Senior Contracts Associate

About us

We are seeking an experienced contracts professional to join the Contracts Team as a Senior Research Contracts Associate. The Contracts Team provides a professional, effective and efficient service to King's researchers by drafting, reviewing, negotiating and advising on contracts that support research, consultancy and service-related activity.

The successful candidate will manage a varied portfolio of research, consultancy and service agreements, working closely with academic and professional services colleagues as well as external funders, collaborators and commercial partners. They will be responsible for specific departments within the Contracts Team remit and will provide expert contractual support throughout the lifecycle of research and innovation projects.

About the Role

The role involves drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of agreements, ensuring that King's interests are protected while enabling research activity to proceed efficiently. The post holder will secure appropriate terms relating to intellectual property, publication rights, confidentiality, liability, indemnities, data protection and other contractual provisions, referring complex matters to the Contract Team Leads and Director of Pre-Award, Research & Consultancy Agreements where necessary.

The Senior Research Contracts Associate will ensure that agreements comply with King's policies and procedures, relevant legislation and the requirements of external funding organisations and collaborators. They will also provide advice to academic and research support staff on contractual and policy matters and support the development of strong working relationships across the university and with external partners.

The successful candidate will have excellent organisational, communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to manage a high volume of activity and competing priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. Experience of negotiating research-related agreements is essential. Experience of costing and pricing project budgets is desirable but not essential.

The post holder will maintain accurate records of contractual activity, contribute to reporting requirements and provide information to support the effective administration and management of awards.

This is a full-time role (35 hours per week) offered on a fixed-term basis for 20 months and funded by BBSRC.

About You

Essential criteria

• Degree or equivalent professional qualification.
• Proven track record of negotiation of research-related contracts and agreements, including negotiation of intellectual property, liability/indemnity and price, and knowledge of material transfer and data protection legislation.
• Proven negotiation and influencing skills in relation to external funders and partners, with the ability to analyse and resolve complex contractual issues.
• Understanding of service provision and performance standards.
• Ability to manage a large and diverse turnover of bids and contracts, with excellent organisational skills and a proven track record of engaging with internal and external partners.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly and build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Sound numeracy and IT skills, including experience of word processing, spreadsheets and databases, with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Self-motivated, proactive and able to work largely unsupervised.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of full economic costing methodology.
• Knowledge of regulations relating to AI and clinical research.
• Knowledge of research facilities.
• Leadership skills and team management experience, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and staff development.
• Working knowledge of the university research funding environment, including familiarity with key funders' terms and conditions and research funding administration within the higher education or public sector.

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