Engagement Manager

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Job Scope

The Royal Society is the independent scientific academy of the UK, dedicated to recognising, promoting and supporting excellence in science and encouraging the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. It is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world's most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering and medicine. This role will sit in the Engagement team in the Grants section. The team leads on career development and engagement with researchers funded through the Royal Society's grant programmes.

The main purpose of the role is:

To manage the Royal Society's career development and engagement programme for award holders based in the UK.

To contribute to the expansion and continuous development of the Society's networking activities for award holders based in the UK.

Working within specific timescales, budget and the required quality whilst maximising their success and supporting the needs of award holders.

Reports to: Senior Engagement Manager

Line manages: N/A

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location: Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG plus hybrid remote working

Pay Band: D

Salary: £46, 271

Contract type: Permanent

The application closing date is 12 January 2025

Interviews will be held on 22 and 23 January 2025

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Responsibilities

• To work closely with the Senior Engagement Manager and other relevant colleagues, and with support from the Engagement Officers, to support the delivery of existing engagement activities for current award holders and manage the development of a comprehensive support package for Faraday Discovery Fellows including a range of training courses, networking events and a bespoke mentoring programme for mid-career research fellows.
• To participate in setting of plans, objectives and time scales and identifying to the Senior Engagement Manager when these need to be updated/changed, including maintenance of the annual engagement plan/calendar.
• To identify effective strategies of engagement with early and mid-career researchers in STEM academia and manage relationships with internal and external service providers (incl. training providers, event venues, design services, digital marketing) and a variety of Society contacts, including Fellows of the Society and active award holders, involved in the delivery of career development and engagement activities.
• To develop and maintain strong relationships with award holders to understand their needs, feeding back information to Senior Engagement Manager and other relevant colleagues to ensure appropriate support and development is offered to the researchers.
• To collaborate with Programme Managers, Grants Managers, and other colleagues in the Section and Society to enable their input and involvement in engagement activities (such as curating content, convening break-outs, speakers, etc).
• To liaise with other colleagues in the Society to facilitate the inclusion of award holders in wider Society work, such as policy consultations and public engagement, and enable oversight and join-up of training, secondment and supplementary funding activities managed by other sections of the Society which are exclusively or partially aimed at RS funded Research Fellows
• To utilise appropriate evaluation methods for events and activities, ensuring accurate data is available and producing clear reports for key stakeholders to inform future developments and iterative changes, working closely with colleagues in the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team.
• To administer some selection processes, including commissioning and procurement activities and call for proposals for specific events or activities.
• To represent the programme and organisation at meetings, interest groups, and events, including giving presentations and providing briefings.
• To support activities within the Grants team aimed at increasing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion including encouraging participation from underrepresented groups and supporting the development and maintenance of policies and practices to foster greater inclusivity and to ensure that those who have followed a non-standard career path are encouraged to apply.
• To share experience and ideas with others in the Section and the Society and contribute broadly to the Royal Society's mission and priorities.
• To develop and maintain content for the research fellows portal, coordinating material with individuals across the Section and Society, and active award holders, with the assistance of the Engagement Officers.
• To role model desired behaviours in line with the Grants Team Charter.
• As the programme expands, the role may include line managing responsibilities :
• Providing management and leadership to Engagement Officer(s) and creating an inclusive and supportive environment to help them in realising their potential and achieving the highest standards of efficiency, quality and customer care.

Key Knowledge and Skills Required

EDUCATION/QUALIFICATIONS/KNOWLEDGE

Educated to degree standard or equivalent.

Essential

A good understanding of academic and/or research activities in science and research funding.

Essential

Science degree

Desirable

SKILLS

Skilled team leader

Desirable

Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills across a range of audiences

Essential

Excellent planning and organisational skills

Essential

Good IT and presentation skills

Essential

Strong influencing and negotiation skills

Desirable

Strong attention to detail

Essential

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Essential

EXPERIENCE

Proven experience in a similar role

Desirable

Experience of managing staff activity across teams

Desirable

Demonstrable experience in developing and managing mentoring programmes and career development activities to engage with the scientific community

Desirable

Experience of working across teams and departments

Essential

Experience of managing meetings with internal and external participants

Essential

Experience of establishing and maintaining a network of contacts

Essential

Demonstrable experience of delivering accessible digital events and content for the public

Desirable

CIRCUMSTANCES

Able to be flexible about working hours and travel across the UK

Essential

Competencies

Self-management

• Works unsupervised and can motivate self

• Produces results under pressure

• Can manage in stressful situations

• Pushes for the best results for self and team

• Pursues and encourages feedback that may reveal an error in judgment or process and then makes appropriate adjustments

• Recognises own personal biases or limitations, and uses this understanding to improve decisions and plans for action

• Seeks out mentors and other development resources to gain additional self-awareness and personal development

• Reflects on negative situations with maturity and seeks to understand own contribution to the situation

• Holds things together and acts as a settling influence

• Willing to continue learning within chosen field, training and developing towards the next level in both formal and informal ways

• Works within the Royal Society Values at all times

Working with others

• Contributes ideas and identifies opportunities to work with others both within the team and across the organisation

• Willing to provide and receive feedback to and from sectional colleagues when requested

• Produces succinct presentations and papers for senior colleagues

• Understands when to seek senior advice on potentially delicate negotiations

• Reaches a variety of audiences using an appropriate mix of communication methods and tailored messages to appeal to their unique needs

• Creates an environment of transparency while respecting confidentiality requirements

• Builds consensus for delivering team goals. Frequently interacts with peers, on cross-functional matters.

Resource management

• Makes the best of internal/external resources and coordinates well with external partners to best meet the needs of the Society

• Builds contingency into projects taking into account possible outside factors

• Sets and monitors performance against quality and results orientated targets.

• Focuses on both short and long-term goals

• Creates novel solutions to problems

• Creates a detailed design or plan to implement a new solution or approach

• Evaluates new technology as potential solutions to existing issues. Adjusts course as new information comes to light

• Executes quickly and decisively in a time-sensitive situation

• Takes accountability to persist until opportunity is realised or problem solved

Critical thinking

• Determines and clarifies the requirements of any situation

• Checks information for accuracy and raises concerns if information is inaccurate

• Extracts the key points succinctly, clearly and accurately

• Puts forward suggestions for improvement concerning current processes or systems

• Tries different ways of doing things to get the best results

• Compares and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of options

• Formulates an opinion by considering opposing views and suggestions

• Runs trials and models or applies statistical analysis and stress testing to confirm or disconfirm proposal

Adaptability

• Overcomes obstacles and is not deterred by setbacks; checks assumptions and first principles and works out alternative approaches

• Reacts proactively to new challenges and works in a flexible manner to produce solutions

• Provides feedback and participates in discussions surrounding new ideas approaches or projects

• Maintains focus and continues to deliver when things are not straightforward

• Adjusts to act differently depending on the situation

• Takes steps to understand basic risk management and importance of identifying and maintaining controls

• Leads team and helps them to understand and cope with ambiguous situations

Managing people and relationships

• Delegates effectively, setting clear expectations and authority

• Monitors results and feedback to team on a regular basis

• Recognises others' contributions and acknowledges their limits

• Helps others to identify ways to improve their performance

• Prioritises supervisory responsibilities and carries them out in a timely fashion

• Understands and can identify client/stakeholder/staff needs and looks for opportunities to improve their experiences

• Demonstrates trust in others' ability to accomplish tasks at acceptable levels of performance

• Provides current, direct, complete and actionable positive and constructive feedback

• Has a mind-set of sharing own and others' expertise

• Creates an environment of transparency while respecting confidentiality requirements

• Focuses on surfacing underlying customer issues/concerns and identifying root causes

• Increases exposure to and personal relationships with others