King's College London

About us

The School of Security Studies at King‘s College London is dedicated to the understanding of security issues in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Harnessing the depth and breadth of expertise across the War Studies and Defence Studies Departments, and the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies, we are one of the largest multi-disciplinary communities of scholars in the world engaged in the teaching and research of all aspects of conflict, war, security and defence.

The School of Security Studies is located within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. Together, we support an inclusive culture and diversity for our staff and students. We are committed to encouraging further growth from diverse groups, and we welcome applications from people of all abilities and currently under-represented groups, which we are able to support with our range of flexible and inclusive benefits. We currently have underrepresentation from BAME, disabilities and LGBTQ communities. As such, we particularly welcome applicants from these groups.​

About the role

The Senior Programme Officer provides essential administrative support to students and academics. Working in a fast-paced environment, the role includes taking responsibility to resolve complex queries and issues, supporting activities such as timetabling and the production of handbooks, using databases and Microsoft Excel to maintain accurate student data on progress and achievement, and delivering a high-quality service across the student lifecycle. Working with colleagues to plan and coordinate a varied set of activities, you will have opportunities to further develop your knowledge of regulations and process and be part of professional networks promoting best practice. As part of the King’s community, you’ll work alongside inspiring academic staff, administrators, students and external stakeholders. 

The post holder will work alongside a team of senior programme officers ensuring activities are carried out efficiently and that administration of all matters relating to the student and staff support across the department is carried out to a high-level of accuracy and consistent standard.

This role will specifically work on Online and Executive Education programmes & modules across the School of Security Studies.

Specifically, the Senior Programme Officer will provide flexible support across a portfolio of postgraduate programmes within the Departments of War Studies and Defence Studies, ensuring smooth delivery and a high-quality student experience.

The role will also contribute to the development and delivery of new initiatives, working primarily at Strand Campus with occasional time at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham.

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

About you

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

Essential criteria

1.      Proven experience in taught programme administration within higher education, including supporting both campus-based and online programmes, and managing complex portfolios, processes and systems

2.      Development-focused approach to managing and delivering an education support service

3.      Excellent written and oral communication skills including the ability to draft documents and correspondence autonomously to a broad range of audiences

4.      Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines, to complete a range of competing priorities, requesting and utilizing support as and when needed.

5.      Strong digital literacy and proficiency with common office and productivity software.

6.      Experience of stakeholder management, and an ability to work with a broad range of stakeholders in a professional and assured manner

7.      Experience of working in a customer-facing environment with a knowledge of how to address complaints and service setbacks in a professional and efficient manner

8.      Proactive approach, and the ability to work independently.

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience of working across departments and campuses

2.      Demonstrable record of supporting and enhancing the student experience

3.      Experience of contributing to the development and delivery of new initiatives in online education

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.