Job description

King’s College London is one of the world's top universities, ranked 35th in the Times Higher Education World Rankings 2023, with a vision to make the world a better place. The university is leading an ambitious programme of digital transformation, investing significantly in the digital environment to support world-leading education, research and service to society. The King’s IT team is looking for enthusiastic graduates to support the ambitious strategies that will help deliver King’s Vision 2029 on the 200th anniversary of the university.

We have exciting opportunities for graduates interested in an IT digital career in the higher education sector. We welcome applications from graduates from any academic discipline, and in particular encourage applicants from King’s College London holding a degree in IT or Business related disciplines.

Reporting to the IT Graduate Scheme Manager, the 2-year rotational Scheme aims to grow graduates’ technological and business skills and experience. Graduates will have the opportunity to develop in several areas of IT and build the foundation of their career. Graduates will work day-to-day under the direction of an Assignment Manager, and they can be assigned to any of the following IT teams (subject to change); Service Design, Business Analysis, Agile Centre of Excellence, Portfolio Management, Education & Student Solutions, Digital Solutions, Data Solutions, Service Transition and End User Services.

Graduates will receive training and will work with IT specialists, gaining a broad, and hands-on experience. The IT team have developed indicative career paths, with the intention of supporting graduates to rapidly progress their careers, and they have seen many graduates secure roles after the Scheme in many areas within King’s.

For more information on the IT Graduate Scheme and to see testimonials from previous graduates please visit  https://www.kcl.ac.uk/it/grad-scheme

Please note that graduates must be eligible to work in the UK to apply as this post does not meet the requirements to offer sponsorship.

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 2 years

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent

Key responsibilities

 

To provide a flexible range of analysis and administration to support the activities and duties of the IT Solutions, Services & Office of the CIO teams.   

Overall objectives of the Graduate Scheme

• It is anticipated that by the end of the Scheme all Graduates will have gained:

Work experience

• experience of initiating, implementing and evaluating a discrete piece of work, and associated approaches to analysis and project management;
• experience of a range of different work settings / services in IT;
• an understanding of the role of an IT professional in HE;
• an understanding of the needs of different stakeholders within the university setting;
• specific skills, e.g. report writing, presentation, analysis, prepare meetings, take notes and produce minutes etc.;
• a good working knowledge of one or more Solutions, Services, or Office of the CIO areas of work and IT-wide ways of working and processes;
• an appreciation and experience of parts of the end-to-end IT process from idea to delivery and support, with relevant best practice such as service management, project and analysis methodologies.

An understanding of the IT and the HE sector

• a working appreciation of the HE sector as it applies at King’s;
• a range of sound service and project management skills and an understanding of how to apply these;
• a knowledge of the range of career options available to them in IT and the opportunity to assess whether a future career in the sector is appropriate for them.

To achieve this, all assignments should:

• have clear written objectives with achievable and recognisable outcomes over the assignment period through a Performance Development Review (PDR) for graduates;
• adhere to the 3- and 6-month probationary review for graduates;
• support graduates with regular 1:1 meetings;
• offer graduates exposure to a wide range of people and processes in a higher education environment;
• As the Graduate Scheme has grown, graduates will not gain experience across all assignment areas. They can expect to have 2-3 assignments during the 2 years. This ensures adequate training and handover between teams. If a graduate has a strong interest in a particular area, they can express their  interest to stay in a given team for longer, however, as it is a rotational Scheme, graduates should be open to work in any given area and expect to rotate teams during the Scheme. All Graduates should complete their probation within the team they first join. No assignment areas can be guaranteed, and are subject to change. Roles cannot be created based on interests.

During assignments graduates might expect:

• to play a leadership role on a short, discrete project/section of a longer project / activity;
• to undertake a research role on a short, discreet project/section of a longer project / activity;
• to review and, where appropriate, redraft documentation such as policies, procedures, external publications, websites etc.;
• to carry out support duties for groups where the topics of discussion would be useful for the graduate;
• working in a team, working with limited supervision, leading team-based tasks, training and sharing knowledge, encouraging and supporting other team members.

General activities within the Scheme:  

• Conduct analysis across the university, including fact-finding and producing results using Microsoft Office applications 
• Support the development of IT policies and procedures (presentations, diagrams and other documentation) under guidance across specific areas of IT 
• Support various administrative tasks across the assignment team (providing holiday cover and gaining experience across a range of roles) 
• Suggest ideas for the improvement of the IT function and assignment team 
• Adhere to, champion and contribute to King’s Vision 2029, Strategy 2026 and IT ways of working (Operating Model), including Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainability, Health, Safety & Well-being 
• Participate in regular IT Graduate Forums 
• Promote the achievements of the IT Graduate Scheme and support its continued success and development 
• Complete regular progress reports/an end of Scheme presentation to share achievements in learning and development across assignment areas   
• Assist with other tasks, as directed by the IT Graduate Scheme Manager and/or Assignment Manager  

 Team assignment areas overview (subject to change):

• Service Design: supporting service excellence through the Service Excellence Network and Service Design Forum, and working on a service view of the IT element of the university’s Professional Services Service Catalogue.  
• Business Analysis: working with Business Analysts to act as a bridge between IT and the King’s community, working to establish stakeholder needs, capturing and translating these back to software providers, development teams and testers.  
• Agile Centre of Excellence: operating as an embodiment of Agile ways of working, and coaches, guides, and leads other teams and individuals with their agile initiatives.  
• Portfolio Management: providing support to Project & Programme Managers across the Portfolio, including workshop and meetings support, financial reconciliation and budgeting, coordinating deliveries, liaising with suppliers, scheduling, communications and lessons learned. 
• Education & Student Solutions: supporting Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) projects and committees, producing guidance materials, case studies, online resources, researching and reporting on digital education developments, and providing support/maintenance of learning technology tools and applications.  
• Digital Solutions: working with the Product Owner and Scrum Master to gather and prioritise user requirements, developing the roadmap, the scrum process and ceremonies. Digital production of the website, training web content editors, creating WordPress microsites and developing Mobile Apps. 
• Data Solutions: assisting with the design and build of integrations for data exchange between systems, mapping systems’ data into the overall university data model, data modelling and analytics for business intelligence. 
• Service Transition: supporting the successful transition of new and enhanced services into the live environment, working closely with teams to align with agreed transition processes for go lives.  
• End User Services: providing direct support for King’s students, staff, researchers and others on desktop services, audio visual (AV), printing, end user computing and on-campus support at TechBars. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria  

1.       Good standard of education (A-level or equivalent) incl. good English and Maths and Degree or equivalent (we encourage applications from the King’s community holding a degree in IT or Business related disciplines) 

2.       Excellent communication skills using a range of forms, and interpersonal skills including tact and diplomacy and the ability to deal effectively with people at all levels across IT, university staff, students, researchers and external partners 

3.       Excellent ability to recall, retrieve and communicate information quickly, clearly, concisely and accurately in verbal and written form 

4.       Ability to conduct desk research using electronic and print information resources and the web to produce background briefings and reports 

5.       Good IT skills including the use of the internet, Microsoft Office applications (such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and the ability to learn new applications and software 

6.       Excellent attention to detail, and problem-solving skills 

7.       Experience in producing analysis and reports, with good analytical skills 

8.       Proactive approach and natural ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and seek out resolutions to problems 

9.       A high level of tact and discretion and able to keep information confidential 

10.    Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines and competing priorities, demonstrating confidence and reliability, and good time management  

11.    Willingness to learn and develop new skills across multiple team areas (e.g. being open to work in any assignment area), update professional knowledge and a commitment to continuous improvement 

Desirable criteria

1.       Awareness of IT and the digital landscape (as a function, rather than as a user of IT) 

2.       Awareness of the Higher Education sector 

Further information            

 

Applying for the role  

• The postholder must be eligible to work in the UK to apply as this post does not meet the requirements to offer sponsorship.  
• This is a London-based role where the postholder will be required to work onsite at our office, as well as work remotely, in line with King’s hybrid working policy for professional services staff. 
• As part of your application, please include the latest copy of your CV and a supporting statement with your interest in applying for the post and indicate how your skills, past achievements, qualifications, experience and personal qualities make you suited for this role, and what contribution you would expect to make if appointed. To learn about how King’s recruit and tips on writing your application and supporting statement please visit https://www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/how-we-recruit. King’s students and alumni can use King’s Careers & Employability advice and resources for support at https://www.kcl.ac.uk/careers.   
• The selection process for shortlisted candidates will include a 2-stage panel interview remotely scheduled several weeks after the closing date of the role.  
• The role will be offered at the starting salary of grade 4 with incremental progression each year up to the grade maximum. 
• The postholder will be expected to start the role shortly after being appointed.  

About King’s IT

Our specialist teams work collaboratively with colleagues across the university to deliver and support trusted IT tools and solutions that support teaching and learning, research and administration. 

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) leads the IT team which is organised as follows: 

• IT Innovation – shapes the strategic IT direction for technology adoptions 
• IT Solutions – designs, builds & integrates solutions to meet strategic objectives  
• IT Services – runs & maintains reliable IT services that meet King’s requirements 
• Office of the CIO – helps achieve King’s Vision through strategic planning & IT assurance 

For more information on IT please visit www.kcl.ac.uk/it