Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager (Maternity Cover)

About us:

King's College London is one of the world's leading universities, based in the heart of London. Our HR directorate leads the College's work on inclusion, belonging and wellbeing, including delivery of our Race Equality Charter and Athena Swan commitments, staff network support, and leadership development. This role sits within our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team, working closely with senior leadership and colleagues across the College to embed EDI into everyday practice.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced EDI professional to cover the role of EDI Manager while the substantive postholder is on maternity leave. You will be responsible for overseeing and implementing EDI initiatives and programmes across King's, playing a central part in developing and promoting a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace culture. You will collaborate with senior leadership, departments and colleagues across the College to ensure EDI principles are embedded in all aspects of our work.

You will lead, motivate and develop a small team, fostering a culture of accountability and innovation, and will lead on our Race Equality Action Plan and other key EDI projects. You will put forward recommendations on managing complex situations, identify gaps in information, and conduct analysis to resolve problems. The role involves liaison and co-ordination across a number of subsections of the College and will involve encountering changing priorities and differing situations.

This is a full-time post 35 hours per week, and you will be offered a fixed term contract for approximately 12 months, covering a period of maternity leave (exact start and end dates to be confirmed; anticipated start mid-late November 2026).

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. Relevant qualification or equivalent professional experience in EDI and HR.
2. Substantial experience of leading organisation-wide EDI programmes or action plans, from planning to evaluation.
3. Experience of leading an equality charter mark submission, such as the Race Equality Charter or Athena Swan.
4. Strong knowledge of UK equality law, Employment Law, the Public Sector Equality Duty and evidence-based EDI practice.
5. Ability to analyse EDI or workforce data and presenting evidence-based recommendations to senior stakeholders.
6. Experience of line managing, coaching and developing an inclusive, high-performing team.
7. Experience of managing budgets, including planning, monitoring expenditure and forecasting.
8. Excellent communication and influencing skills, with experience of securing senior and stakeholder commitment to EDI priorities.

Desirable criteria

1. Project, programme or change management qualification or training.
2. Experience of working within the higher education sector, with an understanding of its structures, governance and operating environment.
3. Experience of using staff consultation or co-creation to shape EDI policies or programmes.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

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.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. 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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

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.