Role purpose

Reporting to the Senior Vice President (SVP) Health & Life Sciences, the Director of Strategic Delivery (Health & Life Sciences) is a versatile and trusted leader who ensures that the academic vision for health and life sciences is developed and delivered within the overall strategy. They work with a high degree of autonomy, with the delegated authority of the SVP Health & Life Sciences, to oversee, curate, and coordinate strategic projects and cross-functional initiatives that are aligned to the academic vision, both within King’s and with external partners. They are flexible and comfortable with ambiguity, and in driving change within complex, dynamic environments. Acting as an advisor and problem-solver, the post-holder is responsible for building strong and supportive relationships at all levels, particularly with KCL Health Faculties, Professional Services Directorates and with external partners, particularly NHS Trusts of King’s Health Partners (Guy’s and St Thomas’s, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts). Working closely with the Senior Executive Officer, the Director of Strategic Delivery co-ordinates the SVP Health & Life Sciences office function to deliver optimally for King’s and across the broader portfolio. They work closely with senior leaders across the university and King’s Health Partners to ensure effective delivery across the entire portfolio of the SVP H&LS. They will attend key meetings and committees alongside or often on behalf of the SVP H&LS, where representing KCL. Given the nature of the joint roles held by the SVP H&LS (ie Executive Director of King’s Health Partners and the Chief Acaedmic Officer role on the Boards of the two acute NHS Trust partners), the Director of Strategic Delivery operates flexibly across the portfolio, to ensure minimum duplication and maximum co-ordination. This includes oversight of relevant functions relating to the Chief Academic Officer roles, including new governance through the Academic Committee in Common, and the wider SC1 London health and life sciences innovation district partnership, where pertinent to KCL. The Director of Strategic Delivery (H&LS) will lead on the development of the Health+ investment strategy for King’s, working dynamically with senior leaders in health across the university, in the context of the changing strategic environment including the 10 year plan for the NHS and life sciences strategy. They provide strategic leadership to the King’s Clinical Academic Training Office.

Key responsibilities

• Work closely with the SVP H&LS and wider senior leadership team to establish the strategic context for critical projects and initiatives and to ensure alignment, prioritisation, and successful completion across the University. Typically, these issues or initiatives will involve working across multiple faculties and with partners, such as the founding partner NHS Trusts of King’s Health Partners. • Function as strategic advisor to the SVP H&LS, helping to shape academic strategy for health, and acting as a sounding board for ideas and decisions by networking internally and externally to scan the horizon for potential opportunities to contribute to overall strategic direction. Gathering and analysing information to provide insights to assist the SVP H&LS to make informed decisions, managing sensitive information and making judgements on complex issues. • Oversee the SVP H&LS’s university office operations. This includes, helping the SVP H&LS evaluate the necessary meeting structures and agendas to ensure operational efficiency and delivery of priorities, ensuring these meetings are focussed and well run, overseeing and facilitating routine HR and Financial issues where needed including the SVP H&LS office budget. Outside of the formal meeting structures this aspect of the role includes co-ordinating information flow between the SVP H&LS with Vice Presidents, Faculties, the University Executive Team, and other stakeholders and other duties. Collaborating closely with colleagues in the Vice-Chancellor’s office to ensure that the SVP H&LS’s work is closely aligned and complementary to that of other SVPs and of the Vice-Chancellor & President. • Collaborating closely with colleagues across all of the university and King’s Health Partners, co-ordinating relevant projects and initiatives on behalf of the SVP H&LS, ensuring these are progressed in a timely manner and in consultation with affected stakeholders. Acting as a communication liaison between the SVP H&LS and other members of KCL and partner organisations to ensure key messages are delivered and understood and that feedback is effectively received and communicated. Often this will involve acting as a representative for the SVP H&LS.

In undertaking these responsibilities, the Director of Strategic Delivery (Health & Life Sciences) will exhibit the following skills and behaviours: • Executive leadership skills displaying the ability to influence and guide others across complex organisational structures and partnerships. • An ability of provide nuanced coordination and control for the SVP H&LS, providing both a formal and informal route into the SVP H&LS office, triaging activity, issues, and concerns, managing directly and referring up where necessary. • Proactively integrating and connecting work streams, activities and issues that would otherwise remain siloed, and working in partnership with colleagues across the Vice-Chancellor’s office, KCL faculties and King’s Health Partners. • Adept at analysing complex issues and data, facilitating problem solving, identifying solutions, and making informed recommendations in a variety of formats. • Effective communication and people skills and transparent by default, linking the academic leadership team, the broader organisation and key collaborators/partners. • Sophisticated political and commercial acumen, with the diplomacy needed to manage delicate issues with tact and discretion. • Political astuteness and sensitivity to the drivers and conflicts relevant to partnership working between universities and NHS bodies. • Advanced project and management capability, ensuring that projects and programmes run smoothly, are focussed appropriately and are delivered effectively. The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.