Head Porter Benjamin Tobin

Benjamin (Ben) Tobin is the newly appointed Head Porter at Univ. He oversees the College portering team at the Lodge and supports all members of the Univ community.

What did you do before you started working at Univ?
I started my working life as a part-time hanger sweeper for Scottish Fisheries Patrol, an organisation which monitored the fishing fleets, and ended up running their office at Prestwick Airport in Glasgow. I worked within operations in aviation for the next 20 years doing various things and was lucky enough to work on the Met Office flight, which is an aircraft that functions as a flying science lab doing all sorts of air sampling. For example, when the volcano erupted in Iceland, they flew through the volcanic cloud just to see what was going on inside it. I got to see some pretty interesting parts of the world!

I worked in Cranfield, Edinburgh and then came to Oxford to work for a private jet company. When the company relocated, I decided to stay in Oxford, so I took a job running the portering at the John Radcliffe Hospital. I joined during a strike, which was a challenge, and went on to lead the portering team through COVID. I then became part of the domestic team running a big section of the domestic management.

What brought you to Univ?
I was working at the John Radcliffe Hospital and I decided it was time for a change in environment, so I went to work at Merton College as a porter. I realised how good college life is, but also that I had more to give, so after 18 months at Merton I applied for the role of Head Porter at Univ and here I am.

What does being Head Porter involve?
I see portering very much as a support role – we’re here to support the delivery of education. My job as Head Porter is to support the portering team and keep building on a department that facilitates all of the different activities going on within the college. We’re here to keep people secure and to keep people safe but I think we’ve got to try and facilitate as much as we can while we do that.

What are you most looking forward to about working at Univ?
Being able to make a meaningful impact. I enjoy being in a position where you can put things in place that influence and increase that impact.

What do you do to relax?
I play golf, go to the gym three or four times a week and enjoy a Guinness!

What’s your message to the students at Univ?
The door’s always open. We can’t help with a problem or fix something if we don’t know that there’s an issue – so come to the lodge and let us know.

Describe your first impressions of Univ in three words.
Friendly, supportive, secure.

Watch the video below.