King's College London

About us

It is an exciting time to join the Dickson Poon School of Law’s professional service Research team as we implement our new vision and strategic direction. This role will contribute to how we shape the future of our vibrant and internationally renowned Law School. 

The Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London is one of the oldest law schools in England and recognised as one of the best law schools in the world. We are based in the East Wing of Somerset House, a Grade One listed building, on our Strand Campus, a short walk from the Royal Courts of Justice and Inns of Court in the heart of legal London. Our location enables us to have excellent contacts with practitioners and policymakers, and we have a strong tradition of engagement with the legal profession.   

About the role

This one year fixed-term position offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced research administrator to broaden and enhance their professional experience across several key areas, including REF preparation, doctoral programming, research centre management, line management and faculty research strategy.

The Senior Research Operations Manager (SROM) is a crucial member of the Research PS team in each faculty, leading on the planning and administration of research activities and shaping and supporting faculty research strategies.

Within DPSoL, the SROM manages ‘pre-award’ activities for research grants, contracts and consultancy, oversees the administration of all internal faculty research funding and committee meetings and plays a key part in the development of the UoA 18 (Law) REF submission with support from 1 x Senior Research Operations Officer, whom they line manage. Additionally, the SROM is integral in management of the faculty’s doctoral (PhD) programme and in supporting best practice and smooth functioning of DPSoL’s research centres through their line management of 2 x Centre Managers and 1 x Senior PGR Officer.  Please see the job description document associated with this role for a fuller list of key responsibilities.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31 January 2027. 

PS staff in DPSoL work in a hybrid fashion, with 2 days per week worked in-office and arranged to facilitate in-person teamworking on these days.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience. Applicants who do not clearly meet the essential criteria will not be shortlisted for interview.

Essential criteria

1.      Educated to degree level or comparable work experience.

2.      Minimum 4 years’ experience in UK HEI research administration, ideally a role involving research finances and use of common HEI finance and grant management software.

3.      Excellent numeracy skills and ability to understand/analyse complex data.

4.      Excellent communication & interpersonal skills, including experience presenting information to a range of stakeholders such as senior academic staff.

5.      Proactive, organized and able to work independently, prioritising a diverse workload.

6.      Proficient IT skills (particularly MS Office suite: Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word and standard HEI grant management software such as Worktribe).

7.      Evidence of ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels internally and externally to your workplace.

8.      Line management experience.

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience managing or supporting doctoral students or a doctoral programme.

2.      Experience working with research centres or on large research grants/projects.

3.      Strong knowledge of the UK HEI research environment – policies, funders, sector challenges etc.

4.      Experience providing support to a REF submission.

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 week commencing 20 October 2025.