Job Description

Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect:

Applications must be submitted by

05-06-2026

Programme Manager

The Programme Managers will be responsible for the effective delivery of Programmes within the Innovate UK.

*Please note this advert will close on the 4th of June 2026 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here

Title: Programme Manager (2 positions available)

Band: UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £58,589 gross per annum

Reports to: Portfolio Manager

Location: Field based

Contract: Permanent

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

Context:

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a governmental organisation with the vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. Innovate UK (IUK) is the UK’s innovation agency and is a partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation.

The Programme Managers will operate within the D&T Growth Sector or Clean Growth on priorities as required.

We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.

Job Purpose:

The Programme Managers will be responsible for the effective delivery of Programmes within the Innovate UK.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Day-to-day management of Programmes; planning, briefing, tracking and reporting on progress of key deliverables, finances and programme risks as well as resolving issues when they arise. (S&I)
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with primary stakeholders including Innovation Leads, government departments, operations, finance, Impact and Performance managers. ( I)
• Represent the team as required at high-profile events and meetings ( I)
• Leadership and influence of multi-disciplined teams, both internal and external to achieve programme deliverables (S&I)
• Develop and implement programme monitoring, reporting and governance mechanisms and take ownership of associated programme management products and documents, including strategies, plans, reports, dashboards, and contractual agreements such as MoUs (S&I)
• Assist with managing the programme budget and spend profile, gaining sign off from stakeholders as required (S&I)
• Oversee the embedding of monitoring, evaluation and benefits realisation for the managed programmes (S&I)
• Organise and chair stakeholder meetings and provide secretariat as required (I)
• Deliver timely responses to information requests, such as completing reports, tracking coinvestment, answering queries from delivery partners, government departments, etc (S)
• Contribute to Innovate UK Programme Hub activities, such as reporting to Programme Hub, reporting to Growth Sector Boards and other submissions and input requests as appropriate. (I)
• Supporting the planning and delivery of activities as part of the Spending Review process, working closely with the Directors to assist as required during the process. (I)

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:

• This effective and proactive individual will be an exceptional and highly experienced programme manager, used to working without close direction and able to manage multiple streams of work with a range of internal and external stakeholders (S&I)
• The post-holder will be highly flexible, capable of identifying the right approach to the task in hand and translating that approach into effective delivery (I)
• Ideally the successful applicant will have been exposed to many different project management approaches ( S)
• The post holder will be a strong team player, and a pro-active self-starter (I)
• The post holder will have the ability to form effective relationships and liaise with senior management within the organisation (S&I)

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Considerable experience of managing multiple projects or programmes and delivering a broad range of benefits, across the Public and Private sectors using the principles of good project management (S&I)
• Strong experience of achieving results through influencing skills rather than direct control (S&I)
• Experience of complex problem solving involving successfully managing diverse stakeholders with conflicting demands and priorities (S&I)
• A clear track record of working within the constraints of time, cost and quality as well as effective management and mitigation of risk. (S&I)
• Experience of managing a high-performance team across multiple locations to deliver exceptional results (S&I)

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;

05-06-2026