Overview
Social Mobility Senior Officer (Place-based Community Organising) – Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
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.
Within the Social Mobility & Widening Participation Department we believe all young people should be able to have high expectations for their future. This means equal access to education and career opportunities. We run programmes that aim to empower young people and their supporters from under-represented backgrounds to access and succeed at university.
We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, a collection of wide-ranging professional services in place to support King’s students and their education. As a directorate we manage the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond, to ensure a coherent and seamless student experience and effective administrative processes, working closely with King’s faculties to do so.
About the role
As part of our mission to break down barriers to university access and address wider educational inequalities, the Social Mobility & Widening Participation (SMWP) department has developed a dedicated strand of place-based outreach. This approach, rooted in the specific needs of local communities, is becoming increasingly impactful across King’s and is gaining recognition across the sector. Through our Access & Participation Plan 2025–2029, we have made ambitious commitments to expand our place-based work to improve young people’s educational outcomes and tackle barriers to university access and broader social inequalities.
Our place-based approach focuses on addressing localised challenges such as mental health, pathways to citizenship, access to English language provision, and employment and fair wages. We work in close partnership with South London Citizens to achieve this shared mission. This role leads the development and delivery of collaborative, community-led initiatives and supports the wider integration of this approach across King’s. Through these initiatives, the postholder empowers community members to design, launch, and sustain impactful campaigns that respond directly to local needs. They will work closely with Citizens UK organisers and colleagues across King’s to build strong partnerships and drive meaningful, place-based change, including engagement in broader local, regional, and national initiatives.
Using community organising methodology, the postholder will lead and expand our core place-based programmes: Parent Power South London and Empoderando Familias, delivered with South London Citizens, and EmpowerESOL, facilitated in collaboration with internal King’s teams. A key focus will also be the strategic growth of our flagship Parent Power programme into new regions, in partnership with The Brilliant Club. This initiative empowers parents and carers to engage actively in their children’s education while building networks of community organisers who drive change locally and nationally.
At the heart of this role is a commitment to collaboration and community, both external and internal, as powerful drivers of social impact. The postholder will also support and develop the WP Champions Network, a university-wide staff community passionate about social mobility. By curating resources, delivering training, and shaping its strategic vision, they will help embed widening participation across King’s, amplifying its impact within and beyond the university.
This is a full-time role (35 hours per week) offered on an indefinite contract.
We welcome applications from candidates with experience both within and outside the Higher Education sector, where they can demonstrate the skills and commitment needed to succeed in this role.
About the role
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
- 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 schools, with charities or you may have previous experience in youth work or community organising. Relevant educational experiences might include higher education in a related discipline, professional qualifications or other training.
- Experience or understanding of place-based community organising.
- Experience of building relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds, working in different areas and with different priorities.
- Evidence of having acted in a leadership role with peers or in local community activities.
- Ability to communicate complex and specialist information orally and in writing in a compelling way.
- Ability to inspire, build relationships and bring people from a range of backgrounds together to deliver short-term projects and to build power.
- Ability to plan significant projects or areas of work delivered to a high standard.
- Understanding of the widening participation agenda and/or the role of higher education in social mobility.
Desirable criteria
- Direct experience of place-based approaches to community organising.
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 on what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
