Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect: Applications must be submitted by 30-06-2025 Vacancy for Innovation Lead – Water cross sector innovation programme *Please note this advert will close on the 29th June 2025 at 23.59pm. Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Innovation Lead – Water cross sector innovation programme Band: UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £56,745 gross per annum Reports to: Head of Urban Systems Location: Field based Contract: Fixed Term (2 years initially until 2027, with a possibility of an extension) Fixed Term Roles: 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 urban systems team, within the Net Zero Systems Directorate, as part of the Net Zero domain We are currently in the design phase of a £40M 5 year programme of innovation on behalf of Ofwat, the water services regulator for England and Wales. The vision for this work is to deliver the ground-breaking development of cross sector solutions which support mutually beneficial and long-term systemic change for the water environment. These cross-sector activities are aligned to and support the vision for the overall £400M Ofwat Innovation Fund (Ofwat Innovation Fund - Ofwat Innovation Fund) to be delivered over the next 5 years. We will do this by working with water and other relevant sectors to identify common challenges and mutual solutions, supporting the growth of innovative businesses, building strong and lasting collaborative networks, and using collective resources to enable systemic change. Innovate UK is uniquely placed to deliver this activity with its reach into multiple related sectors e.g. agriculture, space, energy, digital, expertise in driving business growth through innovation in net zero systems, and developing an enabling and impactful innovation ecosystem through IUK Business Connect. The role holder will be working within a collaborative team including members of the Urban Systems team, and Clean Growth and Net Zero teams within IUK Business Connect, bringing in expertise across IUK and UKRI to help support priority areas. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role. Job Purpose: As an Innovation Lead bringing together innovators from both outside and inside the water sector you will have the specific role of designing, developing and delivering Innovate UKs activities for the programme working alongside the IUK Business Connect team, OFWAT innovation team and partners. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Design and deliver a flexible and responsive programme of impactful innovation activities to enable cross sector working, giving rise to solutions that deliver co-benefits for participating sectors Manage the ideation process to agree focus and challenge areas for the programme Design the funding mechanisms and delivering competitions and activities Manage relationships across interested parties working as one team with IUK Business Connect and internally with Innovate UK Innovation Leads, Operations teams and broader UKRI network Take responsibility to engage with multiple sectors and being able to spot and explore mutual opportunities Exploring and developing the role of strategic partnerships to leverage the impact of the core budget from Ofwat for this programme Develop clear measures for the programme focused on impact and be confident in communicating narrative and outputs 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: This position requires a person with commercial awareness who can manage competing priorities in a complex stakeholder environment whilst being clear on the vision, purpose and deliverables for this programme in the context of the broader programme from OFWAT. The role holder will need to make sense of multiple data sources to establish underlying patterns and articulate a clear and compelling vision of what needs to be done. A good team player, willing to share knowledge and make connections with people across relevant sectors and to learn from them. Able to self-start when needed. Experience & Qualifications: Essential – Degree or post-graduate qualification in a relevant discipline or relevant equivalent experience (S) Expertise in designing and delivering large scale innovation programmes (S&I) Experience of working collaboratively and managing different stakeholder groups (S&I) Experience of working with business ideally in a sector of interest to the water system (S) Experience of managing complex activities or programmes (S&I) Broad understanding of the innovation process (I) Desirable – Degree or post-graduate qualification in a relevant discipline or relevant equivalent experience Understanding of IUK family specifically IUK Business Connect and IUK Business Growth programmes Knowledge of water system innovation and research activities Demonstrated presence and confidence in presenting to external stakeholders 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; 30-06-2025