Head of Business Development and Engagement

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About us

This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role delivering high-quality business development and engagement administration within the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy (SSPP). Home to four inter-disciplinary Schools, Global and Policy Institutes, and the International School for Government, SSPP is one of the largest, most diverse and international communities for social research and education in Europe. We are looking for an ambitious and experienced leader who can help us build on these successes and continue to improve and evolve our world-class student experience. For more information about the faculty, please see our website: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp

About the role

The Head of Business Development & Engagement is a key senior level professional services role responsible for leading the faculty's business development and engagement functions and managing the delivery of a portfolio of services across the faculty including; business development of professional education, communications, events, contracts management, partnerships, learning designers, marketing and international admissions, alumni and stakeholder engagement, project management and process development and improvements.

The role holder will be responsible for acting as the key interface between the faculty and the university's Corporate Communications, Brand & Marketing, Fundraising and Alumni and King's Professional Education Development (KPED) functions. They will hold shared accountability with these functions in terms of managing internal and external communications, professional education and enterprise development and management, alumni and fundraising activities, alongside overseeing student recruitment marketing campaigns and admissions management. They will also provide support for delivering the university's strategic ambitions defined in Vision 2029: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/strategy/vision-2029

As a key member of the faculty's Senior Professional Services Leadership team, the post holder will oversee all business development and engagement processes and lead a team to deliver high performance and an outstanding level of service and support. Working closely with the Vice Deans, the post holder will be instrumental in shaping and delivering the Faculty's Business Development & Engagement Strategy.

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the successful candidate will be a strong leader with experience of line management and creating high-performing, motivated administration teams. They will have extensive experience of delivering excellent business operations administration and experience in a fast-paced and demanding environment. Communication with diverse audiences and building collaborative relationships is a key aspect of the role, so we are looking for a confident and self-assured individual with demonstrable experience of building networks and influencing and negotiating with stakeholders. They will have a commitment to continuous improvement and excellent interpersonal skills.

SSPP embraces equality, diversity and inclusion. We attract students and staff from across the world, from many different backgrounds, with a variety of ethnicities, religions, and sexual and gender identities. We promote flexible working as a key enabler of inclusion. We particularly encourage and welcome applications from women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, and from candidates who are LGBTQ+ and/or have a disability.

This is a full- time post (35 hours per week), being offered as an indefinite contract.

This is a hybrid post, with the post-holder expected to be on-campus for a minimum of 40% of the time (2 days a week.)

About you

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

Essential criteria

1. Proactive and authentic approach to leadership, experience of line management, building and managing high performing teams, including motivating staff and performance management.
2. Application of evidence-based analytical, creative, and constructive thinking and effective change management.
3. Ability to engage in collaborative working across King's and an ability to build, sustain and develop relationships at all levels, internally and externally, using persuasion and influence to achieve agreed objectives.
4. Experience of delivering high value-add services to stakeholders, delivering at pace, with accuracy and to high standards.
5. Ability to interpret and apply regulatory frameworks, policies and procedures and to advise others on their application.
6. Excellent task management skills and proven ability to use initiative, prioritise workloads for self and others and respond positively to competing demands and deadlines.
7. Highly effective communication skills attuned to audience requirements and delivered in different formats.
8. Evidence of continuous professional development & a strong commitment to equality and diversity within the workplace.

Desirable criteria

1. Prior experience in a higher education administration environment - specialising in one or more areas of the role's portfolio.
2. Experience in developing analytics reports, ideally including the design of Power BI dashboards.
3. Experience of relationship management and developing links with industry and other partners

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 next page after you click "Apply Now". 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.

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 advert. 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 provisionally due to be held on 27th February 2025.

We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.