Research Impact Lead

About us

This role is located within the REF, KEF and Research Impact team. We use our expertise to support research impact across all nine of King's faculties, and to deliver the processes that demonstrate to research funders and wider society the university's excellence in research and knowledge exchange.

The team is part of the Research Strategy & Performance Unit within the Research Management & Innovation Directorate (RMID). 

About the role

The successful candidate will work as one of five Research Impact Leads. These roles are crucial to evidencing the impact of King’s research through the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2029).  The role-holder will work closely with academic leads to identify Impact Case Studies for submission to REF, working with academic and professional services staff to develop these and overseeing the appropriate collection and storage of evidence.

This role will focus on health sciences and in particular provide support for the faculties of Life Sciences & Medicine (FoLSM) and Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences (FoDOCS).

Research Impact Leads have a critical role in partnering with faculties to provide leadership, expertise and strategic support, raising research impact literacy and assisting academic colleagues in planning, generating, evaluating and evidencing impact from research projects. The role holder will work to further advance impact understanding and provide expertise and guidance to support faculties to develop a strong impact culture.

Research Impact Leads collaborate to produce shared resources, training and communications, working closely with other units and initiatives (such as One King’s Impact), to ensure a consistent and coherent approach to understanding and amplifying research impact across King’s.

The role holder will need exceptional interpersonal skills to establish productive working relationships with academic, research and professional services colleagues at all levels of seniority across the university. They will work with academic impact leads and research impact practitioners across King’s to support co-ordination of research impact activities, liaising regularly with faculty counterparts.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

The opportunity is available to work in a hybrid way, with an expectation of a minimum of five days per month on campus but attending campus as and when required to perform the role effectively.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1. A sound understanding of knowledge exchange and research impact in its widest context and appreciation of the different ways in which academic and scientific knowledge can contribute to society, the economy and the environment.
2. Experience of working in a knowledge-exchange or impact role in an HEI, with knowledge of policies & procedures relating to research management.
3. Good knowledge of the pathways to impact – for example to the clinic, commercialisation and policy – and experience of working with stakeholders outside academia to realise the benefits and impact of research.
4. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal and proven ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders at different levels.
5. Excellent negotiation, influencing, team work and interpersonal skills with an ability to develop strong networks within the university environment, with a particular emphasis on working in partnership with both academic and professional services colleagues.
6. Highly-organised, capable of creating and implementing processes to embed a high-quality impact culture.
7. Proven experience of contributing to and managing projects, developing innovative solutions & practical implementation.

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