Managing Director - Innovate UK

Job summary

As the most senior executive role under the Innovate UK Executive Chair, the Managing Director plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the UK’s national innovation agenda.

This role partners with the Executive Chair to lead Innovate UK’s strategic direction and funding portfolio, with full accountability for execution and performance across innovation programmes, strategic investments, and organisational leadership.

The Managing Director is a high-profile representative of Innovate UK, engaging directly with government ministers, business leaders, and national stakeholders to drive UKRI’s innovation mission and the UK’s global competitiveness.

Job description

Strategic Leadership and Accountability

• Lead business and organisation performance, embedding a cross-team matrix structure that will deliver the new Innovate UK strategy, effective programme primacy and business-first prioritisation.
• Partner with the Executive Chair to co-lead the development and execution of Innovate UK’s strategic vision in alignment with UKRI and national industrial strategy.
• Take direct accountability for the successful delivery of Innovate UK’s multi-billion pound innovation portfolio across sectors including AI, clean energy, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, creative industries and defence.
• Lead Innovate UK’s operational and programme performance frameworks, ensuring targets are met across investment outcomes, economic impact, and policy objectives.
• Collaborate with senior UKRI leaders, providing leadership on business innovation across UKRI strategic priorities.

People and Organisational Leadership

• Provide executive leadership to the entire Innovate UK organisation, with overarching responsibility for organisational effectiveness. This includes accountability for an organisational wide core budget of £1bn and oversight of an additional £800m in externally managed programmes, ensuring alignment of resources, people, and operations to strategic priorities.
• Directly manage a senior executive team, including Directors and programme leads, overseeing a talented and multidisciplinary workforce and a wider community of experts totalling more than 1,000 people across the Innovate UK group of companies.
• Champion a high-performance culture, inclusive leadership practices, and cross functional collaboration.
• Drive organisation-wide capability development, succession planning, and talent strategy in coordination with UKRI corporate services.

Influence

• External Influence at ‘C’ level and Policy Engagement across multidisciplinary stakeholders
• Serve as Innovate UK’s lead representative to ministers, special advisers, select committees, and cross-departmental groups - shaping the innovation policy landscape.
• Act as a public ambassador for UKRI’s innovation mission, leading strategic engagement with FTSE CEOs, investors, academia, and mission-driven partners.
• Influence the positioning of Innovate UK in UK-wide and global innovation ecosystems.
• Advocate for UK national policy and regulatory changes as a consequence of programme results and findings to accelerate UK high potential businesses.

Decision-Making and Governance

• Lead strategic decision-making in politically complex environments, balancing economic, social, and scientific priorities.
• Oversee governance, risk management, and assurance processes for innovation programmes and investment decisions.
• Maintain full accountability for regulatory compliance, financial stewardship, and public value delivery.

Person specification

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting, (I) – Assessed at interview, (S&I) – Assessed at shortlisting and interview

Essential Criteria:

• Proven track record of senior executive leadership within government innovation agencies, major research funders, or within high-profile industrial, corporate R&D, or innovation-led organisations. (S&I)
• Demonstrable authority and credibility in influencing senior stakeholders, including briefing ministers, boards, investors, and regulators, and contributing to innovation strategy and policy development at a national or international level. (S&I)
• Deep experience leading complex, cross-sector innovation initiatives with national or global impact, involving significant public and/or private investment. (S&I)
• Strategic leadership of multi-disciplinary senior teams, with a strong track record of embedding a culture of delivery, performance, and excellence within complex organisations. (S&I)
• Recognised as a leader in innovation ecosystems, including innovation funding, public-private partnerships, corporate venture or R&D investment, and the delivery of industrial or commercial strategy. (S&I)

Desirable Experience:

• Sector expertise in one or more frontier technologies: AI, engineering biology, quantum, advanced connectivity, cybersecurity, or semiconductors.
• Experience navigating UKRI or similar governance frameworks and participating in cross-organisational initiatives.
• Postgraduate qualifications or equivalent senior executive leadership training desirable.

Behaviours and Capabilities

Aligned with the UK Civil Service Success Profiles for Senior Civil Service (SCS) Directors, with emphasis on:

• Strategic Leadership: Driving strategic vision and execution with national economic impact.
• Communicating and Influencing: Representing Innovate UK at the highest levels of government and industry.
• Seeing the Big Picture: Connecting macroeconomic, scientific, and sectoral dynamics to long-term innovation outcomes.
• Decision-Making: Making bold, accountable decisions in complex policy, funding, and economic landscapes.
• Working Together: Driving alignment across central government, devolved administrations, business, and academia.
• Delivering at Pace: Ensuring exceptional delivery of funding, innovation programmes, and operational excellence.

Why this role matters

As Managing Director, you will be at the forefront of delivering the UK’s innovation strategy - translating policy into impact, aligning investment with national goals, and building an agile and high-performing Innovate UK.

This role is instrumental in driving economic growth, positioning the UK as a global innovation leader, and enabling UKRI’s mission to deliver social, technological, and industrial impact.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £145,000, Innovate UK contributes £42,006 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

UKRI can offer the successful candidate:

• Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme
• Flexible Working
• 30 days annual leave + Public Holidays
• Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider

Visit our dedicated benefits webpage for more info: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

To find out more about the role and submit an application please click 'apply' to visit our careers page.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Senior Recruitment Team
• Email : seniorrecruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : seniorrecruitment@ukri.org