"Residences Support and Welfare Manager"

About us

King’s Residences is a department within the Estates and Facilities directorate at King’s College London. Overseeing 14 Halls of Residences for around 6,000 King’s students, we are a dynamic and passionate team dedicated to ensuring the students receive the greatest living-in experience during their academic study.

About the role

The main purpose of the Residences Support and Welfare Manager is to lead and manage the delivery of World Class welfare support service for students living in King’s Halls of Residences. This includes overseeing both out-of-hours and daytime provision to ensure students have consistent access to pastoral and wellbeing support whenever they need it.

This role will provide direct line management to a team of Out-of-Hours Support Supervisors, who oversee the volunteer Residence Welfare Leads supporting students across 14 Halls of Residences. In addition, you will line manage the Residences Welfare Officer, working collaboratively to ensure seamless coordination between daytime and out-of-hours provision, delivering a consistent, student-centred welfare service. Anticipating future growth and evolving student needs, you will contribute to adapting the service to ensure it remains effective and responsive as demand for the service increases.

This role delivers the day-to-day operational management of the Residences welfare service, while also providing practical, hands-on support. You will be responsible for providing robust team management and oversight, including leading on the annual review of team functionality, recruitment, onboarding, training, performance support and team welfare support, as well as acting as a point of escalation for complex or high-risk welfare cases. Collaborating closely with internal student services and external support agencies, you will help students navigate challenges related to mental health, money, housing, and personal wellbeing, ensuring that these do not become barriers to their success at King’s.

This role will also lead the development of a wellbeing awareness programme across King’s Residences, working to improve accessibility and ensure every resident has the opportunity to thrive during their time at university.

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

The role is Monday – Friday, with some evening & weekend work required at key points within the year.

About you

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

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level in related disciplines and/or have professional qualifications or significant relevant work experience with wellbeing, welfare or working within education Excellent command of the English language.
• Significant relevant work experience in supporting adults and young people to navigate substantial difficulties in an educational or community-based setting, including those with ongoing mental wellbeing concerns/mental health conditions and/or from complex family backgrounds.
• Strong understanding of HR related activities, notably performance management and inclusive, supportive recruitment processes and procedures.
• Minimum of 2 years line management experience.
• Strong understanding of the current context of pressures and concerns in relation to university students, and how to be an ally in navigating these, including those who are experiencing mental ill-health.
• Experience of managing work confidentially, effectively, and sensitively and ability to maintain professional boundaries.
• Evidence of emotional resilience and ability to work calmly under pressure, containing anxiety in self and others and exhibiting strong interpersonal and communication skills.

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.