Senior Research Operations Officer

King's College London; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious university in Greater London is seeking a detail-oriented individual for a key role in their Research Support Team. This position involves managing financial data and research grants, supporting Principal Investigators with timely reports and ensuring compliance with funding regulations. The ideal candidate will have experience in grant management, excellent communication skills, and proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Power BI. The role requires a dedication to quality and good practice in a collaborative academic environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in grant costing and award management for research.
• Ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.
• Strong planning and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide support for research grant management and reporting.
• Develop and produce financial reports for grants.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations.

Skills

Grant costing and award management

Excellent communication skills

Analytical skills

Proficient in MS Office (Excel, Power BI)

Tools

Worktribe

Oracle-based software

Job description

About Us

The School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences is advancing healthcare engineering research, teaching, and entrepreneurship by bringing life-changing medical technologies to patients and clinicians faster. We are driven by the ambition to improve the way we deliver healthcare through advanced engineering. The School trains the next generation of world‑class biomedical engineers and prioritises collaboration between researchers, clinicians and industry.

Our students and researchers break down barriers between disciplines to deliver faster translation of research into the clinic. By being embedded within one of the UK's largest NHS Trusts, we can improve the quality of life for patients around the world.

More information: www.kcl.ac.uk/bmeis

About the role

This is a key role within the Research Support Team of the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences. The post holder will be responsible to the School Research Manager, as part of the team ensuring that high quality financial data and research management is provided to the School.

The successful candidate will provide high quality support for the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, with an emphasis on research grant management and reporting. The post holder will be highly numerate and able to interpret as well as communicate figures to a wide range of audiences. They should be proficient in Excel and PowerBi and will be expected to provide monthly grant reports to Principal Investigators.

• Developing and producing finance reports for grants and discretionary accounts, inputting financial data on income and expenditure
• Developing an understanding of the platforms used in the University (primarily KFin and Worktribe, PeopleXD and Pure)
• Building and improving reporting templates taking into account of data availability and quality, user needs, data access control, and other relevant factors
• Support all aspects of post award activity from project queries to closing awards.
• To collate and review research grant reports and send to PIs. Attention is required to consider, projects nearing their end dates with large over/underspends and to highlight these to the PI, School Finance/Research teams, School Manager, and Post Award.
• To assist the School Research and Finance Managers in the review of grant 'health checks', ensuring that the expenditure charged is eligible, and grant expenditure is in line with forecasted expenditure.
• To review the ineligible spend report and assess that the expenditure is in line with the funders' rules. Any ineligible expenditure is to be highlighted and addressed to the PI, School Research and Finance Managers, and Post Award.
• Ensure compliance with the College's financial regulations and funder policies.

This is a full time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract. You will be expected to work on site at least 3 days per week.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. Experience in grant costing and award management for research (Pre and Post‑Award) using specific software e.g. Worktribe or Oracle based software
2. Ability to work under pressure in a busy environment with minimal supervision while maintaining accuracy and observing systems and processes
3. Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills at all levels with the ability to translate complex information; financial or the terms and conditions of funding bodies
4. Solutions and quality‑focused, with strong planning and analytical skills, able to manage competing priorities and work with minimal supervision
5. Commitment to good practice and following process/procedure
6. Good knowledge of MS Office including Word Processing, Excel, PowerPoint, Power Bi, and use of email/internet

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working in the higher education sector and/or a medical/clinical environment with a detailed knowledge of the regulatory, policy, and procedural context along with the challenges and opportunities faced by the sector
2. Experience in financial planning and implementation, including preparing budgets, financial profiling, monitoring key performance indicators, budgets, and risks
3. Evidence of an active commitment to career development with the application of learning to the work context
4. An understanding of research‑intensive Higher Education institution activity, context, 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.