People & Culture Manager

People & Culture Manager

Department: Business Operations
Grade and Salary: £45,301 - £52,514 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance
Job ID: 140325

About us:

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.

This role is based in Business Operations, which is responsible for enabling and underpinning the high-functioning of Libraries & Collections through targeted marketing activities; business continuity planning and provision of business intelligence; careful budgeting and planning; and by ensuring our people are developed, engaged and deployed to ensure the delivery of our strategy.

Within Libraries & Collections, we aspire to be leaders in enabling access to knowledge and information fundamental to this vision. Developments in digital education, e-research and AI are transforming our services. Our Open Library strategy outlines our ambitious plans and how they contribute to student success and research excellence. We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, which manages the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond.

About the role:

The People & Culture Manager will drive values-led initiatives designed to boost staff well-being and professional growth, fostering an inclusive environment that aligns with our strategic goals. By bridging the gap between university-wide policies and departmental action, they will empower managers to enhance their leadership capabilities and cultivate high-performing, cohesive teams.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead our commitment to a truly inclusive and equitable culture within Libraries & Collections. You will drive initiatives that ensure all staff - regardless of background - are supported to reach their full potential. Based in Business Operations, you will partner with senior management to dismantle structural barriers and foster a sense of belonging for all underrepresented groups. As our primary liaison with the King's Organisational Development team, you will represent our department in shaping a progressive people-and-culture strategy across the university.

All Libraries & Collections staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their performance and development through clear objectives, professional engagement and reflective practice. Managers are expected to adopt a positive, proactive, flexible and committed approach that inspires others.

The post holder will also participate in frontline services as required, including contributing to a Manager on Duty rota for evening and weekend working.

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.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. We value diverse backgrounds and believe various career paths can lead to success in this role. Ideally, you will have a degree and experience in EDI (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) or staff development.

2. Experience of implementing values-led change and supporting others through the process, balancing day-to-day operational activities with developing the service.

3. Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to share information clearly, build trust and engage effectively with a wide range of audiences.

4. Experience of supervising or managing projects and/or service improvements.

5. Proven track record of leading with a values-based mindset, ensuring that anti-racist, disability-inclusive, and equitable practices are woven into the fabric of daily team operations.

6. Ability to work independently in a fast-changing environment and to meet challenging deadlines.

7. Proven ability to work proactively and collaboratively with a range of teams and stakeholders to deliver shared objectives and high-quality services.

8. A solid grasp of EDI workplace issues and relevant legislation, coupled with an understanding of how structural barriers and inequality impact employee experiences.

Desirable criteria

1. Understanding of the current and future challenges facing academic libraries in research-intensive universities

2. Experience of researching, applying, and promoting EDI policies and initiatives and sharing best practice

Further information:

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.

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.

As well as your CV, 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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our 'How we Recruit' pages.

Close Date: 22-Mar-2026

Interviews are likely to be held week beginning 13th April.