Programme Delivery Lead

Grade: UKRI Band F
Salary: £56,745 gross per annum
Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)
Location: Swindon –With hybrid working opportunities alongside regular travel to other UKRI locations

Closing Date: 05 May 2025

This is a combined recruitment campaign for 3 x Delivery Leads to support major UKRI programmes:

1. Delivery Lead, Safer Streets Mission, Research & Development Mission Programme (situated in AHRC) - X1
2. Delivery Lead, Opportunities Mission, Research & Development Mission Programme (hosted by ESRC) - X1
3. Delivery Lead, Metascience Programme (hosted by ESRC) - X1

In your cover letter, please indicate which role(s) you are interested in.

Reporting

Roles 1 and 2 (Mission Programme Delivery Leads) will report to the UKRI Mission Development Group Lead, with formal matrix working into the UKRI Research & Development Mission Programme (RDMP) Hub, its Mission Programme Director and wider Mission Programme team (for the RDMP Delivery Lead roles).

Role 3 (Metascience Programme Delivery Lead) will report to the Deputy Director – Innovation, Business Engagement and Commercialisation, with formal matrix working into the Co-Heads of the UK Metascience Unit (for the Metascience Programme Delivery Lead role).

Contract

Roles 1 and 2 (Mission Programme Delivery Leads) are fixed term until 31 March 2028 (with the possibility of a further one-year extension). We have secured funding until 31 March 2026 and during that time we will be bidding for investment until 2030.

As ESRC is the inaugural host for the RDMP, we anticipate that the headcount and associated budget will initially sit in ESRC’s back-office systems for HR and Finance accounting purposes. However, day to day, the role holder for Role 1 will be based in AHRC and their line management, task management and overall delivery of activities will take place within AHRC.

Role 3 (Metascience Programme Delivery Lead) is fixed term until 31 March 2027

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy and associated guidance – Recruitment at UKRI – policy and information (sharepoint.com) – For further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place.

Context For Roles 1 & 2 (Mission Programme Delivery Leads)

Research & Development Mission Programme (RDMP) is a new, targeted UKRI programme designed to support the Government’s National Missions and support delivery of the milestones in the Government’s Plan for Change. The primary objective of the RDMP is to fund targeted research and innovation (R&I), including technology development, to solve critical problems unique to each mission to improve people’s lives and create growth. An initial investment of £25 million was announced in the autumn budget, with UKRI leading, in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Government Mission teams, on focussed Research and Innovation (R&I) Challenges to respond to and develop solutions for the Problems in each Mission. The Safer Streets mission aims to reduce serious harm and increase public confidence in policing and in the criminal justice system. The Opportunities mission aims to break the link between a child’s background and their future success.

Context For Role 3 (Metascience Programme)

The Metascience Programme was launched in 2024 in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is dedicated to accelerating the generation and use of evidence on how to fund, support and conduct science more effectively. The Metascience Programme is delivered by a joint unit with staff drawn from both UKRI and DSIT. The unit has four main functions: administering grant programmes; running in-house experiments on UKRI’s funding processes; commissioning research projects; and supporting the uptake of evidence into policy and funding delivery.

Job Purpose

The Programme Delivery Leads will be responsible for managing and implementing a broad portfolio of projects under the R&D Missions Programme or Metascience Programme. This will require close and effective working with internal and external partners to guarantee alignment with the needs and interests of the various parties whose support will be critical to successful programme delivery.

The Role Holders:

• Will have significant experience and a proven track record of investment delivery across UKRI and the wider research and innovation system. This will include delivery of complex, cross organisational, multi-million programmes with high commercial awareness, managing contending priorities in a sophisticated partner environment
• Are highly proactive, professional, and always pushing to create, build and deliver the programme’s investment portfolio through a mix of delivery methods and communication channels. They will be confident to operate across a complex, multi-organisation environment, building and maintaining excellent working relationships with senior stakeholders both internal and external
• Will have experience and understanding of the UK political/business environment and the science/government policy landscape as well as the UK research base.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

• Accountable to the UKRI Mission Development Group Lead (Roles 1 and 2) or the Co-Heads of the Metascience Unit (Role 3) for the creation and delivery of the Delivery Plan and related Business Case for investment(s)
• Responsible for managing delivery of grant funding programmes through the design of funding opportunities, management of competition processes and oversight of delivery
• Responsible for creating, building, managing, delivering and reporting against a complex programme/its projects, both live and in planning, including programme governance, related Boards and their decisions
• Responsible for stakeholder engagement including UKRI, cross-Government teams, UK businesses, third sector, academia, civic and local leaders, community organisations, devolved administrations, and other external funding organisations as required
• Responsible for the management of finances, evaluation design/delivery, lessons learned, controls (risk register/ UKRI Central Governance Register (CGR)), and assurance including the development and execution of Integrated Assurance and Approval Plans (IAAPs), Compliance and Equality Impact Assessment as required
• Ownership of associated programme documentation, including strategies, business cases, delivery plans and programme plans. In relation to the Business Case, develop and obtain clearance of the business case with the Mission development Group and relevant Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• Collaborate effectively with the Programme Director (either the Mission Programme Director or Co-Heads of the Metascience Unit) and programme peers to share best practice and lessons learned, and ensure alignment of activity, critical intersections including benefits, and their spillovers.

This is not an exhaustive list, and the post-holder might be expected to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the necessary experience and/or training.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Experience and significant understanding of the UK political/business environment and the science/government policy landscape as well as the UK research base
• Significant experience of ‘at scale’, multi-million delivery from strategic vision translation to robust investment and measurable outcomes, including concurrent management and full lifecycle
• Deep understanding of both research grant funding in the higher education sector and innovation investment/interventions with experience of developing and delivering investment grants/competitions (and other business support interventions)
• Knowledge of cross-UKRI working including The Funding Service and/or Innovation Funding System
• Significant experience of managing, working with, and rapidly building relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders (UKRI, cross-Government teams, UK businesses/innovators, third sector, academia, civic and local leaders, and community)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including written/verbal communication and stakeholder/team management with the ability to understand and communicate details quickly
• Ability to challenge preconceptions and offer well-reasoned and considered judgements to all levels of stakeholders, including executives
• Demonstrable ability to work flexibly and imaginatively in a time-pressured, fast-paced environment and deliver solutions in periods of rapid change, uncertainty and ambiguity
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to quickly understand new and complex issues and to apply solutions

Desirable:

• Experience of innovation and commercialisation delivery, including pre-investment business cases
• Experience of resource management and team management as part of a large-scale programme
• Experience of both Agile and Waterfall delivery methodologies, holding a current MSP and/or PRINCE2 Practitioner accreditation
• Experience of the UK R&I ecosystem or business innovation from research through to scale up, including innovation and commercialisation
• Experience of Benefits and Impacts Management, creation, planning, realisation and execution.

Travel Requirements

There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. UKRI staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Employee Benefits

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes. Please see: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Flexible Working

We understand the importance of work-life balance and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants

About the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The ESRC is the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science. It supports the development and training of the UK’s future social scientists and funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policy-makers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective.

For more information about ESRC, please visit https://esrc.ukri.org/

About UK Research Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.