Communication & Content Project Manager

The research activities of the Section of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS) focus on clinical and mechanistic aspects of surgical treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We also have a keen interest in patients’ advocacy, and we have promoted a number of initiatives to address weight bias and the stigma of obesity. In 2019, we launched an international consensus conference on the subject, which resulted in a joint position statement by major medical associations with a pledge to eradicate weight-based stigma. The statement and pledge have since been endorsed by hundreds of medical societies, patients’ organisations, academic institutions, hospitals and prestigious scientific/medical journals as well as clinicians, scientists and other individual stakeholders from around the world.

In keeping with the pledge to end stigma of obesity (www. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/obesity-pledge), we now aim to align the narrative of obesity with current scientific understanding of its biological determinants. We are therefore launching an educational program to develop a variety of educational tools (e.g. physical and e-brochures, online modules, animations/videos, interviews etc) to explain causes and consequences of weight stigma and biological aspects of weight regulation to a diverse group of stakeholders, including medical and lay audiences. We also plan to organise educational workshops on the subject and conduct research surveys to investigate the effectiveness of education on body weight regulation as a means to reduce weight bias.

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences is seeking to appoint a new Project Manager to coordinate and facilitate this educational project. In addition, the post holder will be responsible for contributing to other initiatives related to obesity and type 2 diabetes, including assisting with research studies and related communication and outreach.

The post holder will report to and be accountable to the Chair of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery for the SCMMS. They will work closely with and provide advice to a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and academics, and will be supported by the School’s professional services and wider management teams to ensure effective processes and procedures are implemented and followed.

This is a Full-Time Position on a fixed term contract until January 2024

•       Maintain an organisational overview of the educational project on obesity stigma and other initiatives and research of the Metabolic Surgery Team.

•       To work closely with the Chair of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and other members of the team to ensure efficiency in planning and execution of activities.

•       To provide assistance with writing and illustration of educational content designed to inform lay and scientific audiences

•       To research relevant scientific literature as well as evidence of weight bias in mainstream and social media

•       To coordinate and guide other members of the team and facilitate other professional input (e.g. explain concepts to medical illustrators)   

•       To help with outreach and communication in coordination with School and KCL Communications Units

•       To help organise educational workshops for professional and lay audiences

•       To assist the chair of bariatric and metabolic surgery and other researchers in conducting research survey and analyse and communicate results

•       To maintain communication and expand collaborations on the subject of stigma and obesity/diabetes more in general with other researchers and staff across King’s Health Partners as well as at partner academic Institutions.  

Other duties 

•       Report activity progress and results at King’s leadership meetings and help draft reports to Funders  

•       Undertake any other duties and projects as requested by the chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Essential Criteria 

1.      Educated to degree level or relevant professional qualification and experience in medical field and/or communication.  

2.       Experience of working in scientific or health sector 

3.       Excellent communication skills, both written and oral with a proven ability to adapt style for a variety of channels, audiences, and Stakeholders 

4.       Thorough knowledge of a broad range of communications activities and tools (Microsoft software, media, websites and content management systems, events, marketing, brand management, social media, publications, databases) 

5.       A commitment to a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias 

6.       Experience of developing written content for scientific articles and/or articles for lay media, online platforms and for public distribution. 

7.       Good level of numeracy and analytical skills including experience of budget management, web analytics, surveys and using data to improve communications and identify communications opportunities 

8.      Experience of processing, archiving and storing databases. 

9.      Knowledge of current issues in clinical governance, ethical approval, with good understanding of complex and evolving research governance issues impacting the School’s research activities.  

10.  Working knowledge of legislation dealing with data privacy. 

11.  Ability to oversee complex research and/or educational projects, ensuring meeting of regulatory submissions and project milestones across projects, and communicating progress through high quality outputs. 

Desirable Criteria

1.      Experience in the planning and execution of workshops and conferences 

2.      Knowledge of biological or clinical or public health aspects related to obesity 

3.      Experience in research surveys, pools and analysis of results 

4.      Knowledge of descriptive statistics