About King’s
King's College London provides a dynamic habitat for individuals looking to expand their career prospects.
Application has passed - page retained for reference only
A Message from the President & Principal
Dear Colleague, King’s is one of the UK’s oldest universities widely regarded as world-leading for the quality of its scholarship, the success of its alumni and the reach of its impact in the service of society. I had the privilege of returning to King’s in 2021, as President & Principal after having served here previously till 2016. I am pleased to find myself amidst a dynamic, resilient and ambitious organisation that is eager to embrace the change ahead. We have more students than ever before, with more international students from more countries seeking to come here; the recent research evaluation exercise REF2021 places us as one of the leading universities; and we use our research and scholarship to assist society deal with everything from health challenges to the Ukraine war. At the heart of this success are King’s people – our students and our staff. The rapidly changing nature of universities, and the challenges and opportunities which face us require us to communicate our offer and our achievements to audiences within and without. We are seeking a communications professional who will not only lead communications and external affairs, but will help shape the way we work and what we do, so that what we communicate abides with our values, aligns with our vision, and promotes our strategy. It is an exciting time to join us, as a world-leading university we have so much to showcase across our diverse community with significant investment ahead in our sciences, a multi-year Student Success Transformation Programme, a focus on supporting and further developing our thriving staff community, development of our estate, accelerating our response to the climate emergency, and many further strategic priorities tied to Strategy 2026. As a member of the Principal’s senior team accountable directly to me, the Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs will work closely with the Senior Vice President (Operations) and other senior leaders including Faculty Executive Deans to support and realise our strategic ambitions. We are looking for a strategic and influential leader who can support me and my team and develop a clear vision for communications across the university and beyond our walls. Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to hearing from you. Professor Shitij Kapur, MBBS, PhD, FMedSci, FAAHMS, FKC President & Principal King's College London
Appointment details
Reports to: Professor Shitij Kapur
Salary
Competitive salary
Terms
Directorate:
Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
Period of appointment:
Permanent
Responsible to:
President & Principal and Senior Vice President (Operations)
Hours of work:
Full time (35 hours per week)
Campus:
Melbourne House (Strand Campus) & Lavington Street (Waterloo Campus). For senior leaders there is an expectation to be on campus at least 4 days per week.
Vacancy ID
074031
The Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs is a strategic and influential leadership role working with the President & Principal, Senior Vice President (Operations) and supporting the senior officers of the university. Responsible for a central team of c. 20, the Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs is a member of the Principal’s Senior Team and the University Executive and plays a key role in ensuring the continued success of King’s, sharing a collective responsibility for the delivery and success of the university’s strategic priorities.
Responsibilities and Objectives
Strategy and planning
• Acting in the capacity of a Chief Communications Officer, provide strategic advice and counsel to the President & Principal, Principal's Senior Team (PST), University Executive (UE) and Professional Services Executive (PSE) on all strategic communications and external relations and brand and reputation matters. • Develop and oversee a cohesive and integrated strategic communications strategy and framework to advance strategy, brand and reputation. • Direct, support and manage relations with media, key government contacts, regulatory and monitoring bodies, key individuals. etc, working in close collaboration with members of the Senior Leadership team. This includes overseeing the delivery of a proactive corporate external media and events engagement plan related to One King’s impact challenges on the world and the institution’s daily interaction with the UK and International media. • Lead on the development and implementation of an effective communications approach to corporate and public affairs and issues preparedness supporting internal teams and offices. • As part of an integrated corporate communications strategy and plan, support and oversee the development and delivery of innovative and compelling internal communication and engagement plans to raise awareness, understanding and advocacy of King’s transformation agenda, strategic priorities and opportunities. • Monitoring events and sentiment domestically and globally, determining responses which are consistent with the aims and values of the organisation.
Leadership and coaching
• Work closely with the central and culture teams and other business units to develop and support internal communications and messaging. • Provide communication and engagement advice and counsel to the institution’s leadership team to develop King’s brand and reputation (this includes providing informal oversight on behalf of the President & Principal to other relevant directorates Brand & Marketing and Fundraising & Supporter Development) on issues/decisions/activities that impact King’s reputation and brand. • Work in partnership with Students & Education Directorate (SED) and Research functions and the student recruitment team (known as Brand & Marketing) to develop communications and brand marketing strategy plans and interventions that showcase and raise awareness of the King’s brand and enhance its reputation. • Demonstrate and articulate to the institution’s leaders the value and strategic need for strategic communications, brand development and reputation management to drive successful outcomes on themes aligned to Strategy 2026 and Vision 2029. • Establish and have oversight for an operating model that supports the delivery of a ‘One team’ approach to communications across King’s, proactively building effective working relationships across all Faculties, Institutes and Directorates across the King’s community. • Be an active member of the sector and mission bodies communications networks and professional communications leadership communities.
Communication and service delivery
• Manage the corporate communication budget, continuously seeking ways of increasing value for money • Set and maintain a high standard for rich and engaging brand communications and marketing content and campaigns suitable for a wide range of different audience groups and which encourage two-way dialogue and feedback • Responsibility for all corporate institutional content, ensuring alignment to the institution’s strategic priorities and Vision 2029 • Using a multi-channel approach, oversee the syndication of content wherever possible to ensure optimal value from King’s stories championing a storytelling and campaigning approach to improve the effectiveness of communications across the institution aligned to strategy. • Oversee the development and management of corporate communications channels in partnership with other relevant functions and stakeholders. • Craft effective segmentation strategies to ensure messages resonate across all stakeholder and audience groups • Working with members of the Professional Services Executive leadership team, both support and lead on the delivery and design of brand and reputation-enhancing campaigns on strategic themes related to Vision 2029 and ensure profile building activities are maximised across the full range of internal and external channels and platforms for all audiences. • Act as lead professional and advisor on high profile and high priority business transformation initiatives and projects. • Ensure the effective prioritisation, allocation and focus of team resources; define the institution’s communications resourcing needs, overseeing and approving recruitment and talent planning across the institution; and advising/gatekeeping on the development/requirement of communications resourcing across the change and transformation portfolio (including recruiting third party/fixed term contract support as required). • Must strive for ‘best practice’ level of team performance and drive cultural team change to deliver integrated output, customer service and effective evaluation of activity
Team and capability development
• Lead a team of senior communications staff and their direct reports and prioritise staff engagement and people and talent planning in support of Strategy 2026 ambitions around a thriving staff community. • Be an inspirational functional leader for internal and external communication and engagement, setting professional standards and benchmarks, and putting in place frameworks for capability improvements across the institution communications operation, centrally and locally. • Provide mentoring and coaching to help individuals within the team transform to a new structure and operating model and support colleagues through uncertainty as changes are implemented. • Define and clarify accountabilities as new role profiles are embedded, ensure performance management framework reflects new accountabilities and manage the team accordingly. • Embed a performance framework to manage the continuing effectiveness and service excellence of the team, ensure capabilities of team members meet the requirements of the institution and team development needs are identified and acted on.
Measurement and evaluation
• Lead on the development and implementation of a measurement framework to continuously analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of communication and engagement activities.
Read more about Vision 2029
King’s Vision 2029 sets out our ambition to make the world a better place
Find out more about Strategy 2026
Charting the next stage of our journey towards our 200th anniversary.
Strand Campus
The Strand Campus is home to: Faculty of Arts & Humanities, The Dickson Poon School of Law, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical...
Essential experience and skills:
• Educated to degree level or equivalent • Significant experience of communication, engagement and public affairs, across a range of traditional and digital channels • Experience of working at a senior level in a large and complex organisation • Leadership skills with significant experience in managing, developing, mentoring, and motivating teams • Collegiate and supportive approach, with experience of providing high-level and strategic advice to senior leaders • Proven ability to network and influence at a senior level within an organisation • Demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion • Able to articulate and communicate a strategy, and ensure stakeholders are suitably informed and engaged • Able to establish credibility, respect and build strong working relationships within a matrix structure • Independent and creative thinker able to tackle and solve problems effectively • Attention to detail and ability to work to a high-level of accuracy • Adaptable and resilient, with an ability to successfully lead and respond at pace • Affinity to the academic ethos of King’s College London
Desirable experience and skills:
• Masters degree or professional development qualification • Experience of working in the UK higher education sector
About King’s
King’s College London is amongst the top 35 universities in the world and top 10 in Europe (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023) and is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities. King’s has over 40,000 students (including more than 19,000 postgraduates) from some 150 countries, and over 10,000 employees. Based across five campuses in the heart of London, King’s offers an intellectually stimulating environment, where staff are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning in the service of society. We are a multi-faculty institution, providing high-quality research, education and innovation across the social sciences, humanities, medicine, law, dentistry, and sciences. As a member of the Russell Group, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in research and education. King’s vision is to make the world a better place through world-leading education, research and service to society. King’s provides world-class education which enables students to become rounded critical thinkers, set up for success and with the character and wisdom to strive for social change. Through enquiry-driven research, King's delivers transformative insights and solutions that have the power to advance and accelerate global progress. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 exercise, King’s maintained its 6th position for ‘research power’ in the UK, 6th by Quality Index, and was ranked 3rd amongst multi-Faculty universities for impact. “King’s aspires to tackle global challenges and serve society in a way that is contemporary, forward-looking and unrestrained.” Vision 2029 King’s Vision 2029 sets out our bold ambitions for the future of King’s as we look towards our 200th anniversary: to broaden the base of King’s, extend our reach, expand access, deliver an extraordinary student experience and strengthen how well we work together. To chart the next stage of our journey, Strategy 2026 maps out our priorities for the next few years.
About Communications and External Affairs
The Communications Directorate are the central in-house staff and student communication experts, responsible for overseeing reactive and proactive media relations, social media, staff and student communications, communication guidance and support. Working closely with the wider network of communication professionals across King's, we lead strategic internal and external communication across the university and importantly co-ordinate communications across King's faculties, directorates, institutes and initiatives to bring the story of King's to life for our audiences.
The central team supports the following areas:
1. Media Relations & Brand PR 2. Public Affairs & External Insight 3. Strategy & Service Excellence 4. Strategic Communications (Staff & Students)
The comms network across the university are a critical link between strategic communications and our students, researchers and staff based in faculties, directorates and institutes. They support the central team in ensuring King's wide messaging and communications are shared locally in the right way and by highlighting the great work underway in their areas which can be shared more widely across King's.
Leadership and structure
King’s is led by the President and Principal, Professor Shitij Kapur. The Principal’s Senior Team comprises: • Professor Rachel Mills, Senior Vice President (Academic) • Professor Richard Trembath, Senior Vice President (Health & Life Sciences) and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners • Mr Stephen Large, Senior Vice President (Operations) • Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi, Vice President (Research & Innovation) • Professor Adam Fagan, Vice President (Education & Student Success) • Professor Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President (International, Engagement & Service) • Professor Stephen Bach, Vice President (People & Talent) (Interim) and Executive Dean, King’s Business School • Mr Malcolm Ace, Vice President (Finance)/CFO
Our 9 academic faculties:
• Faculty of Arts & Humanities • Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences • Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine • Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences • Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy • Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care • Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience • King’s Business School • The Dickson Poon School of Law
Our Professional & Support services:
• Brand & Marketing • College Secretariat • Corporate Communications & Public Affairs • Dean’s Office & Chaplaincy • Estates & Facilities • Finance • Fundraising & Supporter Development • Health & Safety • Human Resources • Information Technology • Professional & Continuing Education inc. King’s Digital • Research Management & Innovation • Strategy, Planning & Analytics • Students & Education • Sustainability
Our people
Meet our President & Principal, Professor Shitij Kapur, and his senior leadership team.
Professional Services
Our Professional & Support services
Faculties & Departments
Our 9 academic faculties
Application has passed - page retained for reference only
Please quote the vacancy id: 074031 in all correspondence.
Closing date for applications: 24 September 2023 23:59
Interview date: 20 October 2023
Application process
To apply for this post you will need to register on the King’s College London jobs page and submit the application form, along with the following: • a concise statement setting out your reasons for applying for the post and highlighting the particular skills and experience which you feel you would bring to the role (two pages maximum) • a curriculum vitae
Contact the team
For an informal discussion or to find out more about the role please contact the King’s Search Team.
Selection process
Applications will be shortlisted by a selection committee drawn from across the Directorate and wider College representatives. The interview panel will be chaired by the Principal & President and include representatives from across the Professional Services, Faculties & Council.
King’s College London is committed 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. King’s particularly welcomes applications from women, people from black and minority ethnic communities, the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities. If you have special needs in relation to your application please contact Jack Richards (jack.richards@kcl.ac.uk).
The Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs is a strategic and influential leadership role working with the President & Principal, Senior Vice President (Operations) and supporting the senior officers of the university. Responsible for a central team of c. 20, the Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs is a member of the Principal’s Senior Team and the University Executive and plays a key role in ensuring the continued success of King’s, sharing a collective responsibility for the delivery and success of the university’s strategic priorities.
Responsibilities and Objectives
Strategy and planning
• Acting in the capacity of a Chief Communications Officer, provide strategic advice and counsel to the President & Principal, Principal's Senior Team (PST), University Executive (UE) and Professional Services Executive (PSE) on all strategic communications and external relations and brand and reputation matters. • Develop and oversee a cohesive and integrated strategic communications strategy and framework to advance strategy, brand and reputation. • Direct, support and manage relations with media, key government contacts, regulatory and monitoring bodies, key individuals. etc, working in close collaboration with members of the Senior Leadership team. This includes overseeing the delivery of a proactive corporate external media and events engagement plan related to One King’s impact challenges on the world and the institution’s daily interaction with the UK and International media. • Lead on the development and implementation of an effective communications approach to corporate and public affairs and issues preparedness supporting internal teams and offices. • As part of an integrated corporate communications strategy and plan, support and oversee the development and delivery of innovative and compelling internal communication and engagement plans to raise awareness, understanding and advocacy of King’s transformation agenda, strategic priorities and opportunities. • Monitoring events and sentiment domestically and globally, determining responses which are consistent with the aims and values of the organisation.
Leadership and coaching
• Work closely with the central and culture teams and other business units to develop and support internal communications and messaging. • Provide communication and engagement advice and counsel to the institution’s leadership team to develop King’s brand and reputation (this includes providing informal oversight on behalf of the President & Principal to other relevant directorates Brand & Marketing and Fundraising & Supporter Development) on issues/decisions/activities that impact King’s reputation and brand. • Work in partnership with Students & Education Directorate (SED) and Research functions and the student recruitment team (known as Brand & Marketing) to develop communications and brand marketing strategy plans and interventions that showcase and raise awareness of the King’s brand and enhance its reputation. • Demonstrate and articulate to the institution’s leaders the value and strategic need for strategic communications, brand development and reputation management to drive successful outcomes on themes aligned to Strategy 2026 and Vision 2029. • Establish and have oversight for an operating model that supports the delivery of a ‘One team’ approach to communications across King’s, proactively building effective working relationships across all Faculties, Institutes and Directorates across the King’s community. • Be an active member of the sector and mission bodies communications networks and professional communications leadership communities.
Communication and service delivery
• Manage the corporate communication budget, continuously seeking ways of increasing value for money • Set and maintain a high standard for rich and engaging brand communications and marketing content and campaigns suitable for a wide range of different audience groups and which encourage two-way dialogue and feedback • Responsibility for all corporate institutional content, ensuring alignment to the institution’s strategic priorities and Vision 2029 • Using a multi-channel approach, oversee the syndication of content wherever possible to ensure optimal value from King’s stories championing a storytelling and campaigning approach to improve the effectiveness of communications across the institution aligned to strategy. • Oversee the development and management of corporate communications channels in partnership with other relevant functions and stakeholders. • Craft effective segmentation strategies to ensure messages resonate across all stakeholder and audience groups • Working with members of the Professional Services Executive leadership team, both support and lead on the delivery and design of brand and reputation-enhancing campaigns on strategic themes related to Vision 2029 and ensure profile building activities are maximised across the full range of internal and external channels and platforms for all audiences. • Act as lead professional and advisor on high profile and high priority business transformation initiatives and projects. • Ensure the effective prioritisation, allocation and focus of team resources; define the institution’s communications resourcing needs, overseeing and approving recruitment and talent planning across the institution; and advising/gatekeeping on the development/requirement of communications resourcing across the change and transformation portfolio (including recruiting third party/fixed term contract support as required). • Must strive for ‘best practice’ level of team performance and drive cultural team change to deliver integrated output, customer service and effective evaluation of activity
Team and capability development
• Lead a team of senior communications staff and their direct reports and prioritise staff engagement and people and talent planning in support of Strategy 2026 ambitions around a thriving staff community. • Be an inspirational functional leader for internal and external communication and engagement, setting professional standards and benchmarks, and putting in place frameworks for capability improvements across the institution communications operation, centrally and locally. • Provide mentoring and coaching to help individuals within the team transform to a new structure and operating model and support colleagues through uncertainty as changes are implemented. • Define and clarify accountabilities as new role profiles are embedded, ensure performance management framework reflects new accountabilities and manage the team accordingly. • Embed a performance framework to manage the continuing effectiveness and service excellence of the team, ensure capabilities of team members meet the requirements of the institution and team development needs are identified and acted on.
Measurement and evaluation
• Lead on the development and implementation of a measurement framework to continuously analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of communication and engagement activities.
About King’s
King's College London provides a dynamic habitat for individuals looking to expand their career prospects.
Read more about Vision 2029
King’s Vision 2029 sets out our ambition to make the world a better place
Find out more about Strategy 2026
Charting the next stage of our journey towards our 200th anniversary.
Strand Campus
The Strand Campus is home to: Faculty of Arts & Humanities, The Dickson Poon School of Law, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical...
Essential experience and skills:
• Educated to degree level or equivalent • Significant experience of communication, engagement and public affairs, across a range of traditional and digital channels • Experience of working at a senior level in a large and complex organisation • Leadership skills with significant experience in managing, developing, mentoring, and motivating teams • Collegiate and supportive approach, with experience of providing high-level and strategic advice to senior leaders • Proven ability to network and influence at a senior level within an organisation • Demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion • Able to articulate and communicate a strategy, and ensure stakeholders are suitably informed and engaged • Able to establish credibility, respect and build strong working relationships within a matrix structure • Independent and creative thinker able to tackle and solve problems effectively • Attention to detail and ability to work to a high-level of accuracy • Adaptable and resilient, with an ability to successfully lead and respond at pace • Affinity to the academic ethos of King’s College London
Desirable experience and skills:
• Masters degree or professional development qualification • Experience of working in the UK higher education sector
About King’s
King’s College London is amongst the top 35 universities in the world and top 10 in Europe (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023) and is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities. King’s has over 40,000 students (including more than 19,000 postgraduates) from some 150 countries, and over 10,000 employees. Based across five campuses in the heart of London, King’s offers an intellectually stimulating environment, where staff are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning in the service of society. We are a multi-faculty institution, providing high-quality research, education and innovation across the social sciences, humanities, medicine, law, dentistry, and sciences. As a member of the Russell Group, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in research and education. King’s vision is to make the world a better place through world-leading education, research and service to society. King’s provides world-class education which enables students to become rounded critical thinkers, set up for success and with the character and wisdom to strive for social change. Through enquiry-driven research, King's delivers transformative insights and solutions that have the power to advance and accelerate global progress. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 exercise, King’s maintained its 6th position for ‘research power’ in the UK, 6th by Quality Index, and was ranked 3rd amongst multi-Faculty universities for impact. “King’s aspires to tackle global challenges and serve society in a way that is contemporary, forward-looking and unrestrained.” Vision 2029 King’s Vision 2029 sets out our bold ambitions for the future of King’s as we look towards our 200th anniversary: to broaden the base of King’s, extend our reach, expand access, deliver an extraordinary student experience and strengthen how well we work together. To chart the next stage of our journey, Strategy 2026 maps out our priorities for the next few years.
About Communications and External Affairs
The Communications Directorate are the central in-house staff and student communication experts, responsible for overseeing reactive and proactive media relations, social media, staff and student communications, communication guidance and support. Working closely with the wider network of communication professionals across King's, we lead strategic internal and external communication across the university and importantly co-ordinate communications across King's faculties, directorates, institutes and initiatives to bring the story of King's to life for our audiences.
The central team supports the following areas:
1. Media Relations & Brand PR 2. Public Affairs & External Insight 3. Strategy & Service Excellence 4. Strategic Communications (Staff & Students)
The comms network across the university are a critical link between strategic communications and our students, researchers and staff based in faculties, directorates and institutes. They support the central team in ensuring King's wide messaging and communications are shared locally in the right way and by highlighting the great work underway in their areas which can be shared more widely across King's.
Leadership and structure
King’s is led by the President and Principal, Professor Shitij Kapur. The Principal’s Senior Team comprises: • Professor Rachel Mills, Senior Vice President (Academic) • Professor Richard Trembath, Senior Vice President (Health & Life Sciences) and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners • Mr Stephen Large, Senior Vice President (Operations) • Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi, Vice President (Research & Innovation) • Professor Adam Fagan, Vice President (Education & Student Success) • Professor Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President (International, Engagement & Service) • Professor Stephen Bach, Vice President (People & Talent) (Interim) and Executive Dean, King’s Business School • Mr Malcolm Ace, Vice President (Finance)/CFO
Our 9 academic faculties:
• Faculty of Arts & Humanities • Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences • Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine • Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences • Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy • Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care • Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience • King’s Business School • The Dickson Poon School of Law
Our Professional & Support services:
• Brand & Marketing • College Secretariat • Corporate Communications & Public Affairs • Dean’s Office & Chaplaincy • Estates & Facilities • Finance • Fundraising & Supporter Development • Health & Safety • Human Resources • Information Technology • Professional & Continuing Education inc. King’s Digital • Research Management & Innovation • Strategy, Planning & Analytics • Students & Education • Sustainability
Our people
Meet our President & Principal, Professor Shitij Kapur, and his senior leadership team.
Professional Services
Our Professional & Support services
Faculties & Departments
Our 9 academic faculties
Application has passed - page retained for reference only
Please quote the vacancy id: 074031 in all correspondence.
Closing date for applications: 24 September 2023 23:59
Interview date: 20 October 2023
Application process
To apply for this post you will need to register on the King’s College London jobs page and submit the application form, along with the following: • a concise statement setting out your reasons for applying for the post and highlighting the particular skills and experience which you feel you would bring to the role (two pages maximum) • a curriculum vitae
Contact the team
For an informal discussion or to find out more about the role please contact the King’s Search Team.
Selection process
Applications will be shortlisted by a selection committee drawn from across the Directorate and wider College representatives. The interview panel will be chaired by the Principal & President and include representatives from across the Professional Services, Faculties & Council.
King’s College London is committed 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. King’s particularly welcomes applications from women, people from black and minority ethnic communities, the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities. If you have special needs in relation to your application please contact Jack Richards (jack.richards@kcl.ac.uk).