Senior Business Operations Officer

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Job description

King's Business School (KBS) asks challenging questions of business and wider society like: What is the meaning of work? Should business be more ethical? How can we measure productivity? What is modern slavery? Are AI and big data the future of finance?

KBS contributes towards answering these questions, changing the way business works whilst tackling the world's major challenges for the good of the economy, the environment, society, and businesses everywhere.

The Faculty incorporates seven departments as well as several vibrant institutes and centres with broad ranging programmes of activity across research, education, impact and engagement, thought leadership, and knowledge transfer.

This new role as Senior Business Operations Officer will play a key part in the day-to-day operation of finance and resource management, procurement, professional services HR, faculty estates and space, health and safety, and other defined project management. Reporting to the Business Operations Manager, the post-holder will be a member of the Faculty's Business Support Team who will support and coordinate delivery of business operations in accordance with the College's and the Faculty's priorities, timeline and policies. The role will also provide a high level of customer support in collaboration with key stakeholders in the Faculty and central service teams.

The post-holder is expected to be well-versed in the systems and processes underpinning business operations, and has a positive and systematic approach to work, with strong communication and numeracy skills. They will also engage in collaborative teamwork, promote new ideas and initiatives for more effective and efficient delivery of services through a "one team" Faculty and College approach.

This is currently offered as a hybrid role, and the role holder will be eligible to spend part of their working week on campus and part of the week working remotely.

King's Business School embraces equality, diversity and inclusion. We attract students and staff from across the world, from many different backgrounds, with a variety of ethnicities, religions, and sexual and gender identities. We promote flexible working as a key enabler of inclusion. We particularly encourage and welcome applications from women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, and from candidates who are LGBTQ+ and/or have a disability.

Benefits of working at King's College London:

King's College London (KCL) provide an extensive and varied range of career-focussed training and on-the-job learning as follows:

• We support staff to maintain a work/life balance
• Flexible working, parental leave opportunities, and subsidised childcare costs for under threes
• Reduced membership rates for staff at gyms at three of our campuses
• Employee Assistance Programme providing free, confidential advice on both home and work concerns
• 30 days annual leave (plus UK bank holidays and four additional concessionary closure days over Christmas)
• Occupational pension scheme with generous employer contributions, and opt-in additional personal contributions
• Season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme
• Free coffee / fruit scheme from King's College Food outlets (restrictions apply)
• Membership of My King's Discounts offering preferential rates to wide range of groceries, holidays, entertainment, home, health and beauty and fashion

Full information on staff benefits: Staff Benefits - King's College London (kcl.ac.uk)

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a full-time or part-time post - requiring a minimum of 80% (0.8 FTE). We would also consider applications for job-sharing and flexible working requests.

Key responsibilities

The post holder will provide high-quality operational and business support activities for the Faculty. You will be one of the two Senior Business Operations Officers coordinating a set portfolio of activity across operational functions working in collaboration with professional services staff and other team members in Business Support. Working under the line management of the Business Operations Manager, the key job portfolios will cover the following aspects:

Finance

• To coordinate financial and procurement activities in accordance with King's Financial Procedures, overseeing payments and invoicing for your portfolio
• To act as a local expert to service users on financial processes
• To support the Business Operations Manager and the Senior Business Manager on budget and expenditure matters to identify efficiencies and follow-up actions
• To coordinate assets and inventory, ensuring effective reporting and monitoring

Human Resources

• To provide administrative support for professional services staff HR processes, including recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, and mandatory training
• To act as the Teamseer coordinator for KBS managing professional services annual leave entitlement

Space

• To coordinate a portfolio of local space and infrastructure matters, managing estates issue resolution, and maintaining data and information for reporting
• To maintain the KBS space tracker overseeing academic office allocations in liaising with colleagues from the Staff Experience team
• To oversee a portfolio of small to medium space projects including office refits, contributing to design proposals and space management solutions
• To pre-empt and escalate space and related issues, and present proposed solutions
• To manage a portfolio of activity to ensure that local stakeholders have the appropriate space and equipment required for their roles

Health and Safety

• To act as a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Assessor
• To act as an Evacuation Marshal and first aider
• To ensure sufficient provision of marshals and first aiders in the relevant locality and promote and report on the uptake of relevant training modules
• To liaise with Estates and Facilities and Health and Safety Services as necessary and promote best practice in these areas within the Faculty
• To coordinate a portfolio of general administrative support for health and safety, business continuity and risk management
• To support the Business Operations Manager to service the KBS Health and Safety Committee meeting, ensuring actions are followed up and keeping track of allocated KPI objectives

Data Management

• To review and report on financial data for which you are responsible, identifying any significant over- or under-spends
• To assist on reviewing data and recommend preferred supplier or procurement routes for improved cost, service quality and efficiency
• To gather, analyse and produce data on Business Support team requirements to feed into decision making

Other

• To be the first point of contact for service users accessing the Faculty's business support function providing a fast and efficient service or escalating to other colleagues where appropriate
• To coordinate a variety of administrative duties in business support, working across functions and teams as required
• To support the business support function's efforts to ensure data integrity, and ensure electronic and manual filing systems are in compliance with GDPR
• To ensure that local internet, intranet, and SharePoint pages are up-to-date
• To attend and contribute to Business Support Network meetings and share best practice and knowledge with the Faculty and other Business Support colleagues
• To deputise for the Business Operations Manager and provide cover for the Senior Business Operations Officer or Department Support Officers as required
• To work flexibly as part of a team, supporting colleagues across the Faculty and other functions in the delivery of a 'one team' ethos across all professional services teams
• To contribute to writing and developing guidance notes and processes on behalf of the function
• To undertake any other reasonable duties that may be requested by the Business Operations Manager and Senior Business Manager

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

Essential criteria

1. Educated to degree level or demonstrable professional experience of effective and efficient operations or administration

2. Proficient skills using technology and IT (including a broad range of software applications - such as Excel, Word, online Microsoft platforms, survey tools and other online software)

3. Excellent organisational skills with ability to manage time effectively, work flexibly and prioritise workload

4. Excellent interpersonal skills, able to interact with a wide variety of people in a professional and assured manner

5. Excellent communication skills including ability to draft professional documents and emails and contribution to a range of meetings

6. Experience of budgetary and financial processes with strong numeracy skills

7. Commitment to continuous improvement, reviewing processes and propose improvements

8. Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working in an academic, research, charity, or other not for profit environment.

Further information

The selection process will consist of a panel interview and a test.