Senior Funding Manager

Job Title: Senior Funding Manager

Location: London, Stevenage or Edinburgh

Job Type: Permanent

Please note we are recruiting for 3 x Senior Funding Managers.

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:

The Funding team at LifeArc has oversight of all grant funding activity across the organisation. This Senior Funding Manager works closely with externals and across the LifeArc matrix to independently manage funding-related activity in one of our Translational Challenge areas, across the full funding lifecycle. The role will provide high-quality end-to-end oversight and delivery of a significant and complex funding portfolio.

The role will provide high-quality scientific and technical advice on translation to senior academic applicants and awardees and other key stakeholders across modalities and at different stages of development. The role will demonstrate the value-add funding culture at LifeArc and a strong understanding of the ecosystem in which our funding is deployed.

The role will play an integral part in shaping, developing and continuously improving LifeArc’s Funding Framework, ensuring rigour and safeguarding LifeArc’s significant financial commitment in this area.

• To independently manage a portion of LifeArc’s funding portfolio, across the full lifecycle, including pre- and post-award, ensuring that the highest quality science is supported, and that LifeArc’s financial commitment in this area is safeguarded.
• Play an integral role in developing and continuously improving LifeArc’s Funding Framework of Policies, Processes and People.
• Act as an ambassador for LifeArc as a Funder in the external environment, using their growing network to further raise LifeArc’s profile as a Funder.
• Communicate confidently and credibly with all key stakeholders in the ecosystem, staying abreast of all relevant activity in their TC’s area of focus to grow and maintain LifeArc’s reputation as a credible Funder.
• Effectively integrate the Funding function into the matrix environment within their own TC to deliver Funding effectively and with rigour.
• Handling challenging situations, externally and internally, with diplomacy and integrity, ensuring that LifeArc’s reputation as a value-add funder is maintained and our partners’ expectations exceeded.
• Maintain rigorous oversight of progress post-award, enabling accurate financial forecasting for their TC’s portfolio.
• Develop, champion and implement Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) policies and procedures, both internally and externally, to ensure Funding is delivered in line with our strategy.

Education & experience required:

• Qualified to a post-graduate level in a scientific discipline, ideally with a PhD.
• Experience in translation, gained in industry, academia, consulting and/ or translational funding.
• Significant experience in the design, establishment and front-office delivery of funding calls to further the R&D goals of organisations.
• A strong understanding of funding policies, terms & conditions, legal requirements and the complexities of managing multi-million-pound funding initiatives.
• Demonstrated understanding of translational research, across modalities and stages of development, and of the ecosystems in which we operate, with the ability to critique and advise on development plans in real time.
• Experience of the translational research funding landscape in the UK and other key stakeholders operating within it.
• Working knowledge of international ecosystems and the key differences from the UK ecosystem.
• Experience of academic-led translation gained either directly or as a Funder or other close partner.
• Scientific and professional experience of interacting as a peer and/or advisor with senior academics and other senior stakeholders.
• Possess a sound understanding of the challenges faced in therapeutics and diagnostics development.
• A sound knowledge of IP-related issues, the regulatory environment and downstream development for therapeutics and diagnostics.
• Self-aware with a commitment to personal/professional development.

Skills & abilities:

• Ability to understand and adapt to various communication styles to effectively collaborate with diverse team members and stakeholders.
• Have a successful track record of handling negotiations with integrity and diplomacy.
• Ability to assertively communicate difficult messages with clarity, empathy and sensitivity.

About us:

At LifeArc, our ambition is to make life science life changing. We do this by advancing scientific discoveries beyond the lab, faster, so that they can shape the next generation of diagnostics, treatments, and cures.

Working at the cutting edge of translational science and as the early-stage translation specialists, we progress scientific discoveries on their journey to becoming a medicine, diagnostic or intervention that improve patients’ lives. Our work begins by seeking out innovative science, then helping to develop this to a point where there is a clinical and commercial pathway for others to invest the time and money to take it further forward.

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.

Apply