Research Support Manager - INTERNAL ONLY

King's College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

King's College London is seeking a Research Support Manager for the Cicely Saunders Institute at Denmark Hill. This full-time fixed-term post runs until 15 July 2027 and entails overseeing grant finances, HR, compliance, data management, and strategic planning.

You will liaise with the Institute Director, CSI teams and the College Research Office to ensure efficient grant activity and research impact. You will lead post-award administration, supervise staff, and promote opportunities for funding

Qualifications

• Graduate qualification or equivalent required.
• Expert understanding of post award management of research grants and budgeting.
• Experience with Research Grants Applications including REF.
• Proven IT proficiency with spreadsheets, databases and PowerBI.
• Ability to synthesize complex data from multiple sources.
• Strong teamwork across multidisciplinary groups.
• Working knowledge of WorkTribe, Business World and People XD.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day management of pre and post award research administration within the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation (CSI).
• Oversee delivery of research support services for all students (pgr) and academic staff within CSI, promoting opportunities for research funding.
• Line manage professional services within the Faculty Research Support Team, CSI and supervise post-award management.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with the College Research Office for grant processing, approvals, monitoring and reporting.
• Support development and submission of research proposals in line with College policies.
• Work with colleagues to develop high-quality grant applications in line with strategy.
• Provide support and advice for staff applying for research funding and consultancies.
• Provide expertise to researchers using the PURE Research Portal and ensure Open Access compliance.

Skills

Post award management

Budget monitoring

REF knowledge

PowerBI dashboards

Data analysis

Multidisciplinary teamwork

WorkTribe/Business World/People XD

Education

Graduate qualification or equivalent

Tools

Spreadsheets (Excel)

Databases

Job description

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered on a fixed term contract until 15th July 2027. The Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation (CSI) at King's College London is part of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC) and is the world's first purpose-built institute for palliative care, founded through the vision of Dame Cicely Saunders and the efforts of Cicely Saunders International charity to create a global centre of excellence for research, education, clinical care, and information. The Institute unites academics, healthcare professionals, community organisations, patients, and carers, serving as a hub for international research and is based in our Denmark Hill campus. The CSI research support manager will oversee all research functions, including grant finances, HR, compliance, data management, and strategic planning, working closely with the Institute Director, CSI academic teams and Business Support team to ensure resource efficiency, regulatory compliance and smooth running between research grants and staff appointments/extensions. The role also drives research support across KCL, liaising with Research Management & Innovation to enhance impact, manage CSI REF preparations, and analyse trends in outputs and income.

• Day-to-day management of pre and post award research administration within the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation (CSI).
• To oversee the delivery of research support services for all students (pgr) and academic staff within the CSI, through identifying and promoting opportunities for research funding
• To line manage professional services within the Faculty Research Support Team, CSI and supervise post-award management.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with relevant staff within the College Research Office with related responsibilities to ensure efficient processing of grant applications and grant awards, including all necessary approvals, monitoring, reporting, liabilities etc
• Support the development and submission of research proposals in line with the Faculty's research strategy and in accordance with College policies and procedures for research grant submission.
• Work closely with colleagues, academic and professional services, and form effective working relationships which allow the development of high-quality research grant applications in line with the Faculty and College's research strategy.
• Provide support and advice for staff wishing to apply for research funding and consultancies
• Provide expertise to researchers with the use of the PURE Research Portal, ensuring that research publication data held in the system is accurate and up to date, ensuring compliance with the university and REF Open Access policies.
  To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
• Essential criteria
• Graduate qualification or equivalent Graduate qualification or equivalent.
• Expert understanding of post award management of Research grants and experience of managing budgets and monitoring and acting on financial performance.
• Expert understanding of the Research Grants Application process including highly complex grant applications and the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
• Proven IT proficiency in using spreadsheets, databases and designing PowerBI dashboards to analyse and present information.
• Ability to collect and synthesise complex data from a variety of sources to develop new insights and perspectives, sometimes on short timescales.
• Confident working in multidisciplinary teams, and building strong working relationships to drive effective outcome.
• Working knowledge of WorkTribe, Business World and People XD.
• Desirable criteria
• Knowledge and experience of regulatory compliance within the higher education sector and applied health and care research.
• Experience within the Higher Education sector or similarly complex organisation and understanding of the strategic context in which the Faculty operates.
• Experience in Higher Education of the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to manage and run effective professional services teams, processes, and procedures across finance, human resources, research management, technical and general operations.
• Demonstrable project management and organisational skills, with proven ability to work to deadlines, manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritise activities effectively, while ensuring a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Previous experience of line management.
  is a leading University with nine Faculties. As part of , we have an excellent environment for health care interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development.
• The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) placed King's applied and allied health research 1st for: overall proportion of research rated 4 (world-leading, the best mark possible), research papers rated 4, impact rated 4, environment rated 4(joint), Grade Point Average and Power. REF2021 rated as world-leading: 100% of our environment, 86% of our impact and 70% of our research overall. Over 95% of our research overall was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
• As of 2026, King's is top-two in the world for Nursing and #1 in the UK for the 8th year in a row (QS world rankings). King's produces more highly cited research outputs (top 1% citations) on palliative care than any other centre internationally (SciVal), and is second in the world on the same metric for nursing and midwifery. King's is the largest provider of health care education in Europe. The (NMPC) is based in the heart of central and south London. It includes the , the premier Institute for Palliative Care, bringing together clinical, research and education teams. Our applied clinical and health multidisciplinary research transforms therapies, the healthcare experience and outcomes for patients and those important to them, wherever they are cared for. Our award-winning NMPC education programmes span pre-registration nursing and midwifery, and multidisciplinary post-graduate taught and research programmes. We are committed to staff development and offer opportunities to identify and access appropriate training and professional growth., King's applied and allied health research ranks first in the UK for world-leading quality (REF2021) and is globally recognised (QS 1 in Nursing), producing more highly cited palliative care research than any other centre (SciVal rankings). King's considers the professional and personal development of our staff a priority and we offer an inspiring range of opportunities for training and career progression. Our Organisational Development team provide in-house and bespoke learning., At King's, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.