"Director of Post-Award Department"

About us

King’s College London is seeking a highly experienced individual for the role of Director of its Post-Award Department within the Research Management and Innovation Directorate.

The Research Management and Innovation Directorate provides strategic leadership and operational support for research and innovation activities across King's College London.

The directorate works to enable high-quality research by delivering expert services in research development, funding, compliance, and governance. We partner with academic and professional teams to foster collaboration, drive innovation, and ensure that research aligns with institutional priorities and external requirements. Our goal is to create an environment where research can thrive and deliver impact locally, nationally, and globally.

About the role

The post-holder will lead a large business-critical, high-performing unit managing the financial and related administrative requirements of the University’s portfolio of externally-funded grants and contracts.

This role is central to the professional and efficient delivery of research support across the university, with a strong emphasis on financial integrity, transparency and communication. The individual will have a particular responsibility for strategic and operational leadership, including team development for the Post-Award staff who manage the administrative aspects of the post-award process for research and consultancy projects.

In the last financial year, income from the combined research and consultancy portfolios totalled £M267.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1. Degree or equivalent professional qualification
2. Significant experience of financial administration, with demonstrably strong accounting ability and comfort with complex transactions and processes and the ability to work well under pressure, prioritise and meet deadlines in the face of constantly shifting priorities and pressures
3. Proven experience in leading, planning and organising complex and difficult projects and managing a large and varied turnover of research applications and agreements through their team/s as well as personally and a proven ability to take important and/or difficult, high-level decisions in consideration of the consequences
4. Proven track record of senior operational leadership in research administration, upward influencing through persuasion and argument and contributing to high level strategic thinking. Confident in representing the University in negotiations and at national for a
5. Experience of developing and implementing service standards, KPIs and metrics to drive high performance aligned to strategic priorities and the ability to perceive issues strategically in terms of the ‘bigger picture’, make informed decisions and plan accordingly
6. Demonstrable track record of successfully managing, developing and retaining staff, including effective delegation
7. Successful drafting and negotiation of complex terms and conditions with funders and collaborators, including intellectual property and liability and risk management
8. Sound experience and understanding of university finance related issues e.g. VAT, FEC, TRAC, suitability of staff, choice & use of currencies, etc.
9. Proven track record of devising and delivering change in a collegiate and effective way with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with a wide range of people in a positive and helpful manner whilst being capable of firmly maintaining university policies

Desirable criteria

1. Relevant accountancy or business qualification

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

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on in mid-January 2026

Grade and Salary: Competitive Salary
Job ID:134405
Close Date: 11-Jan-2026
Contact Person: Paul Labbett
Contact Details: paul.labbett@kcl.ac.uk