The Role
The External Relations and Knowledge Mobilisation Manager will hold a strategic leadership role within the Innovation Observatory, responsible for driving forward our visibility, influence, and impact across the health, life sciences, and social care research and innovation ecosystem.
You will lead the development and delivery of an integrated external relations and public affairs strategy, positioning the Innovation Observatory as a national and international leader in horizon scanning, research and innovation intelligence. Through the cultivation of high-value partnerships and refinement and further development of an extensive national and international stakeholder network, you will enhance the organisation’s profile and ensure alignment with key policy, research and innovation infrastructures, including across the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
A central focus of the role is championing knowledge mobilisation — ensuring that the innovation Observatory’s outputs are not only credible, relevant, accessible and timely, but also actionable and influential across policy, practice, research and innovation landscapes. You will oversee the design and delivery of high-impact engagement activities, including national and international events in the context of an extensive and complex and multi-stakeholder ecosystem.
As a senior leader, you will drive communication excellence, ensuring the Innovation Observatory’s strategic narratives are coherent, aligned, and reflective of its values and public mission. You will play a key role in shaping how we articulate and demonstrate our public value, enhancing our reputation through evidence-led, stakeholder-focused national and international engagement.
The postholder will also lead the development of an organisational impact and value-added strategy establishing robust systems to track, evaluate, and communicate the difference our work makes. This will include evidencing the effectiveness of knowledge mobilisation, engagement, and external relations activities to inform learning, strategy, and future investment. The post will report to Senior Leadership team and have line management responsibilities for cross-portfolio senior team members.
Key Accountabilities
1. Lead the development and execution of an integrated external relations and public affairs strategy that enhances the organisation’s profile and influence nationally and internationally
2. Build and maintain strategic partnerships with government bodies, policy organisations, research funders, health and care system leaders, industry stakeholders, academia, and the media
3. Act as a senior ambassador for the organisation, representing it at national and international forums, networks, and high-level stakeholder engagements
4. Champion knowledge mobilisation across the policy, practice, research and innovation ecosystem, ensuring insights are translated into actionable, accessible outputs that inform real-world decision-making
5. Support internal teams to plan and deliver knowledge mobilisation strategies that maximise the uptake and use of the Innovation Observatory outputs
6. Lead the design and delivery of high-impact engagement activities, such as conferences, roundtables, workshops, learning and discovery sessions, and events, that position the Innovation Observatory as a national and global leader in horizon scanning
7. Shape and oversee strategic communications, including narrative development, media relations, policy briefings, and digital content, ensuring alignment with organisational values and strategic goals
8. Ensure consistency and coherence of messaging across all external-facing activities and aligning system-wide communications with the wider NIHR, and the health and care policy landscape
9. Monitor the external environment to identify emerging opportunities and risks across the policy, innovation, and research landscape, informing strategic responses
10. Develop and embed a robust organisational impact strategy, including systems for tracking, evidencing, and communicating the outcomes of engagement, mobilisation, and external relations activities
11. Support the use of Theory of Change and impact frameworks to evaluate and articulate the value of the Innovation Observatory’s work
12. Lead on and contributing to internal learning and external reporting on impact, including funder reports and strategic reviews
13. Promote an inclusive, outward-facing culture across the organisation by supporting staff to build capability in strategic engagement, communications, and knowledge mobilisation
This job description identifies the key responsibilities of the post. It is not an exhaustive list of duties and is subject to amendment as necessary, in consultation with the postholder
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
14. Have significant and demonstrable experience in a senior role related to external relations, public affairs, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement at a senior national level
15. Have a proven track record of leading, implementing and evaluating integrated engagement strategies in a complex and multistakeholder environment
16. Possess a deep understanding of knowledge mobilisation and its role in driving impact across policy and practice
17. Be highly skilled in developing and delivering strategic messages and materials for diverse audiences, including but not limited to senior stakeholders
18. Have demonstrable experience in producing and curating high profile major events and engagement campaigns with national and international relevance and reach
19. Possess strong leadership and management skills, including experience of liaising with Government, academic and public sector leaders, funding bodies, regulatory bodies, industry, large charities alongside voluntary, community and faith organisations
20. Demonstrate success in influencing policy or system level change through engagement and communications, including interpretation of complex research or evidence into actionable insights for a broad range of audiences
21. Demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the health, life sciences and social care ecosystem, with specific reference to the UK and/or a devolved context
22. Be a highly skilled at narrative development, strategic messaging and translation for targeted audiences
23. Possess a thorough understanding of programme and project management methods and experience of utilisation in a research and innovation context
Attitudes and Behaviours
24. Strategic and systems thinking with an ability to be able to see the bigger picture, connect ideas across complex ecosystems and anticipate the external drivers of change within health, care, life sciences and innovation landscapes
25. Politically astute and context aware, capable of navigating sensitive and high-profile stakeholder environments, with a nuanced understanding of power dynamics, public accountability and reputation management
26. Highly collaborative and influential proficient at working across boundaries and disciplines, skilled in building consensus, securing buy-in and influencing at all levels both internally and externally
27. Confident communicator and ambassador, articulate, credible and persuasive with an ability to represent the Innovation Observatory with authority and integrity across policy, academic, industry, public and regulatory arena
28. Proactive and outcomes focussed, takes initiative, drives progress and delivers results with an ability to prioritise organisational strategy, even in the face of ambiguity or complexity
29. Values driven and inclusive, promoting meaningful engagement with a wide range of voices and perspectives, particularly those underrepresented in research and innovation spaces
30. Ethical and resilient, able to exercise sound judgment, integrity, discretion in high trust settings, remains composed and constructure under pressure or in response to challenges
Qualifications
31. Qualified to Degree level and/or with significant relevant management and leadership experience in strategic communications, policy, public affairs or a related discipline
32. Professional qualification related to field, such as Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) or Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) demonstrating capability in strategic communications and public relations
Desirable
33. Higher degree in public policy, strategic communications, knowledge mobilisation or relevant field
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a Gold award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 28867