This is the Internal Only Recruitment Site for UK Research and Innovation Staff for roles within Innovate UK (UKRI). Please apply for jobs via this site only if you are employed by UK Research and Innovation (employees with access to Innovate UK's Workday system may apply via the "Careers" application within the system). If you are not a current UKRI employee you can view vacancies at the externally advertised stage at the links given in the "About Us information on the right". If you wish to apply for the position below, please ensure that you comply with the requirements of the recruitment process by submitting both a full CV and application letter. Ideally, you should also advise your manager of your application. Applications must be submitted by 18-06-2025 Deputy Director – Innovation Funding Products The DD for Innovation Funding Products is responsible for setting the strategy, and delivering and maximising impact across the portfolio of Innovate UK innovation funding products. *Please note this advert will close on the 17th June 2025 at 23.59pm. Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Deputy Director – Innovation Funding Products Band: UKRI Band H (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £84,001 gross per annum Reports to: Director - Innovation Ecosystem Location: Field based Contract: Permanent Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements. Job Purpose: The DD for Innovation Funding Products is responsible for setting the strategy, and delivering and maximising impact across the portfolio of Innovate UK innovation funding products. This role also leads the team responsible for delivery of responsive (non-thematic) programmes, including Smart, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Contracts for Innovation, with budgets of >£100m p.a. – and management of a substantial combined set of live / active awards (more than 2,000). These products and programmes will be an essential part of delivering the government’s mission to support innovative businesses to grow and scale in the UK. This role has oversight of the complete toolkit of Innovate UK’s innovation funding products (this does not cover innovation loan or equity-related finance products). This includes development and delivery of a coherent portfolio of products that will enable innovative businesses to thrive and deliver economic and societal impact. In this role, you will ensure this suite of products is customer centric and addresses business need across the whole business innovation journey, and are deployed in the right way into wider programmes, e.g. Innovate UK delivery of innovation programmes across government. You will work closely with Director of Innovation Loans and Director of Product and Portfolio Strategy to ensure this portfolio is complementary to loan and investor-based products. You will also work with Innovate UK Business Connect and Business Growth teams to build an integrated, holistic approach to supporting business innovation across the full range of Innovate UK products and services. This role will include continual testing and challenging the current portfolio against business need, including piloting new approaches. This extends to the effectiveness and efficiency of operational delivery, as well as formal evaluation of programmes. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Strategy: Support development of a coherent strategy for the business innovation journey (‘Grow’ to ‘Scale’), across the combined IUK innovation funding offer, including the design and development of new products as appropriate. Lead for Innovate UK on Public Sector Innovation, including identifying strategic opportunities for Contracts for Innovation, and work at very senior levels across government to inform policy development. Delivery: Oversee the effective, impactful, and customer centric delivery of each of the key products in the grant funding portfolio, including: KTP, New Innovators, A4I, Smart, Contracts for Innovation. Accountability for managing budgets within and across complex portfolio of more than £100m p.a., setting and monitoring risk and finance specific KPIs to ensure effective management and delivery. Setting and monitoring clear impact goals, including ensuring alignment with the IUK Impact Management Framework, and that robust evaluations are undertaken. Ensure consistent data capture and reporting. Work closely with senior colleagues in the Operations team to ensure resources are deployed and prioritised appropriately. Product assessment, development, and application : Review existing products for strategic and operational alignment and impact / delivery, and consider evolution as appropriate. Build relationships with Domains and identify opportunities to support Domain programmes (and future programmes through SR). Team: Build a high performing team, provide leadership, motivate and develop the team and individuals reporting to you, including line management of heads of function, as well as joining up capabilities across the team. Develop a coherent team strategy and structure. Identify opportunities for cross-fertilisation of teams and programmes. Senior leadership: Work with Director Innovation Ecosystem to engage senior strategic stakeholders across the wider innovation ecosystem (public and private sector), including other grant giving and business support organisations throughout UK, at CEO and senior civil servant level. Contribute to organisational strategy development and impact as a senior member of the Products and Services leadership 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 degree-level qualification or equivalent (S) Postgraduate and/or professional qualifications in strategic leadership and/or business innovation advantageous (S) Strategic experience in a leadership capacity (S&I) Successful strategy development and implementation (S&I) Experience of influencing government policies and strategies and creating and delivering products and programmes that reflect these (I) Experience of working in a complex environment at a senior level with diverse internal and external stakeholders to build and deliver shared objectives (S) Responsibility for managing and developing high performing teams to deliver high-quality outcomes and impact, including remotely (S&I) Responsibility for effectively managing budgets, implementing cost-control and forecasting in a tightly controlled environment (S) Experience of building effective cross functional working relationships (I) Strong understanding of the UK innovation and funding landscape, including Innovate UK / UKRI (I) Interest/background/experience in innovation or research, business competitiveness and technology policy or delivery (S) Well respected and networked across the innovation ecosystem (S) Desirable – Representing an organisation at a senior level within a complex stakeholder environment (S) Working in a leadership capacity with leading edge, highly innovative businesses (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. I 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; 18-06-2025