Outreach Support Manager

Job id: 078127. Salary: £42,405 – £49,785 per annum, inclusive of London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 02 November 2023. Closing date: 23 November 2023.

Business unit: Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sci. Department: NMES Faculty Office.

Contact details:Kathryn Boast. [email protected]

Location: Strand Campus. Category: Professional & Support Services.

Job description

The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) is a vibrant faculty based in the heart of London with a long tradition of world-leading research and teaching in physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science and engineering.  

The faculty outreach team is part of a newly formed Enterprise & Engagement Function. This role will play an important part in realising the new Faculty Outreach Strategy by supporting and delivering evidence-led, targeted STEM outreach activities, predominantly to under 18-year-old students, as well as to the wider community.

Working closely with the Faculty Outreach Manager, your work will create engagement with schools, colleges and other places of learning, to build STEM awareness and excitement among young learners and, in doing so, create a pipeline for student recruitment. Collaborating with academic colleagues in STEM departments and professional services colleagues in the faculty, in marketing and in the central Widening Participation team, you will support the outreach agenda across the faculty and college.  

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract  

This is a full-time post

Key responsibilities

• Work closely with the Faculty Outreach Manager to develop and support a range of STEM outreach activities, with a particular focus on Engineering and Informatics / Computer Science.
• Personally deliver STEM outreach activities both on and off campus.
• Work closely with the Faculty Outreach Manager and faculty departments to ensure outreach events and programmes are aligned to the faculty outreach strategy, encouraging the participation of academic colleagues within the faculty.
• Collaborate with the central Widening Participation team and other teams within King’s whose work aligns with the Faculty Outreach Strategy.
• Support the short-term and long-term evaluation of activities.
• Co-ordinate the outreach team’s work with student ambassadors to maximise the impact of our activity.
• Promote outreach activities and events, maintain the faculty outreach webpages and internal pages, and contribute to social media through the faculty communications team, supporting both internal and external communications.
• Participate in recruitment activities to reach a broad potential student audience including students in under-represented groups.
• Provide training to the faculty departments on safe and effective outreach to facilitate researchers running their own programmes.
• Build strong networks with academic and professional services staff across the faculty and with key colleagues across the university.
• To deputise for the Faculty Outreach Manager when required.

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.       Undergraduate degree in a STEM subject or related subject with a strong scientific or mathematical component.

2.       Undergraduate or postgraduate degree or other experience in engineering, technology, computer science or a closely related field.

3.       Confident and fluent presentation skills, with the ability to engage and motivate an audience and experience of delivering talks to non-academic audiences.

4.       Strong written and oral science communication skills, including the ability to explain complex issues in plain English.

5.       Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with a wide variety of people including students, teachers, young people, and individuals at all levels within the institution, dealing with them in a professional and assured manner.

6.       Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and multiple work-streams.

7.       Ability to work independently, practically, and resourcefully as a member of a small team – this includes being willing to take ownership of their duties, and possessing the judgement to know how and when to take initiative, and when to refer to others.

8.       A collaborative attitude to work, actively seeking to promote positive and open working relationships, with the ability to build effective links and relationships with a range of stakeholders, co-operating and liaising with others to achieve goals.

Desirable criteria

1.       Undergraduate degree in engineering, computer science or a related subject.

2.       Experience of engaging non-academic audiences with STEM concepts in innovative ways.

3.       Experience of project planning, implementation, and event management, including the management of resources to ensure delivery of programmes on time and on budget.

4.       Experience of using evaluation tools to report on and improve activities.

5.       Able to demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, equality and diversity, and its practical application.