Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect: Applications must be submitted by 05-06-2026 Impact & Performance Manager (Business Growth) - Maternity Cover This maternity cover role will work as part of the Innovate UK Business Growth team ensuring that the impact of Innovate UK’s business growth services is captured and reported to key stakeholders, both internally and externally. *Please note this advert will close on the 4th of June 2026 at 23.59pm. Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Impact & Performance Manager (Business Growth) - Maternity Cover Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £46,743 gross per annum Reports to: Delivery Operations Lead - Business Growth Location: Field based Contract: Fixed Term Until (31/01/2027) 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 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. Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements. Context: The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Business Growth Team which is part of Innovate UK Products and Services. Innovate UK Business Growth is a key part of the UK innovation agency’s investment in the innovative businesses that drive economic growth. It complements Innovate UK project funding with intensive, specialist-led support for such ambitious businesses. “If we can get more innovative UK businesses to grow and scale - and do so globally, we can build a strong and sustainable future UK economy”. Innovate UK Business Growth has been developed to help us deliver that mission to help the great companies we work with to achieve their full potential. Signalling Innovate UK’s intention - to explicitly focus not just on projects but on the businesses - helping our award-winning companies fulfil the promise of their innovation and if we get it right - helping them to make a real contribution to the UK economy. Bringing our soft support for innovative businesses under one umbrella, our goal is that more of the companies we work with will be better quality, investor ready and have the very best chance to go onto grow and scale. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role. Job Purpose: This maternity cover role will work as part of the Innovate UK Business Growth team ensuring that the impact of Innovate UK’s business growth services is captured and reported to key stakeholders, both internally and externally. Our business growth support services are instrumental to achieving Innovate UK’s delivery plan and supporting the UK economy. We have a growing need for tools, metrics, reports and insight from the portfolio of work that we deliver. Effective management of the impact and performance data of our Business Growth portfolio will ensure we deliver the full potential of our high-growth support services to the UK now and in the future. This role will involve the development and coordination of our impact data capture across the portfolio exploring the benefit to companies of business growth services. Creating reports and dashboards to show the impact and delivery of our programmes. Working closely across all areas of the Business Growth Team to create reports and metrics for the team, our consortium, Innovate UK and UKRI Councils, DSIT, HM Treasury and other key stakeholders. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Development and maintenance of strong relationships with primary stakeholders including Innovate UK Business Growth consortium partners, Innovation Leads, other Impact and Performance Managers and the Innovate UK Impact and Evaluation team. Develop a strong understanding of the Innovate UK Business Growth portfolio, developing, facilitating, collecting and reporting key impact metrics to internal and external stakeholders and providing portfolio trend analysis to colleagues within the organisation. Embed the Innovate UK Business Growth impact management framework within the wider delivery team, working on our data platforms (e.g., Customer Relationship Management system) to gather and report on company impacts. Work with the Innovate UK Business Growth Data Analysts to develop impact metrics and create compelling reports, dashboards and visuals that demonstrate the impact of Innovate UK Business Growth services. Work closely with the rest of the Business Growth delivery operations team to understand partner delivery and performance to enable a portfolio view for reporting of impacts. Work with the Innovate UK Business Growth team and consortium colleagues to identify and develop potential success stories, coordinating the development of related communications and publicity with specialist team members. Support the delivery of an external evaluation of the IUK Business Growth Service taking place from spring 2026. Work closely with Innovate UK’s Impact and Evaluation team on evaluation/assessment activities, impact management tools (and platforms) to enhance the visibility and useability of our impact management data. Coordinate with other Impact and Performance Managers & business systems colleagues across the organisation to ensure a joined-up approach and effective information flow. Undertake project and monitoring visits as appropriate in support of Innovate UK Business Growth delivery operations and management team. This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged 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 key experience and/or training. Shortlisting criteria (S) – Assessed at shortlisting (I) – Assessed at interview (S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview Person Specification: Experience & Qualifications: Essential – Educated to undergraduate degree level or with substantial relevant experience (S) Experience of working with high-growth businesses, understanding their needs and challenges (S&I) Problem solving – data gathering, analysis and creative presentation of results/recommendations (I) Ability to ‘deep dive’ into end-to-end processes to identify impact, opportunities and solutions (I) Ability to think strategically with an outcome-focused big picture approach, yet still able to deliver operationally with good attention to detail (I) Understanding of portfolio reporting, showing individual strands but ultimately, the big picture view (S&I) Experience in identifying, tailoring and communicating impact verbally and via creative, clear, concise and accurate presentations, documents and reports (S&I) Facilitation skills at every level to ensure wide understanding and buy-in (S&I) Proven ability to work with and present to diverse stakeholders in complex environments, tailoring communications and outputs to meet the needs of different groups (S&I) Developing and managing effective long-lasting working relationships (S&I) Able to rapidly produce appropriate reports and impact analyses while managing competing demands, and protecting the integrity of documented processes (S&I) Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce), surveys (e.g. survey monkey) and manipulation/visualisation (e.g. MS PowerBI) tools and dashboards, both their inception, ongoing development and data management (S) Competencies: All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as: Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification. Travel Requirements: Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles. Equal Opportunities: We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required. UK Research and Innovation: Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/. 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. 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. Pre-employment Screening: To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process. 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. UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check. Applications must be submitted by; 05-06-2026