Events Officer

As a Senior Events Officer, you'll play a key role in giving a platform to the teaching and research that makes our departments the leaders in their fields. You'll be joining a team whose job it is to raise and maintain awareness of how we impact international security debates, policy and practice, and how our top‑tier education is shaping tomorrow's defence and security leaders.

This role is a job share so you'll work closely with our Senior Communications Officer (0.6 FTE). Together, and in close contact with the Communications Manager and the Head of DSD, you'll continue to support DSD's events programme and in particular will work on one of the flagship events of the year: the Defence Studies Department graduation ceremony in May.

Reporting directly to the Communications Manager for the school, you'll be welcomed into a dynamic, hard‑working and friendly team that collaborates to publicise and deliver events (sometimes quite high‑profile). You will also contribute to the wider work of the Communications team, keeping stakeholders regularly updated with newsletters, news stories, podcasts and social media posts.

To succeed in and enjoy this role, you'll have a passion for events and supporting academics to get their work into the public domain, as well as excellent writing, content creation, and digital skills, with a keen eye for detail and the ability to multi‑task. We are looking for a flexible team player who knows how to manage their own time and can respond to short‑term needs while keeping an eye on the long view, regularly communicating with the team to keep workflows moving.

Experience in delivering academic events, and using varied communications platforms would be especially advantageous. This might include wide‑ranging social media knowledge, podcasting, blog and feature writing, photography and filming. We’re a collaborative team that welcomes creativity and fresh ideas – you might bring these from previous employment, personal experience or both.

Working with a range of colleagues in both academia and professional services also requires strong people skills, an interest in making connections, and a curious mind. This is a part‑time post (14 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed‑term contract of one year from your start date. You will be required to work Wednesdays, with your second working day to fall on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension. We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination. When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

Essential criteria

• Experience of developing, managing and running events online and in person
• Knowledge of using online registration platforms, web content management systems and social media to effectively manage, market and promote events
• Flexibility to work on campus when events the Senior Events Officer is responsible for, are taking place, and willingness to occasionally work outside of normal working hours when delivering events
• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage competing priorities
• Demonstrated expertise in copy‑editing and proofreading, with meticulous attention to detail
• Excellent interpersonal skills with evidence of building good working relationships with internal and external colleagues in a positive and collaborative manner
• Ability to work autonomously, and without direct supervision, show initiative and feel confident in pitching new ideas and taking ownership of projects

Desirable criteria

• Experience in finding newsworthy angles to communicate in news stories, podcasts and videos
• Audio and video editing skills
• Proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite or the capability to learn and develop skills quickly with training
• Understanding of the UK higher education system and/or military

King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world‑leading research. The university is dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and realising our vision of making the world a better place. The Defence Studies Department (DSD) and War Studies Department (DWS) both sit in the School of Security Studies, within the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy. The advertised role will support the programme of events, with some associated communications work across the School, with particular campus‑based support for DSD. Where necessary for occasional flagship events, work will be undertaken across both sites.

DSD is at the heart of security and defence education in the UK. Our academic staff are experts and pioneers in their fields. At the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, we deliver postgraduate programmes to military and civil service students, responding to the ever‑evolving needs of military education. Our teaching equips professionals with the knowledge, creativity and intellectual skills needed to succeed in a complex and demanding operating environment.

DWS is one of the only academic departments in the world focused on understanding the complex realm of conflict, security, and international politics through inter‑disciplinary teaching, research and engagement. We provide outstanding research‑led teaching to the next generation of scholars in conflict, policy, and international relations from BA through to PhD. Our teachers are world‑leading experts and pioneers in their fields, whose research and influence takes them to the forefront of global events as they happen.

Together, these two departments – alongside a wide range of research centres and groups and the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies – make up the world's largest community of scholars dedicated to the research and teaching of all aspects of security. Our research addresses issues of concern for the public, for policy makers and practitioners, and we work closely with other areas at King’s College London to seek solutions to some of the most pressing problems of our time.

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

Grade and Salary: £33,951 - £38,784 pro rata

Job ID: 155405