EDIS Programme Manager

Job Title: EDIS Programme Manager (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health)
Reporting to: Head of EDIS
Responsible for: Project staff, contractors, consultants and delivery partners as required.
Based: Our Head Office is based in London, but we have an agile working policy enabling people to work at another UK location up to 4 days/week. Requests for permanent remote working will be considered and we welcome applications from people based in other parts of the UK.
Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week). Requests for part-time or flexible working will be considered
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £40,517 to £44,423 FTE per annum

About Us

The British Science Association (BSA) was founded in 1831 and is a registered charity.

We are creating a future where science is more relevant, representative, and connected to society.

We have ambitious goals to put people at the heart of science.

About the role

The EDIS Programme Manager will provide the stewardship and coordination needed to translate EDIS's strategic ambitions into practical, high-quality delivery.

The role will lead programme planning, reporting, risk management and delivery oversight across the EDIS portfolio. It will ensure that activity is well sequenced, clearly governed and focused on practical progress against EDIS priorities.

A central focus will be the development and stewardship of the Embedding EDI workstream. The postholder will work closely with members, partners and stakeholders to shape priorities, agree shared approaches, co-create practical tools, guidance and resources, support implementation across member and partner settings, identify learning and improvement opportunities, and help embed inclusive practice across EDIS activity.

Working with EDIS members, delivery partners, the Francis Crick Institute, Wellcome and colleagues across the British Science Association, the postholder will help to ensure that programme activity is joined up, evidence-informed and focused on meaningful, sustainable change across the science and health research sector.

This role would suit someone who combines strong programme management with collaborative leadership, systems thinking, and a clear commitment to and knowledge of equity, diversity and inclusion. The successful candidate will be confident moving between strategy and delivery, helping to shape the future direction of EDIS while ensuring that programmes, partnerships and workstreams are delivered effectively.

Key responsibilities

• Lead programme delivery across the EDIS portfolio, ensuring activities are strategically aligned, effectively planned and delivered against agreed priorities, objectives, budgets and timelines.
• Provide programme leadership, governance and oversight, maintaining programme plans, risk and issue management processes, action tracking, performance monitoring, financial reporting to support informed decision-making.
• Lead the development and stewardship of the Embedding EDI workstream, working with members and partners to develop practical tools, guidance, resources and implementation approaches that support sustainable organisational change across the sector.
• Coordinate delivery across EDIS workstreams and partnerships, ensuring member engagement, commissioned activity, evidence generation, communications and reporting are joined up and contribute to shared outcomes.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with members, funders, delivery partners, suppliers and key stakeholders, acting as a trusted point of coordination and supporting collaborative delivery across the EDIS network.
• Manage the procurement, contracting and performance of consultants, commissioned partners and suppliers, ensuring high-quality delivery, effective resource management and value for money.
• Lead approaches to monitoring programme performance, impact, learning and continuous improvement, ensuring evidence and insight are used to strengthen delivery and demonstrate progress against EDIS objectives.
• Prepare and present high-quality reports, briefings and recommendations for the Head of EDIS, BSA leadership, governance groups, funders and other stakeholders, communicating progress, risks, opportunities and key decisions clearly and effectively.
• Support funder engagement, strategic partnership development and long-term sustainability planning, helping to identify opportunities for growth, influence and future investment in EDIS.
• Champion equity, diversity and inclusion throughout programme delivery, ensuring inclusive practice, accessibility and meaningful participation are embedded across planning, implementation, governance, learning and evaluation.

About you

The successful candidate will bring the following experience, skills and approach.

Essential criteria

• Significant experience managing complex programmes, projects or portfolios with multiple workstreams.
• Experience developing and maintaining programme plans, milestones and reporting systems. This will include maintaining programme plans, governance arrangements, risk and issue management processes, delivery reporting, budget monitoring and financial reporting, ensuring accurate oversight of programme performance, expenditure, value for money and organisational accountability.
• Substantial experience applying equity, diversity and inclusion in practice at a programme or organisational level, including using inclusive design principles, accessibility considerations and relevant legal duties to shape planning, delivery, governance and learning.
• Experience of facilitating collaboration between multiple stakeholders, members or partners with different insights and perspectives.
• Experience of maintaining programme governance, including identifying and managing risks, dependencies and delivery challenges across multiple workstreams.
• Experience working with multiple partners, stakeholders or suppliers to deliver shared outcomes.
• Ability to produce clear, well-structured written outputs, such as reports, briefings, decision papers or similar materials, that support understanding, discussion and decision-making for different audiences.
• Ability to take ownership of agreed areas of programme delivery, manage priorities across workstreams and make progress with appropriate support, while keeping managers and senior colleagues informed about key risks, decisions, dependencies and delivery progress.

Desirable criteria

We do not expect candidates to have all of the following, but one or more would be helpful in the role.

• Experience working in science, research, health, public engagement, charity or membership settings.
• Experience commissioning or managing consultants, suppliers or delivery partners.
• Experience developing practical toolkits, guidance or resources for organisational change.

The closing date for applications is Friday 2nd October 2026.
First interviews are due to take place online w/c 26th October 2026, with second interviews (in person in London) expected on Monday 2nd November 2026.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

As part of the British Science Association’s commitment to being a Disability Confident employer, all disabled applicants who meet the ‘essential criteria’ for this vacancy will be offered an interview under our guaranteed interview scheme.

No agencies please.