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Head of Operations and Impact (Business Growth)

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.

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Head of Operations and Impact (Business Growth)

Reporting to the Deputy Director Business Growth, the post-holder will have leadership and management responsibility for Innovate UK Business Growth Operations and Impact: leading, developing and managing operational delivery of the Innovate UK Business Growth service in line with our strategic objectives and commitments as part of the Products and Services Directorate.

*Please note this advert will close on 1st August 2025 at 23.59 pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here .

Title: Head of Operations and Impact (Business Growth)

Band: UKRI Band G (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £68,525 gross per annum

Reports to: Deputy Director Business Growth

Location: Field based

Contract: Fixed Term Until (28/01/2026)

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:

Innovate UK Business Growthis a key part of the UK innovation agency’s investment in the innovative businesses that drive economic growth. It complementsInnovate UK project funding with intensive, specialist-led support for such ambitious businesses.

Innovate UK Business Growth has been developed to help us deliver that mission to help the great companies we work with, and the ones we might work with in the future, 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 UK economic recovery. Through our bespoke support 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:

Reporting to the Deputy Director Business Growth, the post-holder will have leadership and management responsibility for Innovate UK Business Growth Operations and Impact: leading, developing and managing operational delivery of the Innovate UK Business Growth service in line with our strategic objectives and commitments as part of the Products and Services Directorate.

Working with the three Heads of function for Service Design and Service Development, the post holder will manage day-to-day operations and impact realisation and notably, taking a lead role in enabling and driving integration of Innovate UK Business Growth as part of the wider Innovate UK Products and Services value proposition. The post-holder will directly line manage our two delivery operations leads.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Leadership of the operational efficacy and continuous development of Innovate UK Business Growth, translating and implementing strategic objectives into effective action
• Alongside the other Heads of Function, contributing to the strategic development of Innovate UK Business Growth and its integration in the wider Innovate UK portfolio of Products & Services
• Leading and line managing the Business Growth Delivery Operations partner and portfolio teams
• Day to day management of the Innovate UK Business Growth budgets, funding agreements and contracts on behalf of the Business Growth management team
• Responsibility for all aspects of the collation of Innovate UK Business Growth operational data collection, measurement and analysis (including Impact)
• Through the collection & provision of high-quality data, inform the decision making for development of the Innovate UK Business Growth service elements, encouraging and facilitating self-service approaches and contributing to business cases for investment in areas of strategic need and opportunity
• Continuous improvement, procurement (where relevant) and ongoing management of our various IT tools (e.g., our SalesForce CRM), working in conjunction with other corporate functions as needed
• Working effectively with colleagues across Innovate UK, UKRI and partners externally, to share relevant data; manage security, data protection, complaints, FOI issues; and other corporate processes and support the development of more general insight about innovation and growth at scale activities
• Build strong relationships with relevant bodies and networks to build UK-wide innovation and growth services and support, ensuring a joined-up approach to supporting business across the UK & international innovation ecosystems

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 –

• S Educated to Degree level in a relevant discipline (or equivalent experience)
• S&I A track record of leadership and operational delivery of complex projects and delivery of operational targets to budget
• I Experience of managing & maintaining data tools to provide trustworthy data that produces reliable insight
• S&I Experience of managing large budgets with multi-stakeholder interest and accountability
• S&I Development and delivery of support services for ambitious high growth businesses
• S&I Change management and facilitation/training development
• S&I Experience of developing and implementing new processes and organisational change, delivering business critical changes into active environments
• I Experience of Network building & consortium management
• S Experience in a notable management role in a medium/large business (or of running own business)
• S&I Understanding of global issues relative to the management and growth of small/medium sized businesses

Desirable –

• S Excellent working knowledge of the UK Innovation and Growth Business support ecosystem
• I Understanding of innovation management, investment readiness and/or internationalisation frameworks and processes
• S Experience or interest in science, technology and its role in society

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;