Research Operations Manager

About us 

The School of Security Studies is a vibrant, multi-disciplinary community of researchers and teachers on all aspects of conflict, defence and security. Our research has direct and sustained impact on international security debates, policy and practice. The School of Security Studies has between 150 and 200 full-time academic staff, and several of the world’s leading experts in the academic study of security and defence issues. The School comprises the Department of War Studies on the Strand Campus in London, the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies, and the Defence Studies Department, in Shrivenham, near Swindon. The Research Operations Manager role will be co-located with the War Studies department in London, with the expectation of spending two days a week at the Strand Campus, and the option for the remainder of the working week to be spent working remotely.

About the role 

The Cross-Border Conflict, Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme brings together world-leading experts to examine conflict-affected borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour. The programme is funded by the UK government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Chemonics UK hold the Head Contract. XCEPT’s key objective is to provide policy relevant research for the FCDO.

King’s College London is subcontracted to deliver research which broadly examines the impact of trauma on pathways to peace and violence. Bringing together interdisciplinary researchers based within the Department of War Studies (DWS), the team undertakes ground-breaking research with conflict-affected populations in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and Lebanon.

The Research Operations Manager will work alongside the Principal Investigators to co-ordinate and implement the project management infrastructure across multiple intersecting strands of research within the King’s team. The thematic areas include the impact of trauma on violence and peace, memorialisation and peacebuilding, imprisonment and extremism, gender and conflict, civilian and armed actor decision-making about conflict vs cooperation, food insecurity as it relates to moral personhood and mental health, post-traumatic growth and resilience, trust in institutions, and cross-generational trauma and memories.

The successful candidate will provide overall oversight and management of the XCEPT £6.03m seven-year programme. Reporting to the School’s Senior Research Operations Manager, the role holder will work alongside the Principal Investigators, Chemonics International and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for the contracted deliverables required for the objectives set out within each workstream and agreed with relevant local partners, with a particular emphasis on expenditure and financial reporting as well as the monitoring of research outputs.

This is a full-time position (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed-term contract until February 2027

About you

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

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable Project Management of research projects in Higher Education 
• Demonstrable financial accounting and budgetary skills on Higher Education research projects 
• Ability to work independently, proactively, and flexibly, using own judgement, initiative and discretion with minimum supervision
• Proven ability to manage and coordinate logistically complex activities and liaise effectively with a range of national and international partners 
• Exceptional organizational skills, motivation, enthusiasm, flexibility, political and cultural sensitivity, and initiative to provide direction and strategic management for the numerous local partners subcontracted by XCEPT in Africa and the Middle East

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