Director of National Partnerships

Director of National Partnerships

£84,001 per annum

Permanent

Full-time/ Part-time (minimum 0.8 FTE)

Based at Polaris House, Swindon – Hybrid working available.

Are you interested in driving meaningful change in how we engage with our stakeholders—and in helping us choose partnerships that ensure we deliver measurable impact?

About the Role

You will be working in partnership to fund and support biomedical research across the UK is essential to deliver impact for the UK population. Working with the Deputy Executive Chair of MRC, you will ensure that MRC has an effective approach to collaboration across academia, the charity sector, industry, commercial and public sector (including government departments and UK wide NHS and wider care setting). 

Alongside developing external partnerships, the role requires working in partnership across UKRI as appropriate and extensive collaboration with other members of the MRC’s Senior Executive Team, supporting their portfolios through partnership. 

In this role you will draw together strategy from across MRC and URKI and operations to ensure MRC is an active partner across the UK delivering against research and innovation priorities to improve human health.

What we offer

·        An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme

·        30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent)

·        Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities

·        Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice

·        Flexible working options

Plus, many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

You will demonstrate:

·        Extensive experience of leading teams and delivering a portfolio of work at national levels.

·        Significant experience of building partnerships and collaboration in the medical and healthcare sector, with government, academia, charities and industry at a very senior level.

·        A developed understanding of the role of research and innovation in delivering UK strategic research and innovation objectives, with experience of developing strategy in the medical research and healthcare sector.

·        Management of diverse and complex stakeholders and with the ability to negotiate successfully to meet the needs of individual parties within the experience of agreeing deals in the medical and healthcare sector, with government, academia, charities and industry. (S/I)

·        A developed understanding of the international research funding landscape. 

About the Medical Research Council (MRC)

Within UKRI, the MRC seeks to improve human health through world-class research. With an annual budget of over £800 m, 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.

How to apply

Applicants are required to provide a CV and include a cover letter providing evidence of how they meet the criteria described.

To apply, and for further details on the role, please click apply.

The closing date for applications is 4th August 2025.