King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About Us

The postholder will be based in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, joining Europe’s largest grouping of youth-focused mental health scientists, clinical academics and researchers at the newly established Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People.

In 2026, the department will be based in the newly established Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/pears-maudsley-centre which will offer ample of opportunity to collaborate with academics, clinicians and lived experience experts.

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is the largest academic community in Europe devoted to the study and prevention of mental illness and brain disease. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/

About the role

The post-holder will serve as a senior research administrator for a newly funded Wellcome Trust research programme (Prediction and Early intervention in obsessive-compulsive disorder).  The programme uses existing longitudinal data to develop tools aimed at identifying key drivers and predicting the onset of OCD in both children and adults.

This large-scale international collaboration brings together two UK higher education institutions – King’s College, London and University College London – alongside partners in Sweden, Brazil and the US.  The role will support investigators and research teams across all participating sites, ensuring effective coordination and delivery of the programme’s objectives.

From the outset of the research, the post holder will play a pivotal role in ensuring the programme’s efficient and effective delivery.  Core responsibilities will include enabling clear and timely communications across all collaborating partners, coordinating accurate and comprehensive reporting to the study team and funders, and overseeing robust financial management.

The role will also provide operational guidance and administrative support across related grants and projects as required, including activities associated with the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People.

The post holder will be expected to adopt a flexible and proactive approach in supporting the Chief Investigator, co-investigators, and research staff to deliver the programme’s objectives, working onsite as required.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a 5 year fixed term contract.

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 knowledge  
2. Knowledge of King’s working systems such as Worktribe, PXD and KFIN and highly proficient IT skills (including MS Office 365)
3. Excellent financial management, budget oversight and expenditure summaries
4. Proven strong communication and interpersonal skills to receive, understand and relay complex information to various audiences
5. Excellent task management skills and ability to work under pressure in a busy environment with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
6. Ability to work with clinical and academic teams in research environment
7. Knowledge and experience of working in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry groups across IoPPN, SLaM, KHP, KMP and PMCCYP
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. Experience in managing complex research grants or clinical trials
2. Knowledge of research governance procedures (including R&D and ethical approval processes

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

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

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