Associate Director

Description:

KRI is currently defining its hybrid working practices. Your office base will be Polaris House, Swindon and you will be required to attend business critical meetings in person in Swindon.

NERC strategic ambition [See https://www.ukri.org/about-us/delivery-plans/]

Research and Skills invests in:

• Discovery science and strategic research to deliver world-leading advances in knowledge and understanding with lasting benefits to society
• The next generation of environmental scientists and leaders central to our future to sustain and grow the talent and skills we need to achieve a productive, healthy, and resilient environment.

To do this we:

• Use external expertise to inform business and policy user needs for research and innovation, and to develop the strongest possible science and economic justification for investment proposals
• Lead, coordinate and invest in international research and innovation partnerships – to mobilise UK expertise, to tackle global challenges, to support international development, to respond rapidly to environmental emergencies, and to bring economic, societal and environmental benefit to the UK

Reporting to the Director of Research & Skills, this post functions as a rotating role across the Directorate where you i) offer expertise to all three areas core to Research and Skills (Discovery & Highlight Science and Talent & Skills, Strategic Programme Generation and Delivery, and International Business and Policy Intelligence) and ii) provide resilience in Directorate functioning through capability to lead a core area as required and directed.

Aligned with NERC ambitions for professionalising Research Council appointments as an attractive and stimulating career pathway, once established in post and having made a significant contribution to the development of Research and Skills Directorate, exchange with other Associate Directors in other Directorates within NERC may be possible to support the ongoing development of further skills.

This approach offers significant career development opportunity to develop extensive expertise at the Associate Director level. However, as broad and deep capabilities will be acquired, expertise in only one key area is required at the time of appointment (although potential to flex across core area must be demonstrated).

Acquisition of broad and deep expertise will be project based, collaborating with the lead Associate Director in each core area, and you will manage staff from these teams appropriate to that project and knowledge acquisition.

Examples of projects where your leadership would be required, based on the Directorate and UKRI functioning currently are:

• The establishment of a simpler, better, peer review process
• 'Turning the Dial’ on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion for Research and Skills
• Partnership investment for doctoral training
• Sustainable international research
• The best models for development of future talent
• Resilient operational planning
• Efficiencies in processes.

Key projects to lead on would be developed initially in conjunction with Fellow Associate Directors and with the approval of the Director, but with time the appointee will be self-identifying areas for continuous improvement and challenge.

Leadership responsibilities:

You will devote time, creativity, and skill to provide individual and collective leadership within NERC, across UKRI, and among external stakeholders:

• Provide strategic advice and senior leadership for the Directorate and NERC objectives.
• Lead and empower people, within and across teams, to deliver agreed UKRI-NERC priorities and outcomes.
• Champion UKRI-NERC values, behaviours and corporate responsibility. Promote effective cross-working and resource-sharing to deliver UKRI-NERC priorities and outcomes.
• Lead for UKRI-NERC in relevant engagement, partnerships and activities within and beyond your own delivery responsibilities, and deputise for executive leaders as necessary.
• Promote understanding of UKRI-NERC strategic roles, context, relationships and priorities.