King's College London

About us

The School of Security Studies is part of the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, one of the largest faculties of King’s College London. It includes the Department of War Studies, based on the Strand, and the Defence Studies Department (DSD), which is based at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. 

The School delivers a high-impact research, public engagement, residential degree programmes, online degrees, professional military education (PME), and, via the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies (KIASS), custom professional education and consultancy - all relating to defence, security, conflict, history and international relations.

About the role

Are you an experienced and creative communications professional with a keen interest in current affairs, geopolitical issues and global security challenges? Are you looking to work for one of the world’s top universities? If so, you could be the next Communications Manager for the School of Security Studies at King’s College London. 

The School is at the forefront of teaching and research on all aspects of security, defence, conflict and peacebuilding, which means media, policymakers and decision-makers regularly seek our expertise on issues of national and international security. This role offers the opportunity to work closely with our academics to further increase awareness of our important research and teaching as part of a strategic approach to communications.

We are looking someone who enjoys a busy environment and working across a broad range of channels. In this role you will be generating news stories, creating podcasts, managing high-profile events, developing new ways to enhance our social media presence, managing webpages, and engaging creatively and effectively with our staff and students. We are seeking someone with a proven ability to develop effective communications campaigns and content, plus develop good relationships with stakeholders at all levels. The ideal candidate will be happy to work independently, as well as manage 2 FTE School Communications Officers and work as part of the wider King’s communications team.

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.      Educated to degree level or equivalent.

2.      Demonstrable experience in using a variety of communications channels as part of an integrated communications strategy, and proven ability to provide advice on most appropriate channels depending on context and user need.

3.      Experience of developing creative and effective content including news stories, features, videos, podcasts and social media posts, including an accurate and methodical approach to work with a keen eye for detail.

4.      Experience of managing a schedule of high-profile events involving multiple stakeholders and a team of organisers.

5.      Excellent communication, interpersonal and networking skills, with evidence of building good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

6.      Excellent organisational, team management and time management skills, with an ability to coordinate multiple work-streams independently, prioritise tasks, motivate individuals and teams, and produce high quality accurate work within tight timescales in a busy work environment.

7.      Proven ability in using web analytics tools and how to use this data to improve communications.

8.      Able to undertake regular travel between sites and to work occasional evenings and weekends as necessary.

Desirable criteria

1.      Professional qualification in communications

2.      Understanding of the UK higher education system and/or experience of working within the Higher Education sector.

3.      Demonstrable prior interest and experience in the broad subject area of defence, security, war and international relations.

4.      Line management experience, including giving clear direction of priorities and praising achievements.

5.      Good level of numeracy skills including budget management experience.

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 next page after you click “Apply Now”. 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.

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.