RKE Development Manager

Founded in 1837, the Royal College of Art is the world’s largest community of postgraduate art and design students. It is also the oldest art and design university in continuous operation and has been ranked as the world’s number one art and design university for a remarkable nine consecutive years, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023 – the worldwide survey of academic and industry opinion.

Due to an internal promotion, we are currently seeking a dynamic and experienced RKE Development Manager to join our team and drive our research performance and income from external funding sources.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strengthen relationships with funding bodies to identify and secure research and Knowledge Exchange (KE) funding opportunities.
• Provide expert advice and support to academic staff in framing research ideas, scoping resources, and drafting funding applications.
• Contribute to research strategy development, implementation, and monitoring to enhance the College's research performance.
• Develop links with academic and business partners for collaborative projects and bids.
• Work collaboratively with professional services staff to ensure consistent support from research idea inception through to post-award management.

Main Duties:

• Identify and communicate relevant research and KE funding opportunities to academic and administrative staff.
• Develop a strong understanding of staff research strengths and expertise to match them with external funding and collaboration opportunities.
• Collaborate with senior staff to maintain a pipeline of high-quality research and KE grant applications.
• Assist individual staff members in preparing and submitting research and KE funding bids.
• Ensure accurate planning and costing of research and KE projects in collaboration with Finance and ILTS teams.
• Support the delivery of training to academic staff on good practice in research and KE project planning, management, and bid preparation.
• Maintain up-to-date and accurate data on grant submissions and outcomes for reporting to senior Research and Innovation staff and external funders.
• Monitor the progress of active funded research and KE projects and ensure robust, accurate, and timely reporting.
• Log research outputs and impacts effectively in the College’s research repository.
• Assist in the preparation, collation, and analysis of information about staff research and impact for future research excellence exercises.
• Write and collate relevant information on college research and knowledge exchange activity for web pages and publications.
• Attend relevant internal and external meetings on behalf of the college and provide feedback as requested.
• Work to improve processes and management systems supporting research grant applications and KE proposals.

Qualifications and Experience:

• A postgraduate degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Proven experience in research development, grant writing, and knowledge exchange.
• Strong understanding of funding landscapes and grant application processes.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

If all this sounds interesting - please apply and join the number 1 University for Art and Design.  Not only do we have top benefits, but we also encourage career progression and live by our values of Curiosity - Inclusion - Collaboration and Integrity.  We look forward to your application.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) aims to foster an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students and stakeholders are respected.