Director of Service & Impact (Maternity Cover)

About us:

King's commitment to serving society through academic excellence is central to its mission and Strategy 2030. Through its education, research, engagement and operations, the university seeks to create positive societal impact and generate lasting and meaningful value for people, communities and the planet.

The IES Directorate at King’s brings together the expertise of teams engaging with communities and partners locally, national and globally. IES provides strategic leadership for the university’s engagement at home and abroad, while providing a home for a portfolio of innovative programmes that generate and measure impact and serve the communities we work with and for. IES is home to some of King’s most innovative and impact-driven programming including Sanctuary, the Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education, King’s Volunteering, One King’s Impact, among others, as well as our civic and place-based engagement in London, and across the world.

About the role:

The Director of Service & Impact is a senior leadership role within the International, Engagement & Service Directorate. The postholder provides cross-university strategic leadership for King's Service and Societal Impact agenda, ensuring that the university's commitment to serving society is embedded across institutional priorities, decision-making, partnerships and culture.

A central responsibility of this fixed-term appointment is to lead the consultation, approval, launch and mobilisation of King's Service & Societal Impact Enabling Framework 2030. Working closely with senior leaders, faculties, professional services, students and external partners, the postholder will translate the framework into a clear implementation programme, governance structure and performance approach that supports delivery of King's strategic ambitions.

The postholder leads the Service & Impact Unit, providing strategic direction and people leadership to the Sanctuary, Volunteering and One King's Impact teams, ensuring the successful delivery of existing programmes and the development of future priorities.

This is a full-time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed-term contract until 14/01/28.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

• Significant experience of leading and implementing complex organisational strategies or transformation programmes, including consultation, governance approval and delivery.
• Substantial experience of line managing diverse teams and senior professionals, balancing competing priorities, managing performance and creating an inclusive, high-performing culture.
• Demonstrable ability to influence, engage and build consensus among senior stakeholders within complex matrix organisations.
• Experience of developing and implementing impact, evaluation and performance measurement frameworks, including outcomes-based approaches and theories of change.
• Proven success in developing and managing strategic partnerships with external organisations, communities, funders and senior stakeholders.
• Strong financial and resource management experience, including budget oversight, business planning and funding development.
• Excellent strategic, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to operate effectively in complex and evolving environments.
• Knowledge and understanding of societal impact, civic engagement, social value or related agendas within higher education, public sector or charitable settings.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of leading institution-wide consultation and change programmes within a higher education environment.
• Knowledge of UK higher education policy and performance frameworks, including REF, KEF and associated impact agendas
• Experience securing external funding, sponsorship or investment for impact-led initiatives.
• Understanding of social value frameworks and approaches to evidencing institutional impact.

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