Job Description

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.

Applications must be submitted by

12-07-2026

Vacancy for Director of Activation- Strategy to Delivery

The Innovate UK Director of Activation-Strategy to Delivery is accountable for leading and delivering the end to end activation of Innovate UK to enable the organisation to deliver its new strategy and operating model. They will ensure all change aligns with the UKRI Shaping Our Future Programme.

*Please note this advert will close on 23.59 on the date prior to Workday close date.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here

Title: Director of Activation- Strategy to Delivery

Band: UKRI Band X (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £94931 gross per annum

Reports to: Executive Chair-Innovate UK

Location: Field based

Contract: Fixed Term (15-18 months)

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context:

The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Executive Leadership team.

The role holder is responsible for managing 3 direct reports.

Job Purpose:

• The Innovate UK Director of Activation-Strategy to Delivery is accountable for leading and delivering the end to end activation of Innovate UK to enable the organisation to deliver its new strategy and operating model. They will ensure all change aligns with the UKRI Shaping Our Future Programme.
• The role is accountable for the design and implementation of the future Innovate UK organisation including structures, governance, decision making, digital enablement, ways of working, and leadership capability. It will ensure Innovate UK is fit for purpose, scalable, digitally enabled, and compliant in delivering innovation funding and business support at national scale aligned with the new IUK strategy.
• This is a time critical, high impact Director role with authority to shape organisational direction, make enterprise level trade offs, and lead complex change across Innovate UK. The postholder will operate with a high degree of autonomy, significant budgetary influence, and responsibility for managing strategic, operational, financial, and reputational risk.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

1. Enterprise Transformation Leadership

• Lead the design and delivery of Innovate UK’s activation programme, aligning organisational capability, operating model, and culture to the new strategy
• Act as the single responsible owner for outcomes, benefits realisation, and delivery assurance
• Translate strategic intent into coherent, prioritised change portfolios spanning people, process, digital, governance, and stakeholder models
• Take difficult, organisation‑wide decisions on prioritisation, sequencing, and de‑scoping to protect strategic outcomes

2. Organisational Design and Operating Model

• Design and implement the future Innovate UK operating model, ensuring clarity of roles, accountability, and decision rights
• Lead structural redesign, workforce transition, capability development, and leadership alignment at scale
• Ensure the organisation is designed to support high‑potential business models, portfolio approaches, and differentiated customer propositions
• Establish sustainable ownership for business‑as‑usual following transformation completion aligned to the organisational OKR’s

3. Digital and Data‑Enabled Change

• Provide strategic leadership for digital and data transformation underpinning Innovate UK delivery
• Ensure transformation integrates effectively with core platforms, funding systems, data architecture, and AI‑enabled services
• Work closely with UKRI digital and technology leaders to secure alignment while protecting Innovate UK’s strategic requirements

4. Governance, Risk, and Assurance

• Establish and lead robust change governance, reporting transparently to Innovate UK Executive Chair and Executive Leadership Board (ELB), Council and UKRI Shaping Our Future programme
• Own and manage enterprise‑level transformation risks, including delivery, financial, operational, regulatory, and reputational risks
• Ensure alignment with Managing Public Money, subsidy control requirements, and UKRI assurance frameworks
• Provide clear, evidence‑based advice to senior leaders on risk appetite and trade‑offs

5. Stakeholder Leadership and Influence

• Lead engagement with UKRI corporate functions, other councils, DSIT interfaces, delivery partners, and external stakeholders where transformation has cross‑system impact
• Influence at Director and Executive Committee level to resolve conflicts, remove barriers, and secure collective ownership of change
• Represent Innovate UK authoritatively in discussions on organisational reform, delivery capability, and innovation system effectiveness

6. Leadership and Culture

• Role‑model senior civil service leadership behaviours and the Civil Service Code
• Build strong sponsorship, ownership, and accountability for change across the senior leadership cohort
• Embed a culture of evidence‑based decision making, delivery discipline, and continuous improvement
• Ensure people impacts are managed with integrity, clarity, and pace

7. Scale and Complexity

• Organisation‑wide impact across Innovate UK’s full funding and support portfolio
• Transformation spanning multiple directorates, professions, digital platforms, and delivery models
• Significant financial implications and long‑term value for money considerations
• High public and ministerial interest environment with material reputational risk
• Operates with strategic ambiguity, competing priorities, and constrained resources

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.

Person Specification:

Skills, experience and capability (S Shortlisting I Interview)

Essential

• Proven experience operating at Director or equivalent level, leading complex organisational transformation at scale (S)
• Demonstrable success delivering enterprise‑wide change across people, process, technology, and governance (S)
• Strong strategic judgement with the ability to make and stand behind high‑impact decisions under uncertainty (I)
• Extensive experience of risk ownership, assurance, and governance in complex organisations (I)
• Exceptional influencing skills with senior internal and external stakeholders (SI)
• Ability to translate strategy into practical, deliverable organisational change (SI)

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

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. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon office once a week and may have four to six nights away from home per month on average to attend conferences and events.

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.

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;

12-07-2026