Salary: £36,650 per annum
Band: UKRI D
Team: UKRI Talent and Skills
Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.6 FTE)
Contract Type: Fixed Term (Ending 31/03/27)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire. (hybrid working available)
Closing Date: Monday 29th September 2025
About the role
We are recruiting for an Operations Lead within the Interdisciplinary Responsive Mode Team (UKRI Talent and Skills Team), who will support the delivery of the UKRI cross research council responsive mode (CRCRM) scheme pilot. This pan-UKRI programme is designed to support interdisciplinary ideas emerging from the research community outside current disciplinary boundaries, and outside of the remit of existing UKRI responsive mode schemes.
The Operations Lead will be responsible for effectively leading the operational processes associated with the delivery of the scheme's funding opportunities, including the assessment and awarding of applications and supporting the management and training of the Interdisciplinary Assessment College. The Operations Lead will also play a key role in the effective monitoring and evaluation of the pilot. They will be responsible for the task management of Funding Officers and Funding Administrators and will line manage at least one member of the team.
Key responsibilities:
* Leading the operational delivery of the UKRI Cross research council responsive mode scheme pilot, ensuring the effective delivery of the funding opportunities and management of awards
* Effectively managing delivery and resourcing across the team, implementing training for staff to ensure long-term capability within the team
* Promoting consistency and quality in the mechanisms supporting funding decisions, by ensuring that areas of improvement for operational delivery are recorded and progressed
* Reporting and analysing information to build progress updates and inform decision making, including analysing data as part of the scheme evaluation
* Managing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, including working collaboratively across UKRI and its Research Councils and external delivery partners for the evaluation
* Supporting the management of the Interdisciplinary Assessment College, including presentations at training events and briefings and ensuring the composition of the membership is appropriate for the scheme
* Ensuring clear communication with the community, including sending clear instructions to college members and maintenance of opportunity guidance documents, website content and responding to external queries
* Participate in regular meetings to discuss scheme development and logistics and attend and prepare papers for cross Research Council meetings and, where appropriate, the governance board meetings
* Line management, with a commitment to supporting and developing staff
* Carry out any other duties/ projects that may be required of the post across the UKRI Talent and Skills team
Personal specifications:
The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I)
Essential:
* Educated to degree-level or demonstrate equivalent experience (S)
* Experience of working in a research and/ or innovation environment, with a clear understanding of peer review (S&I)
* Effective team member, with experience of establishing and maintaining effective working relationships, both internally and externally and at all levels of seniority (S&I)
* Excellent leadership skills, including delegation and supporting others (S&I)
* Excellent communication skills (both orally and written); experience of presenting information persuasively and succinctly and negotiating effectively with others (S&I)
* Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to manage changing and / or conflicting priorities and time optimally and collecting, managing and maintaining large volumes of sensitive data (S&I)
* Demonstrable analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to work with ambiguity and respond to difficult situations by showing initiative and judgement in an evolving environment (S&I)
* A clear understanding and commitment to advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (S&I)
Desirable:
* Training in people or project management, or equivalent (S)
* Experience of managing and delivering projects (S)
* Experience of acting as an organisational representative in external activities (S)
* Experience of staff management and supervision (S)
* Experience of delivering informal and / or formal training to colleagues (S)
* Experience managing large data sets using key Excel tools such as pivot tables and vlookups (S)
Application guidance
UK Research and Innovation uses a competency framework to assess applications. We will score applications against each of the essential and desirable criteria listed above. We will be looking for a demonstration of these competencies so would suggest you include examples of your experience and expertise against these criteria in your cover letter and CV. The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) may be useful to articulate these examples. We will consider the essential criteria first and will only refer to the desirable where we need to differentiate between two candidates that score the same.
If you are successful at the shortlisting stage you will be invited to interview. This will consist of a short test and a panel interview. Reasonable accommodations are available if you require them at interview and there will be an opportunity to request these upon invitation.
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 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.
Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org.
Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org
UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
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 for UKRI .
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.
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.
Within UKRI, the MRC seeks to improve human health by investing in world-class research, from fundamental science to early clinical trials and preventive medicine. Working in partnership with other UKRI councils, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and devolved administrations, the NHS, charities and industry, we are a dynamic organisation continually evolving and embracing new opportunities to achieve our mission first framed over a century ago. With an annual budget of over £800m, MRC provides support both to individuals, through fellowships and grants, and to institutions, such as the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology and the Francis Crick Institute.
For more information about MRC, please click here