About the job

Job summary

Chief Operating Officer, Medical Research Council 

Full time, Open Ended (Permanent) 

Based in Swindon or London – hybrid working with regular travel to both locations 

About Us:  

Within UK Research and Innovation, the Medical Research Council seeks to improve human health through world-class research. With an annual budget of over £900m, MRC provides support both to individuals, through fellowships and grants, and to institutions, such as the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology and the Francis Crick Institute. The outcomes of our research span discovery science, improvements in public health and the development of new treatments for common diseases.     

For more information about MRC, please visit https://mrc.ukri.org  

Job description

About the role: 

This role is central to MRC’s effective delivery as part of UKRI and the wider bio-medical science sector.  The role holder will have responsibility for several organisational functions including financial oversight and management, procurement and contracting, MRC governance, our funding operations; capital and estates; and MRC’s pension scheme.  In addition, the role will focus on business partner arrangements with UKRI corporate functions including finance; governance; assurance; risk; data and Information; and procurement.   

You will support MRC’s Executive Chair in the transformation of MRC in alignment to UKRI’s strategy.  You will lead and support strategic planning and decision making, facilitating key strategic and operational decisions in the support and delivery of MRC’s strategic vision, such as financial planning, evaluation and improvement of corporate performance, pension planning, and operational partnership with MRC Institutes and Units. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Work closely with finance business partners to take the strategic lead in devising budgetary control and financial planning to support the needs of the business, medium-term planning and Operating Expense (OPEX) 
• Ensure MRC receives quality and timely support, information and advice from UKRI Corporate Services 
• Ensure effective corporate governance, that MRC meets statutory obligations; and continuously improve MRC’s overall performance 
• Participating in the governance of major projects and cross council Initiatives, pre and post inception. Acting as Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) on material delivery projects for MRC; this will include multi-million-pound projects 
• Overall responsibility at a contractual and transactional level for MRC’s intellectual property 
• Provide strong, creative, and visible leadership of a high performing, efficient cross functional team of leaders   
• Embody the ethos, vision, and mission of MRC, taking individual and collective professional responsibility for championing the MRC agenda and proactively implementing initiatives which secure the organisation’s mission 
• Act as a pivot, ensuring appropriate MRC input is recognised in the relationships with MRC Units and Institutes and other legacy MRC impacts (HR policies, redundancy, pension etc).   

For the full role, responsibilities and requirements, please visit our Careers Portal. 

Person specification

Candidates will be assessed against the following essential criteria throughout the recruitment process: 

• A professional qualification in financial management and professional membership of a relevant business institution, with experience of managing budgets in excess of £250million per year 
• First class track record of leadership of a corporate services function at senior management level, in large, complex multi-stakeholder organisations in either the public or private sector 
• Experience of governance, risk management principles, intellectual property and management of legal advice 
• Proven strategic, financial planning and analytical skills with the ability to analyse complex and potentially conflicting information as well as a record of translating organisational vision and strategy into operational requirements, to deliver desired outcomes and set priorities 
• Experience of successfully motivating and developing high performing collaborative teams to deliver high-quality and resilient business-as-usual operations and to enhance service delivery 
• Understanding of the wider political environment in which MRC operates both within and outside UKRI including an ability to work effectively within the governance framework of the MRC 
• Considerable experience of stakeholder management including the ability to work with partners to build effective relationships for mutual benefit, reconcile potentially conflicting interests and influence others not in their management line to achieve desired outcomes with the ability to build consensus and trust 
• Broad understanding of the research funding system in the UK, to include knowledge of the activities and priorities of the other UK Research Councils and Innovate UK, relevant Government departments and organisations including the Office for Life Sciences, universities and the life-sciences industry. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £90,000, UK Research and Innovation contributes £24,300 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your relevant experience and suitability for the role against the full specification via our Careers Portal. The closing date for applications is 23:59 Sunday 16th June 2024. Interviews will be taking place in Caxton House, London on Monday 1st July 2024.  

UKRI is an inclusive employer that values diversity in its workforce. We encourage applications from all individuals without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.