“Our technical services staff carry out vital roles to deliver the university’s education, research and service ambitions. I am delighted that we signalled our early support for the profession when King’s became a founding signatory to the Technician Commitment in 2017.

We have made significant progress towards recognising the significant and diverse contributions of technicians at King’s and are strongly committed to further enabling improved connectivity, communication and career development opportunities for this key group of staff.

Our internal Technical Services Network has gained exciting momentum over the past five years. As a sponsor, I am committed to ensuring that our technicians have a genuine voice in decision-making and strategic development processes, and to recognising the innovation in techniques and ways of working that will safeguard our future sustainability.”

Professor Richard Trembath, Provost & Senior Vice President (Health)

King’s Technical Services Network was launched in 2016 as testament to the university’s strong commitment to supporting this community of staff. The Network acts as a way for technical services staff to meet each other, get involved in projects and programmes across the university, and participate in key decision making and strategic processes.

The Network is regularly consulted as a key forum to gather views on university-wide developments and proposals.

The Network also plays a key role in driving and promoting relevant development opportunities and career pathways.

In recognition of the critical role of this network, our sponsors are drawn from King’s Senior Leadership Team: Professor Richard Trembath, Provost & Senior Vice President (Health) and Rachel Parr, Chief Operating Officer (Health).

The Network is open to all technical services staff – and we also warmly welcome supporters and friends from across other staff groups at King’s. We hold regular workshops, training sessions and away days. If you are interested in joining the Network, or have any questions about it, please email stephen.franey@kcl.ac.uk

King’s Organisation Development team offers a suite of development and learning opportunities for all levels and categories of staff. Technical Services staff are well represented in cohorts for leadership development programmes, as well as on short courses and bitesize sessions.

Technical Services staff are supported to attend external scientific and fact-finding events and activities.

King’s has actively encouraged our technical services staff to invest in their development through professional registration with the Science Council.

In 2016, King’s agreed to cover the cost of professional registration.

In 2016, King’s launched its Technical Apprenticeship Scheme, working with a local HE College. The two-year scheme has created opportunities for a cohort of apprentice technicians to rotate across a number of core activities supporting King’s education and research portfolio. The apprentices have been considered full members of the university’s Technical Services Network, to enable their early integration into our university community and also align them to professional registration standards (RSciTech).

King’s College London is very proud to be a founding signatory of the Technician Commitment, our current action plan can be viewed here.

The Commitment includes 4 key areas:

• Visibility - Ensure all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution.
• Recognition - Support technicians to gain recognition through professional registration and external awards schemes.
• Career Development - Enable career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways
• Sustainability - ensure the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised

Technician Commitment Signatory

Professor Richard C Trembath
Senior Vice-President and Provost (Health)
King's College London
Executive Director - King's Health Partners

Technical Staff Network Sponsor

Dr Martin Kirk
Function Lead (Research and Researchers)
Director of Research Operations

Technician Commitment Signatory Institutional Lead

Stephen Franey CSci
Technical Staff Development Manager
Research Management & Innovations Directorate

King’s College Technical Network/TCI core focus group

Specialist network leads

Technical staff members Campus champions

Professional registration mentors

• John Grist RSci
• Thomas Pitcher CSci
• Dave Richards RSci
• Barry Crook RSci