King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About us:

King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. The university is dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and realising our vision of making the world a better place. The Strategic Vision 2029 looks forward to King’s College London’s 200th anniversary in 2029 and sets out ambitious plans in five key areas:

•       Educating the next generation of change-makers

•       Challenging ideas and driving change through research

•       Giving back to society through meaningful service

•       Working with our local communities in London

•       Fostering global citizens with an international perspective

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a Faculty of King's College London and the largest academic community in Europe devoted to the study and prevention of mental illness and brain disease.

The School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences (MHaPS) is one of three schools under the IoPPN, comprised of the four departments of Psychology, Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP), Health Service & Population Research (HSPR), and Biostatistics & Health Informatics (BHI). With over 100 Principal Investigators, our research spans development from childhood to old age, encompassing basic research through to the development and implementation of treatments, services and policy.

The Research Operations Manager is a role within the MHaPS School Research Operations Team. The post holder will work closely with two Senior Research Operations Managers.

About the role:

The School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences (MHAPS) is seeking to appoint a Research Operations Manager to work across the School with key stakeholders to embed research administration best practice and support grants with specialist funding requirements.

The role is responsible for ensuring that policies and processes are working effectively, continuously reviewing them, overseeing service provision, and meeting all stakeholder needs.

The role would suit an experienced research administration professional who can clearly articulate policies and processes, possesses strong problem-solving skills and experience, and can build and maintain effective working relationships across the School, Faculty, and University.

The role will provide individuals with a wide variety of experience and skills in research administration within a large and complex School and Faculty, supporting their career progression in this field across the University.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an 18 month contract in the first instance.

This role would make a valuable secondment opportunity and we particularly welcome applications from colleagues interested in further enhancing their skills and experience within research operations management.

We work a hybrid pattern, requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in the office.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. Significant knowledge and skills of research support acquired through relevant posts, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding work/roles, and the acquisition of appropriate professional or specialist expertise.
2. Good understanding of optimal cost recovery on research grants, fEC, charitable funders, and QR, and sub-optimal funders.
3. Working knowledge of People XD, Unit 4 Business World and Worktribe or other university equivalents.
4. Working knowledge of the end-to-end grant lifecycle and experience in supporting large-scale and complex grants using grant management software.  
5. Working knowledge and experience of applying regulatory policies and procedures in a large organisation.
6. Highly numerate and experienced in budget management and costing.  
7. Highly proficient in IT skills (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and experience in utilising advanced digital technology in day-to-day work.
8. Effective at working independently, and as part of a team, able to take own initiative & decisions with a proactive approach to complex problem solving.

Desirable criteria

1. Proven strong communication and interpersonal skills to receive, understand and relay specialist or professional ideas or information to various groups. 
2. Excellent task management skills and ability to work under pressure in a busy environment with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. 
3. Keen interest in research grant management and an awareness of current context and challenges within the sector
4. Experience of managing staff, giving feedback on performance levels and providing training/coaching.

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 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.