Schools Engagement Officer – Partnership Seed and Community Grants

Royal Society; London; Hybrid; GBP 38,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Society seeks a Schools Engagement Officer responsible for managing Partnership Grants within a dynamic team focused on promoting STEM education in schools. The role includes administrative support, relationship building, and project coordination to enhance scientific engagement among young learners. This position provides a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful educational initiatives while working with a respected scientific institution.

Qualifications

• Strong project administration experience required.
• Interest and knowledge in STEM education considered highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day delivery and administration of Partnership Grants.
• Coordinate and process grant payments and manage application workflow.
• Build and maintain relationships with key networks and stakeholders.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication

Project administration

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Experience in STEM education

Job description

Job Scope

The Royal Society is the independent scientific academy of the UK, dedicated to promoting excellence in science. We believe that science is central to modern culture and demonstrating the importance of science to everyone is one of the strategic aims of the Royal Society. We want to enable young people to understand what it is to be a scientist and to encourage experimental work and problem solving in schools and colleges to improve understanding of the scientific process. We promote and support good practice in teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and promote STEM for all young people.

Our major schools engagement programme includes:

• Grants to support schools and colleges to enable students, aged 5–18, to carry out investigative science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) projects in partnership with a STEM professional, primarily through the Partnership Grants
• Evidence-based resources to support excellence in the teaching of science, maths and computing, in particular around scientific literacy and practical science.
• Events to showcase practical science, including a tailored schools programme at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition.

The Schools Engagement Officer will be responsible for supporting the set-up, administration and day-to-day delivery of a new strand of Partnership Grants (Science Community Grants) which build on Partnership Seed Grants within the Royal Society and are designed to support organisations to build lasting relationships between STEM professionals and clusters of UK-based schools and colleges to undertake practical STEM investigations. The officer will support the workflow of this grant within the wider engagement team. This includes supporting the day-to-day administration of the grant, marketing and communication of this new programme, and developing relationships with stakeholder organisations as well as working with colleagues across the Royal Society. The officer will also contribute to the management of the Partnership Seed Grant scheme and work with the Schools Engagement team to undertake tasks related to Partnership Grants and other schools engagement strands of work.

This position is suitable for an individual with strong project administration experience who shares our belief in the value of science and mathematics education and public engagement and enjoys working with a range of people. The post holder should have good organisational skills, a commitment to high standards throughout their work, and a strong attention to detail. They should also be able to manage their own workload, and collaborate with colleagues on shared tasks and projects, to ensure milestones and targets are achieved.

In return, this position offers opportunities for the successful candidate to contribute to a new and exciting programme of schools engagement activities and help develop successful schemes which benefit teachers, young people and STEM professionals. They will also get the chance to be part of the work of one of the most respected scientific organisations in the world.

This role will require occasional travel to visit grant projects across the UK. The post holder will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks

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

Reports to: Senior Schools Engagement Officer

Line manages: N/A

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

Pay band: C

Salary: £37,105

Contract type: Fixed-term 3 years with opportunity to extend

Hours: 35 hours per week (full time), occasional travel to visit grant holders (mainly within the UK), evening and weekend work required.

Closing date: Midnight 20 July 2025

Interview date: 4th – 6th August 2025

Responsibilities

The work of the Schools Engagement Officer will include:

Supporting the set-up and administration of the application process for the new grant strand, including managing expressions of interest and queries from organisations, providing feedback and online guidance to applicants, and managing applications within the Royal Society’s grant management system, Flexi-Grant.

Assisting the grants review process, including communicating with the review panel about required reviews and supporting the Senior Schools Engagement Officer and Schools Engagement Manager to run online review meetings by taking minutes and coordinating application clarifications.

Coordinating and processing grant payments.

Supporting the post-award management of the new grant strand, including handling enquiries and post-application questions.

Implementing internal monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the grant scheme, including conducting monitoring meeting calls and in-person visits to grant projects and organisations around the UK, as required, and preparing reports for senior colleagues and committee members.

Promoting the new and existing grant strands through the preparation of new webpages within the Royal Society website, preparing promotional material and presenting at internal and external events and conferences, as required.

Building and maintaining relationships with key networks and external stakeholders such as grant applicants and recipients and interested organisations.

Contributing to the day-to-day running of the Partnership Seed Grant scheme to ensure alignment with this new grant scheme, providing detailed support and feedback to applicants and recipients, processing grants forms and payments, and administering the monitoring, reporting and evaluation of projects.

Assisting with the day-to-day running of the Partnership Grant scheme and other schools engagement strands of work, as required.

Contributing to the continual review of procedures and systems and recommending improvements to contribute to the team’s efficiency and effectiveness, providing a high-quality service to stakeholders.

Responding on behalf of the Royal Society to questions and requests for information regarding school engagement.

Undertaking such other duties as may be required from time to time, for example, assisting in the organisation of various events and conferences.

Key Knowledge and Skills Required

Education / qualifications / knowledge / interests

¨ Ability to build and maintain strong strategic relationships with colleagues and STEM organisations

Essential

¨ Interest and knowledge of science, mathematics, technology and their broader social significance

Highly desirable

¨ Interest in and/or awareness of the key issues in STEM education

Highly desirable

¨ STEM Education and Engagement outreach experience

Highly desirable

¨ Teaching experience in the UK school system

Desirable

Experience

¨ Experience of working in a team environment

Essential

¨ Experience of identifying and targeting a variety of audiences

Essential

¨ Experience of establishing and maintaining a network of contacts, and communicating with stakeholders at all levels

Essential

¨ Experience of guidance and report writing

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of presenting to a variety of audiences (such as STEM professionals, and teachers)

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of project evaluation

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of administering and managing grants to individuals and/or organisations, ideally Flexi-Grant.

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of producing and managing promotional material for a variety of media

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of STEM education outreach organisations and opportunities

Highly desirable

¨ Experience of managing a budget

Desirable

¨ Experience of administering selection processes, for example for grants or awards

Desirable

Competencies

Pay Band C – Role Descriptor and Competencies

Suggested Titles – Officer, Junior Officer, Exec, Senior Administrator, Senior Assistant, Programme Officer, Co-ordinator

At Band C you will hold a more specialist role and will have increased responsibility for your area of work and output. Pay Band C roles are described in the following dimensions:

Decision-making – Your work is varied, and you have a range of administrative or technical tasks. You take decisions in line with specific routines, guidelines, or procedures. You plan your own work and coordinate with others on how their work fits into the broader plan of activities. Supervision is available for issues that fall outside of existing operating guidelines or your realm of knowledge

Thinking challenges - The solutions to issues or problems are not always obvious and investigation is needed before choosing a way forward. Your initiative is required to help find ways to improve working practices and procedures in your area of work, in sorting out problems that occur in day-to-day work or improvements to work processes.

Communicating – You maintain relationships which involve liaison or coordinating with a range of internal and/or external contacts on mainly transactional issues and a range of levels

Developing people – You may be responsible for allocating work to, or checking the work of less experienced colleagues, or the supervision of temporary staff.

Managing Resources – You may perform activities such as reconciling information/data or analyses of expenditure or income, adhering to agreed procedures.

Applying knowledge & expertise - You require proficiency in, and keep up to date with, skills required for your area of work or technical skills acquired through relevant work experience and/or vocational qualification.

The competency levels for a pay Band C role are described below.

Self-management

· Works unsupervised and can motivate self

· Produces results under pressure

· Can manage in stressful situations

· Pushes for the best results

· Can be innovative and offer solutions and suggestions when not initially obvious

· Keen to be involved in organisational and corporate working groups informally or formally

· Can represent section on some duties

· 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 accept feedback to and from sectional colleagues when requested

· Produces succinct presentations and papers for senior colleagues, is a capable presenter and can explain topics and projects to a range of audiences

· Understands when to seek senior advice on a wide range of matters and act upon it

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

Critical thinking

· Determines and clarifies the exact 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

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

Managing people and relationships

· Can delegate effectively if needed setting clear expectations and authority

· May line manage or supervise others

· Monitors results and feedback to own team on a regular basis constructively

· Recognises others’ contributions and acknowledges their strengths and limitations

· Helps others to identify ways to improve their performance and encourages learning from others in the team

· Prioritises supervisory responsibilities and carries them out in line with organisational policies

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