Programme and PA Support Officer – Economic Growth
Salary: £30,895 Per Annum
Grade: UKRI Band C
Contract Type: Open Ended
Hours: Full Time or Part Time (Minimum 0.8 FTE)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire
Closing Date: 20/03/2026
About Us
The R&D Missions Accelerator Programme represents an exceptional opportunity to create real world impact through R&D investment.
The programme will utilise a £500m budget to bring together the private sector, the third sectors and academia to collaboratively develop innovative solutions to public sector problems, resulting in new technologies, services, IP and more.
The programme has been designed to solve the key problems facing HMG’s five national Missions and enable delivery of the milestones in the Plan for Change.
The Government has identified the key problems faced by the UK, to which the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme has designed Research and Innovation (R&I) Challenges to develop solutions. Importantly, these solutions will then be directly utilised in addressing public sector needs.
The programme is currently developing its approaches across the Missions, and therefore by joining at this stage there’s a significant opportunity to establish and drive the strategic and operational direction of the programme.
Economic Growth
The Growth Mission is driving innovation to transform vital sectors of the UK economy. You'll be working with industry leaders, cultural institutions, government, and beyond to build digital marketplaces that revolutionise how we construct homes and infrastructure, and how creative content is shared and monetised. This means collaborating with Catapults and some of the UK’s biggest museums to develop breakthrough technologies, business models, and regulatory frameworks. You'll be at the forefront of shaping how construction becomes more efficient and sustainable, whilst helping the UK's world-leading creative sector unlock new revenue streams in the age of AI. This is your opportunity to drive economic growth, support new jobs, and position the UK as a global leader in innovation.
Purpose
R&D MAP are seeking a Programme Officer and Personal Assistant to support the Economic Growth mission. In this role you will manage the diary of the Challenge Director leading the Economic Growth mission challenges, enabling them to carry out their roles effectively, while also fulfilling other administrative duties essential to the programme’s success.
Main Outputs and Activities
To achieve this, you will be responsible for performing activities in the following areas.
Diary management: You will proactively and effectively manage complex diaries to make the best use of the Challenge Director’s time and resources. You will act as a ‘gatekeeper’ who advises others of diary priorities and provides advice on availability and logistics as required. You will plan meetings, visits and events, ensuring all details are confirmed and correct and flagging any which are atypical. To achieve all of this you will maintain regular contact across the Challenge teams and will be required to book travel and accommodation (and catering where required).
Meeting preparation: Ahead of meetings, you will ensure briefing, and diary papers are obtained and presented to the Director in a timely fashion, allowing enough time for reading and preparation. You will anticipate the Director’s requirements in advance and prepare daily papers and briefing notes for them, clarifying any details with the meeting/event organisers as necessary. If required, you will also translate the Director’s initial document drafts into high‑quality meeting materials (such as PowerPoint presentations) in accordance with the house style.
Administrative support: You will provide effective and flexible administrative support to members of the wider Challenge Teams. This may include management of inboxes and responding to email enquiries, taking accurate meeting notes and minutes, and supporting the organisation of events (including team meetings). This is not a comprehensive list, and we may require that you adapt to, and undertake, other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post (especially while the Challenges are under development).
This is not a comprehensive list, and we may require you to undertake other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post.
Personal Specification
The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).
Essential
* Proven professional experience of providing high-quality support as a Personal Assistant. (S&I)
* Strong communication skills with the ability to write clear and accurate correspondence which is tailored to the audience. (S&I)
* Confidence working effectively, and building relationships with, senior leaders and stakeholders (both remotely and face-to-face) in an approachable manner. (S&I)
* Strong organisational skills with high attention to detail and the ability to manage workloads, resolve competing demands and cope flexibly and proactively with changing priorities. (S&I)
* Ability to show initiative, manage ambiguity, think and adapt quickly, maintain confidentiality and discretion, and work independently when required. (S&I)
* Excellent team-working skills and experience of supporting other team members in an administrative capacity. (S&I)
* High level of ICT skills, proficient in MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. (S)
Desirable
* Educated to at least ‘A’ level standard, or equivalent. (S)
* Creative, flexible, and positive approach to problem-solving with the ability to collaborate to achieve results. (S)
Benefits
We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!
A list of benefits below:
* An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
* 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
* Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
* Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
* Flexible working options.
Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!
For further information on our benefits please see: Benefits of working at UKRI
UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.
Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org
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