Head of CEO's Office

Salary: £68,525 Per Annum

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Open Ended

Location: Swindon or London (Candidate will need to be flexible and able to travel for a minimum of 2/3 days per week, including occasional international travel)

Grade: UKRI Band G

Closing Date: Sunday 14th September 2025

Security:

As a minimum, due to the nature of this role, candidates must be eligible for clearance in line with UK National vetting guidelines and willing to undertake the process. Please indicate eligibility in the written submission. Candidates not meeting this level of clearance will not be considered

The level of clearance required is Developed Vetting. For further information please visit DV - Guidance Pack for Applicants - GOV.UK

Job Overview:

The Head of the CEO’s office directly supports the UKRI CEO – Professor Sir Ian Chapman – and leads the CEO’s Private Office function.

This is a high profile, demanding position at the very heart of the organisation, providing the post-holder with exposure across UKRI, its stakeholder communities and Government partners.

Directly reporting to the CEO, you will act as a trusted advisor, building and maintaining strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across the research and innovation sector, business, and Government.

Acting as the interface between the CEO, the organisation, and its key stakeholders, you will represent the CEO’s views, facilitating the flow of decisions and advice to and from the Chief Executive, enabling an efficient, multi-way movement of information.

The post holder will also work closely with UKRI’s Executive team – including the Chief of Investment Planning and Strategy, and leaders of each of UKRI’s nine Councils.

With responsibility for the UKRI Chair’s Private Office you will also have regular interaction with UKRI’s Chair, ensuring that their office functions efficiently and effectively to meet their needs.

The post-holder will collaborate with the UKRI Secretariat Function, using their position to maintain a strong overview of the key priorities across UKRI and drawing on this understanding to support the effective functioning of the UKRI Board, Executive Committee, and their sub-committees as a collective system for better decision-making.

This is a key leadership role, in addition to managing the wider CEO’s Office team, the successful candidate will interact with the wider Investment Planning and Strategy (IPS) Directorate and will also provide leadership of the Private Office profession across the wider organisation.

The successful candidate will be able to use their initiative and good judgement, should be calm under pressure, and will be able to handle challenging situations with diplomacy and tact. You will need to possess integrity and understand the need for, and exercise, discretion, and confidentiality.

This role will provide you with unique experience and the opportunity to influence strategic priorities and decision making at highest levels. As such, it would suit an ambitious candidate looking to develop their own career towards the most senior leadership roles in the future.

If you are an outstanding leader who enjoys working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, collaborating closely with colleagues right across the organisation to further research and innovation for public benefit, then this is a job for you.

Key Responsibilities:

Your key responsibilities may vary over time to adapt to changing business needs. They currently include:

• Ensuring the effective day-to-day operation of the CEO and Chair Offices. As part of this:
• Developing positive relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure that high-quality advice and papers are provided in a timely fashion to the CEO, Executive Committee, and Board.
• Identifying emerging trends or issues which could impact on the CEO or the Office’s ability to support them and working with team members and colleagues across the organisation to harness or mitigate these as appropriate.
• Driving forward CEO priorities, including taking ownership of discrete projects and pieces of work as required by the CEO.
• Providing advice to the CEO, Chair, and colleagues across UKRI, drawing upon the cross-cutting awareness of organisational activity that will be built and maintained.
• Leading on the CEO’s engagement with particularly high-profile and sensitive topics, including Ministerial engagements, fiscal events, national security matters, and senior recruitment.
• Fostering and maintaining effective and collegiate working relationships across all UKRI’s Private Offices, and in particular with those that support members of UKRI’s Organisational Leadership Team (OLT). Encouraging and embedding a culture and structures that support a joined-up, cohesive way of working and effective intelligence sharing.

Person Specification:

(S) – Shortlisting Criteria (I) – Interview Criteria (S & I) - Shortlisting Criteria & Interview Criteria

Essential

• A proven track record working in a fast-paced, complex, and changing organisational environment. (S)
• Successful influencing and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. (S & I)
• Ability to see the bigger picture, whilst being comfortable with detail; considering the wider landscape and range of stakeholder perspectives. (S & I)
• Ability to make effective decisions by pragmatically weighing the complexities involved against the need to act in a fast-paced environment. (S & I)
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills. (S & I)
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills to be able to operate at all levels of the organisation. Experience of providing advice to the most senior levels of an organisation. (S & I)
• Demonstrable experience in leading and motivating a team, including building an effective and supportive team culture. (S & I)
• Must be eligible to obtain Developed Vetting (DV) clearance in accordance with UK National Security Vetting guidelines. (S)

Desirable

• Experience of covering or working in an office of a senior leader. (S)
• Knowledge of the Research and Innovation landscape. (S & I)

Benefits:

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package! We are committed to supporting employees’ development and promote a culture of continuous learning! A list of benefits below;

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme
• 30 days’ annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent)
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice
• Flexible working options

Please click here for more details on the https://www.discover.ukri.org/benefits-of-working-at-ukri/index.html