Funding Manager

Job Title: Funding Manager

Location: London

Job Type: Permanent

*Please note that our funding roles require a combination of translational science expertise and funding call/funding management experience.

Agencies: We will only work with recruitment partners on our preferred supplier list and will not engage with speculative CVs submitted.

Are you passionate about making life science life changing and delivering impact for patients? We want to hear from you.

About the role:

Reporting to a Senior Funding Manager, this role involves independently leading and / or providing advice on all funding-related activities, to colleagues in the Translational Challenge teams, and externally.

The Funding Manager has responsibility for delivering technical insight when supporting internal and external clients. This includes advising applicants in shaping funding applications, and requires a sound understanding of translation, across modalities, and the ability to offer credible translational advice, to partners at all levels of seniority.

About you:

You will be required to:

• Independently deliver on LifeArc’s funding activities, across the full lifecycle including pre- and post-award. Provide technical insight as required, such as shaping applications and provision of translational advice, including IP and commercialisation considerations.
• Take responsibility and accountability for leading specific funding calls and managing teams also working on the same funding calls. Develop or optimise funding processes and / policies as required. Credible engagement with funding panels or experts reviewing funding applications, assisting with detailed expert review and / or due diligence on the applications.
• Manage a portfolio of Principal Investigators, projects, and technologies under development, requiring engagement with applicants and awardees at all levels of seniority.
• Independently monitor performance of LifeArc’s grant funded portfolio, ensuring awardees are delivering against the agreed plan. Review the science / plan for a funded project, identifying risks and need for further (expert) review where required.
• Identify risks and issues early-on in processes or funded projects, collaborating with others to find solutions.
• Work effectively and collaborate with a range of different functions and colleagues across the organisation, including the wider Funding team, Insights, Science, Legal, Finance and BD teams. Build strong relationships with external partners, including awardees.
• Communicate effectively in written work getting the tone right and flexing style for different types of writing, including external communications.
• Grow and maintain collaborative relationships within the wider Funding ecosystem, acting as an advocate for LifeArc. Proactively identifying other key stakeholders in their area of focus.
• Use and work to KPIs and targets. Deadline driven but considers how things can be improved in the future.

Education & essential experience required:

• Qualified to degree level in a scientific discipline with a PhD and/ or equivalent experience in academia and/ or industry.
• Experience of delivering professional services to external clients.
• Experience in the design, establishment and front-office delivery of funding calls to further the R&D goals of organisations. A keen understanding of the usual terms & conditions, legal and tax requirements and complexities of managing multi-million-pound funding initiatives.
• Experience in the management of translational development projects and knowledge of the steps involved (e.g., pathway from proof-of-concept to entry and development through the clinic). Could be experience in drugs, diagnostics, devices, or other intervention types.
• Experience in delivering translational advice demonstrating a level of technical acumen. Able to support and advise clients with confidence.
• Knowledge of IP and how to support and manage IP implications for stakeholders.
• Experience in managing a complex portfolio of projects in medical research and/or healthcare sectors.
• Understand the translational research funding landscape in the UK and seeks to find the right route for a given project.
• Financial and commercial acumen, enabling good application of judgement and decision making.
• Have a good knowledge of the needs of your beneficiaries, committing to delivering the best outcome for our clients, flexing the approach depending on the situation.

Desirable:

• Wide experience in the management of translational projects, such as development of different intervention or modality-types across different disease areas.
• Experience in management of clinical development projects, which could be management of funded clinical trials.
• Hands-on experience of drug or device development through translational development into the clinic. A keen understanding of regulatory, non-clinical, clinical and / or health economic considerations.
• Experience in helping to manage large, multi million-pound, consortium-driven funding initiatives involving multiple funding or consortia partners.
• Research (academic or industry) experience in (childhood) cancer or rare disease. Ideally translational research focused on developing an intervention with potential to impact the lives of target cancer or rare disease patients.
• Experience in project management.
• Knowledge of contractual / agreement considerations, particularly funding agreements, and working with legal or contracts personnel.
• Successful track record of handling negotiations.

Skills & abilities:

• An effective and professional communicator, including communication of targets and deliverables.
• Can build collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships internally and externally.
• Effectively works with and engages colleagues across a wide-range of functions, understanding the different offerings. Ability to coordinate multiple workstreams / tasks involving input from various internal or external clients, drawing on the offerings from each client.
• Ability to prioritise and balance near-term project deliverables.
• Capable of long-term planning and attention to detail.
• Ability to spot risks or issues early-on, be pro-active and seek win/win solutions to challenges that lead to positive outcomes that benefit all participants.
• Ability to take a holistic view and consider wider factors (e.g., when managing a funded project). Has an awareness of operating within a wider environment.
• Is comfortable quickly with new science / projects or the principles of larger programmes.
• Capable of engaging with the science and translational considerations for a project (e.g., for an application or funded project), and can review and critique, employing scientific / technical knowledge. Can credibly engage with experts (e.g., panel members or expert reviewers).
• Independently lead or advise, pro-actively seeking support when needed.
• Capable of managing a diverse and complex portfolio, flexing to the needs of specific projects and engaging with different stakeholders / skillsets as required.
• Interested in reviewing past-performance to look for ways to improve. Seeks to professionally develop.

About us:

LifeArc is a not-for-profit life science organisation, leading the way for change in rare diseases in the UK and supporting promising initiatives in global health. We seek out research in areas of unmet need that has great potential, providing support to help it become breakthroughs that change lives.

What we can offer you:

Focused on finding life changing solutions for underserved patients, our people thrive in an inclusive, and supportive environment that prioritises their health and wellbeing. Our multidisciplinary approach guarantees our people growth opportunities, while our culture of innovation and collaboration drives the impact we make delivering on our purpose of ‘putting patients at the centre of everything we do’.

We are dedicated to creating a diverse, flexible, equitable and happy work environment so our colleagues can thrive as their truest selves. We act with courage, curiosity, care & commitment to deliver quality & excellence for our patients and each other Join us, and you’ll be given the scope to develop your professional skills and experience in a safe, supportive and challenging environment

Salary will be determined by qualifications and experience along with other exceptional benefits. Because we understand everyone has different requirements, our flexible benefits allow you to choose those which are important to you. Our pension scheme offers employer contributions of up to 12%, private health insurance, and annual leave of 31 days PLUS bank holidays.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, for example, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At LifeArc we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so whatever your background or lived experience, if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. Our top priority is finding the best candidate, and you may be just right for this or other roles.

We all have potential. At LifeArc, you’ll discover what you can really do with it.