Open Research Manager (Open Access & e-theses)

About King’s: The King’s community is dedicated to the service of society. King’s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us. Libraries & Collections comprises four departments: Education & Learning, Research & Impact, Service Design & Delivery, along with Business Operations. We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, which manages the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond.

About the role: The purpose of the Open Research Manager (Open Access & e-theses) is to advocate for, develop, and provide operational management of the library’s support provision for open access (OA) publishing - delivered via a team of staff, in support of King’s research and researchers. This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to deliver an OA service appropriate to the needs of researchers at King’s, and who wish to utilise their skills and expertise in research support and team management. This is an opportunity to grow your skills in service development and advocacy for open research. The Open Research Manager (Open Access & e-theses) will work in an exciting and developing area of HE Library provision. You will be part of a friendly hard-working team, working collaboratively and pro-actively with colleagues to provide cohesive and high-quality researcher-focused services.

On a day-to-day basis you will provide operational management of the Library’s OA publishing services, managing enquiries and requests for OA block grant funding from King’s authors, together with support for the repository part of King’s CRIS system, overseeing the creation and quality checking of records. The role would suit candidates who are highly organised, good at problem-solving, and managing competing priorities. Candidates must be skilled at absorbing and efficiently communicating complex information, and tailoring messages to different audiences. We encourage applications from candidates who have experience from both within and outside of the Higher Education sector where they can demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in this role.

All Libraries & Collections staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their own performance and development, through agreeing clear objectives, maintaining professional awareness, participating in professional networks and reflecting on their own performance. We expect all managers to adopt a positive, proactive, flexible and committed approach that inspires others. You will be required to participate in frontline services as required, including contributing towards a Manager on Duty rota for evening and weekend working. This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract. This is currently a hybrid role with both working from home and on campus.

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

• Relevant work experience and/or education: We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. Relevant work experience might include work in a university, research institute or relevant commercial setting. Relevant educational experiences might include higher education in a related discipline, professional qualifications or other training.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the experience of outreach activity such as the ability to present information and deliver training to a range of different audiences.
• Good knowledge of current policies and issues in scholarly communication, in particular Open Access publishing and relevant repository systems.
• Experience of delivering OA services, supervising or managing projects and/or service improvements.
• Knowledge or experience of managing a budget/research funding.
• Experience of implementing change and supporting others through the process, balancing day-to-day operational activities with developing the service.
• Experience of managing and motivating staff for high performance.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-changing environment and to meet challenging deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively and proactively with other teams and stakeholders to provide a high-quality service.
• Commitment to equity, equality, diversity and inclusivity in your own learning and ways of working.
• Excellent liaison and interpersonal skills, preferably in an academic setting, for successful engagement with academics and researchers.
• Knowledge or experience of managing a university press.

Full details of the role and the skills and experience required can be found in the attached job description.

Further information: Please submit a supporting statement when applying for this vacancy, clearly setting out how you meet the essential criteria, as this is how we shortlist applications. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible. To find out how our managers review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages. Interviews are due to be held on the 8th August 2025 (provisionally).

Grade and Salary: £44,355 - £51,735 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.