Senior Project Officer (ERC Synergy Grant)

About us 

The Department of Political Economy is a unique interdisciplinary enterprise located in the heart of London with proximity to both the world of politics and the City. Founded in 2010, it is the only dedicated Department of Political Economy in the United Kingdom. The teaching and research recognises that the disciplines of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics are inextricably linked: it is not possible to properly understand political processes without exploring the economic or value contexts in which politics operates. Similarly, sound economic analysis requires an awareness of how resource allocation is conditioned both by the values and principles of individuals and communities, and by political and legal institutions, and the way these have been understood by different traditions in social thought. 

About the role 

The successful candidate will provide administrative support for the ERC Synergy research project POPGOV (Popular Government in Global Perspective). The project seeks to uncover the principles and institutions of popular government, understood as those which empower ordinary citizens rather than socio-economic elites. POGOV is led by four co-PIs, Udit Bhatia (King’s College London), Bruno Leipold (LSE), Pierre-Etienne Vandamme (UC Louvain) and Yanina Welp (Girona), who will each recruit and host a team of postdoctoral researchers. The successful candidate will provide administrative support for the work package hosted at KCL by Dr Udit Bhatia and for the project as a whole. They will facilitate room and travel bookings, project reporting, budgetary oversight, and publicity for the project. Successful candidates will be expected to start in June 2026 or as early as possible, although a later start date may be possible.

This is a part-time post (10.5 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed-term contract for 1st June 2026 to 31st May 2032.

About you

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

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level of equivalent  
• Experience of administrative support in a higher education setting
• Strong organisational and time-management skills     
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences   
• Ability to monitor and report budgets
• Ability to work as part of an international team
• High level of attention to detail

Desirable criteria

• Experience of project administration for a research project   
• Strong IT skills    
• An interest in the humanities/social sciences 

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. 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.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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 person specification section of the job description.

Interviews are due to be held in May 2026.

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