King's College London

About Us

​​King’s College London is a leading University with nine Faculties. As part of King’s Health Partners, we have an excellent environment for health care interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development.

​The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) placed King’s applied and allied health research 1st for: overall proportion of research rated 4* (world-leading, the best mark possible), research papers rated 4*, impact rated 4*, environment rated 4*(joint), Grade Point Average and Power.  REF2021 rated as world-leading: 100% of our environment, 86% of our impact and 70% of our research overall. Over 95% of our research overall was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

​As of 2026, King’s is top-two in the world for Nursing and #1 in the UK for the 8th year in a row (QS world rankings). King’s produces more highly cited research outputs (top 1% citations) on palliative care than any other centre internationally (SciVal), and is second in the world on the same metric for nursing and midwifery. King’s is the largest provider of health care education in Europe.

​The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC) is based in the heart of central and south London. It includes the Cicely Saunders Institute for Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, the premier Institute for Palliative Care, bringing together clinical, research and education teams.

​Our applied clinical and health multidisciplinary research transforms therapies, the healthcare experience and outcomes for patients and those important to them, wherever they are cared for. Our award-winning NMPC education programmes span pre-registration nursing and midwifery, and multidisciplinary post-graduate taught and research programmes.  

​We are committed to staff development and offer opportunities to identify and access appropriate training and professional growth.

About the role

This role presents an excellent development opportunity for an individual committed to advancing innovative, high-impact research in palliative and end-of-life care. As one of three posts supporting the establishment of a new Impact Centre for palliative and end-of-life care at the Cicely Saunders Institute, the postholder will play a central role in shaping and delivering research and engagement that meaningfully improves outcomes for patients, carers, and wider society.

The post holder will contribute to the ongoing delivery of the Impact Centre, including producing evidence syntheses to guide care delivery and commissioning, while helping to develop a learning network for practitioners. They will also support the growth of a sustainable, high-quality applied research programme focused on generating impact, securing external funding, and achieving internationally recognised standards of excellence.

The role also involves engagement with media, policy audiences, and professional networks to maximise research impact, alongside participation in faculty initiatives, governance activities, and team development. The successful candidate will be expected to uphold high standards in research ethics, data protection, and clinical governance. They will also contribute to mentoring and supervising emerging researchers, helping to strengthen capacity within the field.

This is a full time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered on a fixed term contract for 24 months.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

Location: Hybrid – minimum of 2 days per week on campus (Denmark Hill)

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified in relevant subject area (or pending results)
2. Track record of peer-review publication and presentations that demonstrate international excellence in terms of originality, rigour, and significance in areas relevant to this role
3. Commitment to, and experience of, impact focused research and education
4. Ability to communicate with diverse audiences including patients, practitioners, the public and policy makers
5. Ability to work well as an effective and inclusive member of teams and networks and to share and encourage good practice in research, teaching and dissemination activities, to inspire and motivate others, including in challenging environments

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

Desirable criteria

1. Evidence of ability to secure research grant funding
2. Evidence of continued development in research methods, with increasing expertise in areas relevant to the role (e.g. evidence synthesis, implementation science)
3. Experience of the planning and delivering high-quality education at undergraduate and/or postgraduate levels

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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

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.

Interviews will take place w/c 10th August.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service clearances.