Business Operations Officer

This is an exciting opportunity within the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences. We are seeking to appoint an experienced and highly motivated Senior Business Operations Officer to provide high quality administration and operational support to academics, researchers and PhD students based in the Rayne Institute at our Denmark Hill Campus. The Senior Business Operations Officer will be a member of the School Professional Services Team working collaboratively to ensure that work is delivered consistently across the School. The position is varied and involves supporting a range of functions such as HR, Finance and Research Grant Administration, as well as organising and planning local resources and initiatives such as seminars, meetings and events. The role can be fast paced with short deadlines, and the successful candidate will need to be able to handle multiple tasks, plan their own time well, and have excellent communication skills. The post holder will work closely with the Research Operations Manager and the Core Team to support pre-award processes such as grant applications, award acceptance and award set up across the various departments in the School. They will also support post-award processes such as providing guidance to our academics on eligible and ineligible costs on a grant, monitoring budgets, flagging up risks with the Research Operations Manager and finding solutions to funding issues. The post holder will forge good working relationships with the Research Management and Innovation Directorate (RMID) and champion the use of KCL systems (in particular our research grants management system, Worktribe, and our finance system, Business World/Unit 4). The School has adopted a hybrid way of working for its professional services staff, with each working in the office for at least 60% FTE. The post is based in a busy department. The postholder will need to be adaptable and have a positive attitude to a dynamic workplace. This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term maternity cover contract for 12 months (or until end of maternity leave)., 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 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 ' ' pages.

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

• Educated to Degree level or considerable knowledge and skills gained through work experience in a relevant post, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding work.
• Have extensive administrative/operations experience with an in-depth knowledge of a range of practices, methods and procedures and have a good eye for detail.
• Highly numerate with proven financial management and analytical skills to underpin strategic financial strategic decisions and procedure.
• Have experience of complying with complex regulations/procedures, e.g. GDPR
• Solutions-focused self-starter, with excellent planning and organisational skills, an ability to manage competing priorities and who can work with minimal supervision.
• Good communication, orally and in writing, along with strong interpersonal and influencing/behavioral skills.
• Good computer skills including Microsoft Office packages.
• Proactive and responsive to internal contacts in immediate area and across King's and contacts outside the University (e.g. suppliers and colleagues in other HE institutions) in order to build relationships.
Desirable criteria
• A commitment to an excellent student experience and concern for staff and student wellbeing, along with a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Excellent people skills, able to build rapport with colleagues.
• Ability to supervise/advise junior team members and give feedback on performance levels, providing training/coaching where necessary.
• Able and willing to provide support beyond core hours, as required.
• Experience of financial planning and implementation, including preparing budget, financial profiling, preparing business cases and plans, and monitoring key performance indicators, budgets and risks, with experience of using research grants management systems (such as Worktribe) and finance systems (such as Business World/Unit4).
  
  King's College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. The university is dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and realising our vision of making the world a better place.
At King's College London, the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine (FoLSM) is one of the largest and most successful centres for research and education in the UK. The Faculty was created as a result of the merger of elements of the School of Biomedical Sciences with the School of Medicine. The merger brings together basic, translational and clinical scientists to provide new cross-School research collaborations while optimising the deployment of teaching expertise across the Faculty. Within FoLSM, the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences aim to improve patient response through fundamental science discovery. Our academic excellence is widely recognised and through our local, national and international partners. Our scientists join up with world-class clinical services for the benefit of cancer patients in southeast London and beyond. Working across our acute and community sectors, we are also maximising beneficial outcomes for our patients from medicines, through medicines optimisation. Our key collaborators include the NHS, local and national governments, the third sector, industry, patients and the public., 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.

Grade and Salary : £39,076 - £43,909 per annum inclusive of London Weighting Allowance Job ID : 158725