About ELIXIR ELIXIR is an intergovernmental organisation that unites Europe’s leading life science organisations in managing and safeguarding the growing volume of data generated by publicly funded research. With 21 national Nodes and a central Hub hosted at EMBL-EBI, also a Node, ELIXIR builds sustainable data infrastructure to accelerate discoveries in medicine, agriculture, and the environment. For more information about ELIXIR, visit www.elixir-europe.org. We have an opportunity for a Head of Operations — a strategic, people-focused leader to drive operational excellence across the ELIXIR Hub and coordinate implementation of our scientific programme across Europe. Your role As Head of Operations, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth and efficient running of ELIXIR’s distributed organisation. Reporting directly to the ELIXIR Director, you will lead the Hub’s Operations team and take responsibility for the effective delivery of ELIXIR’s governance, planning, financial, and administrative frameworks. You will shape and oversee ELIXIR’s annual planning and budgeting cycles, ensuring transparency, accountability, and alignment across the Hub and its 22 Nodes. A key focus of your role will be to drive digital transformation — developing self-service platforms and modern workflows that increase efficiency and reduce administrative burden. Working in close partnership with colleagues in science, technology, legal, project management, and external relations, you will ensure cross-functional coordination and enable effective operational delivery across the organisation. Key responsibilities Operational Leadership: Lead the Operations team (7 staff) and ensure high performance through effective management, coaching, and professional development. Planning & Budgeting: Oversee ELIXIR’s annual planning, financial forecasting, and resource allocation to ensure the timely delivery of strategic and operational objectives. Governance Support: Coordinate ELIXIR’s governance processes — including the ELIXIR Board, Scientific Advisory Board, and Heads of Nodes Committee — in partnership with the General Counsel. Operational Excellence: Continuously improve and digitalise operational processes across the Hub, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and compliance. Cross-Functional Coordination: Build strong working relationships across technical, legal, scientific, and communications teams to resolve cross-functional challenges early and effectively. Compliance & Risk: Maintain oversight of compliance management, risk mitigation, and business continuity, ensuring alignment with relevant regulations and policies. Stakeholder Engagement: Foster strong connections with national Node partners, EMBL administration, and other key stakeholders to enable collaborative delivery of ELIXIR’s programme. About you You are a strategic operator with strong interpersonal leadership and a track record of delivering results in complex, international environments. You combine excellent organisational and analytical skills with the ability to lead teams, align stakeholders, and drive operational improvement. Essential Degree-level education and 8 years’ experience in business operations, governance, or process management in a complex organisation. Inclusive leadership experience and ability – actively seek to identify your own biases and consider a range of perspectives to inform decision-making and the way you lead and collaborate with others Demonstrable key leadership qualities – self awareness, empathy, growth mindset, active listening, empowerment of others and superior communication skills Demonstrated expertise in budgeting, resource planning, and organisational governance. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English. Experience managing complex, cross-functional workflows and balancing multiple stakeholder priorities. Strong judgement, influencing, and problem-solving skills, with a collaborative, service-oriented approach. Experience operating in a matrix or project-driven environment with distributed teams. Desirable Experience within life sciences, bioinformatics, or research infrastructure environments. Previous work in international or European organisations or large multi-partner EU-funded projects. Understanding of risk management, compliance, and business continuity planning. Proficiency in an additional European language. Contract length : 3 years renewable to a maximum of 9 years Salary: Grade 8 or 9 - monthly salary from £4,825 or £5,982 after tax, commensurate with experience, plus financial allowances (excluding pension and insurance contributions). Do something meaningful ELIXIR unites Europe’s leading life science organisations in managing and safeguarding the increasing volume of data being generated by publicly funded research. It coordinates, integrates and sustains bioinformatics resources across its member states and enables users in academia and industry to access services that are vital for their research. Our values The ELIXIR Hub has a strong organisational culture which is defined by our core values. To ensure a good fit with our team, we look to recruit candidates who share our five values: 1. We work to benefit everyone 2. We are trusted 3. We work with a spirit of openness 4. We strive for excellence 5. We work in an environment of respect Enjoy lots of benefits: Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working patterns Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover) Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to eight bank holidays Relocation package including installation grant (if required) Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely) Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity & parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance. What else you need to know International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Diversity and inclusion: At ELIXIR, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ & individuals from all nationalities. How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date. Closing date 15/11/2025