King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About us

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities plays a key role in delivering King’s College London’s commitment to addressing society’s grand challenges; making this happen through a wide range of intellectual exploration and innovative, interdisciplinary cultural understanding. As a University deeply rooted in both long-standing tradition and radical innovation, Arts & Humanities exemplifies our ambition to blend our long history of academic excellence with groundbreaking approaches to contemporary issues 

About the role

The Head of Business Operations leads key business operations functions in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities including HR, finance, business continuity, compliance, health & safety, space management and people, as part of the Executive Dean and Director of Operations’ team. The post holder is responsible for the efficient and effective running of operational processes, establishing standard processes and professional standards across the Faculty. Working closely with colleagues in the Faculty and across the university, they support the Director of Operations’ activities, ensuring these comply with all regulatory requirements and obligations.

The role also works in partnership with the Executive Dean, Director of Operations (DOps) and senior leadership team to support them in ensuring that relevant academic and business priorities drive financial decision-making (in order to balance the academic and operational objectives). They will work with the Director of Operations and the Faculty Senior Leadership Team to achieve short-and medium-term objectives relating to strategic and operational plans, as well as undertake work to under-pin longer-term strategic decisions through the Integrated Planning Process (IPP).

The post would suit an experienced professional services leader with relevant expertise and experience, who has strong project management skills and is able to build and maintain strong working relationships across the Faculty, university and with external partners. The post holder must be committed to principles of culture, equality, diversity and inclusion and driving cultural change.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About the role

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria 

1. Substantial experience in a management position within Higher Education, in relevant operational post(s), and a good level of understanding of the higher education sector in the UK and internationally and the challenges it faces.
2. Extensive and comprehensive knowledge and skills in regulations, systems and processes underpinning business operations (including HR, finance, business continuity, risk management) acquired through relevant experience, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding posts.
3. Strong analytical skills, using data to inform strategic decisions.
4. Experience of developing innovative solutions and implementing change.
5. Exceptional project / task management skills and ability to work under pressure in a busy environment with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
6. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, both in person and in writing, with experience of leading consultations, writing and presenting reports
7. Extensive experience of staff and resource management and their ongoing performance assessment and development.
8. Strong aptitude, backed by substantial experience, of team leadership and management, preferably in a matrix management context

Desirable criteria

1. Minimum level 6 qualification in a relevant subject, such as an undergraduate degree or equivalent
2. Experience of governance committee membership and chairing committees.
3. Understanding of effective change management approaches and experience in adopting approach for target stakeholders in higher education business operations sector

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on 25 July 2025.