Horizon Guarantee Manager

UKRI International 

Horizon Guarantee Manager

Salary: £34,905 per annum

Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)

Contract Type: Open Ended

Grade: D

Location: Polaris House, Swindon (UKRI supports hybrid working. For this role, there is an expectation that the successful candidate will work in this location on a flexible basis – Minimum of once a month in the office)

Closing Date: Tuesday 1st October 2024

UKRI International

The UKRI International team provides international expertise, advice and influence, overseas and in the UK, for the whole of UKRI – complimenting the disciplinary, business and institutional expertise of the international teams in the nine councils, and working together to embed a culture of coherent, effective and equitable international engagement across UKRI.

Team information

UKRI is delivering the Horizon Guarantee on behalf of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as a managed programme. The advertised roles are located within UKRI International, which is responsible for overall management of the Guarantee and delivery of Guarantee grants for European Research Council (ERC) or Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) schemes. The roles will be expected to work closely with other teams delivering the Guarantee within UKRI, including in Innovate UK and the Funding Service.

Purpose of the role

Horizon Guarantee Manger x 2

Reporting to a Senior Manager, the post-holders will support delivery of the Horizon Europe Guarantee. This will include identifying process improvements, policy gaps and areas for policy improvement, undertaking options appraisal and making the case for change; providing timely advice and information to colleagues, across UKRI, and key stakeholders; engaging with the UK research community; leading/supporting project sprints; and supporting the wider team to ensure overall effective delivery of the Horizon Europe Guarantee.

These roles will work across the breadth of the Horizon Europe Guarantee. For example, MSCA and ERC policy development, grant processing, community building, or operational assurance. The post-holders will collaborate within the Guarantee Team and across UKRI to deliver flexibly and at pace. The role requires a proactive approach as well as excellent planning, engagement, and communication skills. The role holders will need to build positive relationships and work effectively across UKRI and with external stakeholders, including internationally.

As one of 7 Managers in the Horizon Europe Guarantee team, the job holder will lead a portfolio of work and provide support to the 4 Senior Managers and the Team Head. Each Horizon Guarantee Manager will have responsibility for contributing to the team’s objectives.

Key Responsibilities include:

• To work collaboratively with teams across UKRI to understand emerging policy issues, identify standard Horizon Europe and UKRI policies and processes, conduct an options appraisal, and present recommendations for the Horizon Europe Guarantee across the team remit
• Supporting the implementation of new policies across UKRI, drafting briefing documents and guidance as required that 1) help enable the UK research community to understand the Horizon Europe Guarantee fund, and 2) support UKRI colleagues in their role delivering the guarantee
• Working with the Horizon Europe Guarantee team to triage and escalate any complex queries and issues as required via the team mailbox, and in-person and virtual meetings
• Supporting activities to ensure awareness of the Horizon Europe Guarantee, internally and externally
• Leading/supporting on project sprints as team workload and priorities dictate 
• Contribute to committees and working parties across UKRI, including preparing for and participating in meetings, and proactively identifying opportunities for communicating with colleagues across UKRI
• Supporting the wider activities of UKRI International, taking on ad hoc activities as need to deliver the objectives of the wider team
• Exemplify and promote the values of UKRI International
• Deputising for Senior Managers as required

This is an outline description of the key responsibilities and accountabilities involved in the job. This is not an exhaustive list and the post-holder might be expected to undertake any other duties, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the necessary experience and/or training.

Person Specification:

(S) – Assessed at Shortlisting

(S&I) – Assessed at Shortlisting & Interview

(I)- Assessed at Interview

Qualifications

• Educated to degree-level or demonstrable equivalent experience. (S)

Essential Criteria

• Sound project management and organisational skills, with experience in delivering accurate, high-quality pieces of work at pace and to short deadlines. (S&I)
• Ability to investigate and analyse problems systematically and develop reasoned proposals for action. (S&I)
• The ability to multi-task, work flexibly and to plan, prioritise and manage delivery of a diverse portfolio of projects and activities with different timescales priorities and delivery mechanisms, working individually and as part of a team. (S&I)
• Effective written and oral communication skills, including the ability to tailor information to a wide range of audiences, including senior decision-makers. (I)
• Ability to influence and persuade others and negotiate diplomatically, with experience of establishing effective working relationships and networks with internal and external stakeholders. (I)
• Ability to work collaboratively and build effective working relationships and networks with people at all levels, both internally with colleagues across an organisation and externally with key stakeholders. (S&I)
• Ability to develop specialised knowledge quickly and become a reliable and trusted point of contact across the organisation and with the community. (S&I)
• Ability to take accountability and proactively deliver objectives and outcomes of own work (supporting the wider team) with minimum supervision. (I)
• Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and SharePoint. (S)

Desirable

• Post-graduate qualification e.g., Master’s degree, PhD.
• Knowledge of international research policy and the Horizon Europe Guarantee.
• Knowledge of UKRI funding policy.
• Experience of working in a research and / or innovation environment

Application guidance 

How to evidence the criteria:

Please submit a copy of your CV and cover letter as attachments to the application. You are encouraged to us the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in your cover letter, to evidence your ability to meet the Essential criteria in the job description. Cover letters should be no more than two sides of A4 (minimum font size 11). 

About UKRI International 

UKRI International enables and delivers cross-cutting international activity on behalf of all of UKRI, working in partnership with all 9 councils and corporate areas of UKRI, UK Government, and partners in the UK and across the world. 

We lead UKRI’s long-standing relationships with North America, India, China, and the European Commission through our offices in Washington DC, Ottawa, New Delhi, Beijing, Brussels. We design & deliver centrally managed international funds, develop strong international partnerships where we do not have offices, provide a robust evidence base for UKRI’s international work through analysis and evaluation, create and implement a strategic approach to UKRI’s international policy and stakeholders, and ensure our international operations are carried out to high standards of governance and effectiveness. 

UKRI’s approach to internal collaboration is set out in the UKRI International Strategic Framework (UKRI international strategic framework – UKRI) which describes how our international work directly contributes to each of UKRI’s 6 strategic objectives.

UKRI International is comprised of 10 teams: 

Analysis & Evaluation

Horizon Europe Guarantee and TCP

International Funds

International Governance & Operations

International Partnerships

International Policy & Stakeholder Engagement 

UKRI China – Beijing

UKRI India – New Delhi

UKRI North America – Washington & Ottawa

UKRO – Brussels

How we support EDI in the workforce 

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

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.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the experience section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

Find out more about our benefits – Benefits of working for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

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