

in their BUCS league (Premier South) and winning Varsity. We are now looking for a Casual Coach; with growing numbers across the Women*s program, we are looking for a coach to help with delivering high quality sessions, working closely with our players to learn and improve rugby ability week to week. The Blues play weekly in term time and face teams that feed Premiership sides, for example Bristol and Bath students who play for Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby. The team are excellent to coach as the majority of players first play rugby at Oxford and are incredibly receptive, keen to learn as much as they can, with several more experienced players from club and Premiership backgrounds adding value each season. The environment is also incredibly inclusive, with many members of the LGBTQ+ community, and support of these players is non-negotiable.

The college game is a central part of student rugby at Oxford with men*s and women*s teams clashing in their respective leagues throughout the year until they reach the knockout Cup competition - “Cuppers”. Several different colleges are looking for some coaching support, ideal for someone local who has several hours a week available to coach a mixed ability group.

Pay and hours are college specific. Please contact Grace Gibson (cb@ourfc.org) for more information.

Refereeing

We are looking to add to our internal University Referee Society. Open to all abilities, we are able to help you with your qualification if you are looking to start your refereeing journey, linking you with a mentor who will support you. College games give us great learning opportunities for ARing and refereeing, with an established pathway officiating university games.

If you already have your qualification and are looking for somewhere new to put your boots on, we’d love to meet you and get you set up to ref a few matches. We also have strong links with the Oxfordshire Refereeing Society and can facilitate membership.

Please contact Grace Gibson (cb@ourfc.org) for more information.

OFFICE STAFF

College Rugby and CB Coordinator (full-time)

We are looking for someone to join our office staff in a full-time capacity, ideal for recent graduates. This coordinator role will handle all the administration for the college programme, predominantly communication with student captains, physios, college bursars, grounds staff, and referees. The administrative side of the role will mean organising matches within league during Michaelmas Term and establishing the Cuppers competitions and Finals Day in Hilary & Trinity Terms as well as corresponding with the RFU.

Development is also an important part of the role, from players to match officials and coaches. The Coordinator will need to facilitate the delivery of beginner/taster sessions at the beginning of Michaelmas, offering further player training throughout the year. Refereeing and coaching qualifications are also available and the Coordinator will be responsible for delivering development in this aspect of the game.

Beyond College and CB responsibilities, being a member of the office staff means being willing to assist the General Manager and other office workers with various tasks. A proactive attitude and desire to help in all areas is essential, with the scope for more responsibility in other areas - for example, writing articles for the website and newsletter.

MEDICAL STAFF

We are taking expressions of interest to join our medical team supporting the Men*s & Women*s squads at OURFC for the 25/26 season. We are looking for qualified physios who have experience in a sports setting (particularly a University Sports setting). Essential and desirable qualities below.

Ideally physios local to the Oxford area who can be flexible around the training and match demands of the Men's & Women's squads.

Essential Qualities:

Degree in Physiotherapy

HCPC Membership

CSP Membership or own PLI Cover

2+ years post graduate experience working as a physio

Sports experience

Ability to work evenings, and weekends

Pitch-side first aid/trauma qualification or due to complete one prior to December 2025

Desirable Qualities:

Completed a course in sports taping

Experience working in rugby

Marketing Officer (part-time)

We have an opportunity for an ambitious student who is looking to gain experience and tangible examples for their CVs for a marketing career: an internship as Marketing Officer for OURFC. This intern would have scope to design the marketing strategy for the 2025/26 season across all our of communications: a 10,000-strong newsletter mailout, our social media presence (Instagram (6,924 followers), TikTok (3,719 followers), Facebook (2,700 followers), X (2,977 followers), Linkedin (774 followers)), our website (www.ourfc.org) which gains 100,000 visitors per year, and physical advertisements in our grounds and in our community. Our main marketing targets are improving attendance at the weekly Men*s Blues fixtures at Iffley Road, creating attendance for Women*s Blues matches, and improving attendance at The Varsity Matches at StoneX Stadium in March 2026.

The majority of the work can be completed over the summer in preparation for the season, and then we would anticipate a half-hour meeting every week during Michaelmas and Hilary to keep track of progress and discuss any changes needed. This is a good opportunity for those becoming finalists next year, as the season finishes with the Varsity Match in March, so your Easter and Trinity are completely free from burden.

This intern would work alongside the Media Secretaries from the Men*s and Women*s Sections to plan, create, and deliver content across our digital and physical media. Ideal for someone looking to work in communications in the future, you will have lots of creative control. We are looking for someone proactive with strong written skills and some design experience.

If you are interested, please email our Head of Operations, Zed Nott, (admin@ourfc.org) with your CV and a paragraph on a) why you're interested and b) why you would be a good fit for us. Deadline is the end of 9th week of Trinity Term (Friday 27th June).

Media Intern (Volunteer)

For those with a different skillset and for a different level of time commitment, we are also looking for a Media Intern. Ideally a student at either Oxford University or Oxford Brookes, with a passion for photography and/or videography, our Media Intern would need to be available for all Blues home matches at Iffley Road (around 10 matches in Michaelmas and 6 in Hilary, plus travel to The Varsity Matches at StoneX Stadium). Working with the Media Secretaries on the playing teams, our Media Intern would produce and upload matchday coverage and content across our social media platforms. These include a 10,000-strong newsletter mailout, our social media presence (Instagram (6,924 followers), TikTok (3,719 followers), Facebook (2,700 followers), X (2,977 followers), Linkedin (774 followers)), and our website (www.ourfc.org) which gains 100,000 visitors per year.

This role is perfect for students who are looking to start careers in the creative field or marketing, as this work would be sufficient to fill a creative portfolio across different content types and audiences. Our Instagram following is mostly students and young alumni, whereas our Facebook and Newsletter audiences are mainly older alumni, so you would have the opportunity to hone and demonstrate your skills at marketing across all age and gender demographics.

This is a good opportunity for those becoming finalists next year, as the season finishes with the Varsity Match in March, so your Easter and Trinity are completely free from burden.

If you are interested, please email our Head of Operations, Zed Nott, (admin@ourfc.org) with your CV and a paragraph on a) why you're interested and b) why you would be a good fit for us. Deadline is the start of -2nd week of Michaelmas (Sunday 21st September) so that we can onboard you before our season begins.

Head of Matchday Experience (Volunteer)

We always need a few extra pairs of hands on Men*s Blues matchdays to help with operations, but, in the right hands, this role could be much more than that. At minimum, we need a capable and responsible person to:

be the point of contact for our ball boys/girls, welcoming them onsite, explaining their job, and getting them to the right places at the right times;
control the music pre-match, at half-time, and post-match
announce, or find an appropriate announcer, over the tannoy
run half-time entertainment
liaise with stewards to ensure smooth operation at gates

However, this role is very open to someone with ideas to make it their own! You could, for example, engage with local schools/clubs to run a Minis touch match during half time, or find local/student performers to perform during half time, run a post-match event in the Pavilion, crossbar challenges, etc. We are also looking at ways to improve attendance at Women*s Blues home games, so any programmes of events or outreach opportunities you can think of to engage students, the local community, and local clubs would be well within the remit of this position.

This role is ideal for those looking at careers in events, but the shape of this role can really be moulded to fit the kind of experience you are looking to gain for any field. At minimum you will gain valuable CV skills in working in a team, facilitating innovation, making mistakes and fixing them under pressure, stakeholder management, and the like.

If you are interested, please email our Head of Operations, Zed Nott, (admin@ourfc.org) with your CV and a paragraph on a) why you're interested and b) why you would be a good fit for us. Deadline is the start of -2nd week of Michaelmas (Sunday 21st September) so that we can onboard you before our season begins.