Senior Business Manager (Operations)

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About us

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. The Strategic Vision 2029 looks forward to King's College London's 200th anniversary in 2029 and sets out ambitious plans in five key areas:

• Educating the next generation of change-makers
• Challenging ideas and driving change through research
• Giving back to society through meaningful service
• Working with our local communities in London
• Fostering global citizens with an international perspective

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a Faculty of King's College London and the largest academic community in Europe devoted to the study and prevention of mental illness and brain disease.

The School of Neuroscience is UK's 2nd largest Neuroscience school with over 500 researcher and 200 PhD students. It is one of three schools at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. We are ranked 4th in the world for the total number of publications in neuroscience, 4th for the number of publication outputs in top 5% citations in neuroscience, and 4th for top 5% citations in neurology.

Our academic and research staff are integral to our school. Their work is supported by a group of Professional Services staff members within the departments as well as at the school level. We support staff members requiring flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments. Upon consultation at the points of recruitment and onboarding, we will strive to provide the best adjustments for you.

We strongly encourage our staff to dedicate time to their professional development through training courses and participation in working groups and networks. We also encourage our staff to seek mentoring outside their direct line management. Mentoring, both via formal and informal arrangements, allows individuals to fully explore their career situation and development. Our weekly school circular regularly captures and promotes opportunities open to all staff.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Business Manager (Operations) to lead and manage key operational functions across the School, with a particular focus on education, people, space, and projects.

In collaboration with the Head of School Operations and Faculty Professional Services Leads, the Senior Business Manager will oversee the administration of the School's operational portfolio, which involves coordinating and managing dependencies across the School's four departments.

This role is essential in ensuring the smooth delivery of the School's undergraduate (UG), postgraduate taught (PGT), and postgraduate research (PGR) courses, working closely with the Education Support Team. Additionally, the Senior Business Manager will be responsible for optimizing the use of the School's space, ensuring compliance with health and safety (H&S) standards, managing asset processes, and supporting the implementation of the School's People Plan, with a focus on fostering a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion (CEDI).

The role will involve providing strategic, financial, and resource support to the Head of School and Department Heads, while also leading a team of business operations staff.

The Senior Business Manager will ensure that the team is well-trained, well-resourced, and motivated to perform at a high level, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and proactive problem-solving.

The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in team leadership and development, with a demonstrated ability to identify and implement operational improvements that align with the institution's broader goals. Strong interpersonal skills are crucial for fostering and maintaining productive relationships across the 4 departments and team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals seeking to broaden their experience in operations management within a large, complex organization, and to advance their career in senior management within the university sector.

This is a full-time (35 hours per week) position with an indefinite contract. This is a hybrid role, with a minimum of 3 days on site.

Interviews are expected to be held sometime during week commencing 20th January 2025.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1. Substantial knowledge and experience of business operations acquired through relevant managerial level roles, demonstrating a specialist level of knowledge and expertise.
2. Significant experience of applying regulatory frameworks (education, health & safety) in a large and complex organization and communicating policies and procedures to colleagues.
3. Highly proficient level of financial numeracy and experience of data analysis and reporting in relation to business operations.
4. Experience of successfully delivering projects and initiatives with multiple stakeholders that have medium to long-term impact.
5. Highly proficient IT skills (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and experience of utilizing specialist systems and software for business operations.
6. Excellent administration and organisational skills to manage multiple competing priorities whilst ensuring a high degree of attention to detail.
7. Experience of managing and developing high performing teams, embedding the principles of culture, equality, diversity, and inclusion across all aspects of the teams' function.
8. Effective at working independently and as part of a team, able to take own initiative with a proactive approach to complex problem solving.

Desirable criteria

1. .Experience of change management and applying principles to a significant change initiative.
2. Experience of developing a culture of continuous improvement around systems and processes.

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.

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