Job description

​​The School Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences is seeking to appoint a new School Technical Manager to oversee and provide high quality technical support to the School and the wider Faculty/University.

​The post is based at various different campuses including Waterloo, Guys and Denmark Hill.

​The post holder will lead on technical support across all departments supported by an excellent team of departmental technical managers and technicians, including ensuring compliance with health and safety and other governance requirements, resource management (including space and equipment), upholding good laboratory practice and contributing to strategic planning and development of School policy.

The successful candidate will have an excellent track record in technical management and a broad knowledge of scientific procedures, experience of line management, excellent communications and networking skills and an ability to work independently, setting the technical agenda for the School.

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a ​full-time ​ post – ​100​% full time equivalent.

  Key Responsibilities

• ​​To work closely with the School Manager to provide operational leadership for technical staff within the School, maintaining the School’s strategic objectives with those of the Faculty.
• ​To provide a comprehensive technical support service for the School across all relevant campuses to support the daily operations associated with the School’s research and teaching activities, working closely with the relevant Campus Technical Operations Manager(s).
• To work with principal investigators and the School Manager to plan and manage laboratory budgets, maximising the cost recovery, and to facilitate cost effective and efficient working by organising shared resources between laboratory groups both within and cross-School/Faculty.
• ​To be responsible for the resources and their ongoing maintenance for School research groups including estates (space allocation, refurbishment) and laboratory equipment (arranging maintenance contracts, servicing, and repair).
• To coordinate the School’s compliance with all regulations and guidelines, including Health and Safety, ensuring that all relevant safety roles are filled, including the School Safety Officer.
• To act as Secretary of the School Safety Committee, liaise with the Faculty Health & Safety office and represent the School at the Faculty Safety Committee.
• Demonstrate leadership and innovation in the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices, recording progress through the King’s sustainability audit process and sharing good practice. Nurture and encourage sustainable practices and leadership within your team and networks.
• To work with the School’s academic community, School Manager and Head of School, to develop and maintain the incident response plan, risk registers and business continuity plans.
• ​To participate in the development of School policy, and to actively engage staff and students in the implementation of Faculty and university policy within the School.
• ​To support the School Manager in fostering a stimulating, innovative and inclusive cultural environment across the School enabling students and staff to thrive and develop, ensuring that technical staff experiences are actively considered and represented in the ongoing development and implementation of the diversity and inclusion agenda.
• To raise awareness of diversity and inclusion amongst technical staff, support the implementation of initiatives and ensure that staff engage with diversity and inclusion related training, such as unconscious bias training.
• ​To represent the School at meetings both in the university and externally.
• ​To undertake any reasonable task as requested by the School Manager or Faculty Head of Technical Services.
• To actively engage in Continuing Professional Development and training initiatives, in line with the Technician Commitment.
• ​To participate for approximately 20% FTE in cross-Faculty and -university projects and initiatives.

​Other Duties

• ​Undertake any other reasonable duties and projects as requested by the School Manager or academic lead.  These will include School-specific duties, for example supporting specialist Centres, liaising with external bodies etc to underpin the School’s core activity.

​The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. ​

  Skills, knowledge, and experience

These requirements must be a list of the criteria applicants will be assessed on during shortlisting.  All essential criteria must be used when shortlisting. Criteria should be in bullet point format and cover the following:

• Qualifications / training

• Skills / experience

• Knowledge

• Competencies

Essential Criteria

1. Educated to degree level or extensive relevant experience.
2. Proven commitment to ongoing knowledge, skills, and competency development.
3. Proven management and analytical skills to manage budgets.
4. Comprehensive knowledge of Health & Safety regulations.
5. Proven excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills at all levels.
6. Significant experience of preparing budgets, business cases and plans, and monitoring key performance indicators, budgets, and risks.
7. Significant experience of developing and implementing strategic plans and policies.
8. Experience of leading and managing multi-skilled, dispersed teams.
9. Experience of change management and supporting teams through the process.
10. Ability to work under pressure in a busy environment.
11. Excellent task management skills both for self and others, meeting tight deadlines.
12. A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias.

Desirable Criteria

1. Relevant postgraduate, and/or professional qualification, and/or membership of an appropriate professional body.
2. Proven skills in problem solving, business continuity planning and implementation.

  Further information

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service.​