School Research Operations & Strategy Manager

The School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences is recruiting for an exciting and new key role – the School Research Operations & Strategy Manager. The school is well known in mental health and population mental health. There are more than 100 principal investigators and a large portfolio of grants from the tens of thousands to the several millions. The postholder will provide research support and operational management oversight for research grants across two departments (Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) and Health Services &Population Research (HSPR)).

The post holder will work closely with the Head of School Administration (HoSA), the Head of School and the Heads of Departments (HoDs) as well as the Faculty Research Manager. The successful candidate will lead a core team of School & Departmental based Professional Services staff to manage this support.

The postholder will coordinate the School and Departments’ research administration and ensure standard operating processes and procedures are complied with. They will assist with monitoring research metrics and ensure grant applications within the Worktribe system are in line with School and Faculty policies.

This is a new role following the professional services (PSS) reshaping in the Faculty and in the first few months will be based in the SGDP department where the postholder will manage all its operational needs until the Professional Services Reshaping is implemented. At this point there will be a particular focus on the detailed configuration and embedding of the new School Professional Services structure and ensuring the continued effective delivery of high standard support to underpin the School’s activities.

This post will appeal to a personable, high-performing manager experienced in supporting Research administration in Higher Education.

In accordance with the new hybrid working policy the role holder will be expected to spend a minimum of 40% on campus.

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract

This is a full-time  post – 100% full time equivalent

Research Operations

• To communicate existing research policies and support the roll-out and implementation of new policies, processes, and systems (viz. Worktribe and others as required) related to research in the School
• Have oversight and provide support for the School’s pre and post award management for academics/Principal Investigators (PIs), including Financial Management reports from King’s Finance system (KFIN)
• Assist with the development and monitoring of School and Department KPIs relating to research (including monitoring Overhead contributions, grant income and collate data on income and overhead recovery for School Execs and the Faculty – working alongside our Research Management & Innovation Directorate (RMID) to improve the access to data for Faculties and Schools)
• To support the development and submission of research proposals in accordance with all regulatory requirements and procedures (with input and support from the Faculty Research Manager as required)
• Operational management and support of large grants, commercial opportunities, clinical trials, and industry links
• Overall responsibility for recruitment of posts / contract variations for staff on RE and TS funded codes, liaising and following the relevant Royal College procedures as required Support the management and coordination of School or Faculty wide research or research reporting projects (viz. REF, BRC renewals, or MRC applications) working alongside the Faculty Research Manager and Vice Dean – Research.
• Manage funder compliance and cost recovery (analysis, reporting & arranging training with RMID for relevant staff within the School)

Strategy Implementation

• Support the implementation of the School research strategy with the School Executive and Head of School / Head of School Administration
• Support research performance and researcher development; providing administrative support where appropriate to encourage applications and seek new awards for PIs using the Worktribe system
• Work alongside the Faculty Research Manager to horizon scan for research bids of relevance to School/Departments
• Actively promote a positive research culture in-line with wider university initiatives
• Work with the HoSA and Faculty Research Manager to capture information around research impact and international partnerships
• Identify any relevant discussions around large scale early-stage research projects within the School and act as a conduit with the Faculty Research Manager to ensure these are aligned with Faculty and College strategic goals

General Duties

• Work autonomously and manage the School’s PS research operations and strategy implementation team, delegating and allocating work effectively and setting standards for administrative procedures and processes within the School
• Actively contribute to relevant School and Faculty governance committees as required
• Chair School PS research meetings and co-chair Faculty PS research network
• Establish strong working links across Schools, Faculties and RMID, actively contributing to relevant research networks
• Facilitate an inclusive culture and ethos working across the IoPPN community.
• Spend 10-15% of time contributing to cross Faculty / University initiatives and professional development (agreed in consultation with the Head of School Administration)

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.

Essential criteria

Substantial vocational and relevant management experience demonstrating management ability in an appropriate professional or specialist area, and success in similar or related roles, supported by evidence of significant appropriate specialist knowledge.

Detailed knowledge of the research grants applications process

High level understanding of university policies and procedures around research grant costings

High level understanding of university policies and procedures around research grant management

Significant experience of managing or supporting multiple large-scale projects / research grants

Highly proficient IT skills (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Excellent administration and organisational skills with a high degree of attention to detail

Experience of managing staff in a Higher Education setting

Effective at working independently and as part of a team, able to take own initiative with a proactive approach to problem solving

High level of numeracy and experience of data analysis / reporting via Excel dashboards or PowerBI

Desirable criteria

1.      Working knowledge of the external research landscape, discipline area and potential implications for the School 

2.      Knowledge of the Worktribe system 

3.      Proven commitment to continuing professional development for self and wider team 

Candidates are strongly encouraged to specifically address the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification in their covering letter

The School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences encompasses the four departments of Psychology; Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry; Health Services & Population Research; and Biostatistics & Health Informatics. It includes more than 100 Principal Investigators, with research programmes spanning a range of areas from childhood to old age, from basic research through treatment development and implementation, and on to healthcare and society. It is home to many of the basic and evaluative sciences (e.g. psychology, health economics, statistics, informatics) that underpin research at the faculty; and expertise (psychology, service research and improvement science) that improves the impact of scientific breakthroughs at KCL and King’s Health Partners. It is also home to King’s first BSc Psychology Programme that launched in 2015 and continues to have a thriving cohort.    

Whilst working within the framework agreed with the post holder’s line manager, the post holder is expected to manage their own workload and is expected to be flexible in anticipating and responding to shifting and competing demands on their and the wider team’s time.  It is expected that the post will work with minimum regular supervision but will refer to their line-managers for advice on issues which fall outside existing regulatory or policy frameworks.  

Please note that this job description reflects the core activities of the post. There may be changes in the emphasis of duties and it is expected that the post holder recognises this, adopting a flexible approach to work and willingness to participate in training.  Day-to-day activities and responsibilities will be determined by the School/Departmental priorities and needs and will inform specific objectives and tasks to be undertaken by post holders.