Operations Officer

Job summary

Salary: £30,895 per annum.
Grade: UKRI Band C.
Hours: Full time or Part time (Minimum 0.8 FTE).
Contract Type: Fixed Term until 30 June 2027.
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire.
Closing Date: Tuesday 6th October 2026.

Job description

About the Team

The ESRC Operations team is a small and central team within ESRC that brings together corporate operational activities for ESRC and supports the ESRC Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the leadership and delivery of ESRC operational matters. We work closely with key UKRI business partners and provide the critical operational interface with UKRI corporate services.

We have a wide remit of activity and work collaboratively with colleagues across all the teams in ESRC and, where appropriate, offer advice and guidance on a breadth of operational matters.

The team has a varied portfolio of operational activity and together we:

• Manage the ESRC interface with UKRI corporate services, including HR, Finance, Internal Comms, and Digital, Data and Technology.
• Provide coherent oversight and coordination of resourcing, recruitment and OpEx budgetary matters across ESRC.
• Oversee and manage ESRC internal comms and employee engagement activities.
• Oversee and manage ESRC local training framework and associated activities.
• Lead and/or support ESRC’s operational delivery of specific UKRI change projects which fall within the remit of the operations team.
• Support the delivery of consistent and high-quality line management across ESRC.

Job Purpose

The main purpose of this role is to support a range of activities in ESRC’s operations space. The Operations Officer will collaborate closely with team members to provide essential administrative support across the breadth of the team’s work, delivering against operational priorities within the COO’s remit of activities.

You will provide critical business continuity on key activities such as delivery of internal communications and employee engagement events; supporting recruitment, resourcing, and interviews; and maintaining ESRC’s training, learning and development provision.

The role will involve working flexibly across these activities and may also involve supporting strategic operational projects, responding to emerging and changing priorities with clarity of purpose and to tight deadlines.

Key responsibilities

• Support activities related to ESRC internal communication channels such as ESRC News (internal) publishing, keeping our intranet content up to date and relevant, and will include writing for internal audiences.
• Support internal campaigns and events that promote engagement with, but not limited to, training, line management, organisational change, and strategy.
• Support activities of the ESRC corporate training programme, including the scheduling of events, internal promotion, managing attendance, and evaluation.
• Provide interview support activities and manage unexpected on-the-day issues.
• Ownership and maintenance of key Operations Team documentation that ensures information is accurate and relevant for its audience.
• Shared mailbox and general query management that draws on operational knowledge of processes and policies and provides a professional service to assist
• ESRC colleagues.
• Provide secretariat support to groups under the COO’s remit, including preparing meeting arrangements, agendas, papers, and minutes.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying issues and trends, collaborating with colleagues across ESRC, UKRI and UK Shared Business Service to develop solutions and support the effective operation of ESRC.
• Provide cover and business continuity for other team members’ business-critical activities, when required.
• Undertake the role of Champion, expert guides from across the organisation in a range of functions, such as Purchase Order (PO) champion.
• You will be expected to deliver high-quality work, act diligently, and handle sensitive data and situations across all the activities above.

Person specification

Person Specification

The following criteria will be assessed at shortlisting (S), at interview (I) or both (S/I). We ask that applicants state how their skills and experiences meet these criteria in a covering letter (maximum 2 pages).

Essential:

• A degree in a relevant discipline, or demonstrable experience of working in a relevant environment or role. (S).
• Planning and organisational skills, including an ability to prioritise and manage multiple or complex activities. (S/I).
• Quality focused, with demonstrable attention to detail and pride in accuracy. (S/I).
• Ability to take a positive approach to solve problems and overcome challenges. (S/I).
• Effective personal communication and interpersonal skills, communicating using the appropriate methods and style for the intended audience. Confident speaking with internal audiences face-to-face and dealing with sensitive issues calmly and professionally. (S/I).
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative and good working relationships with team members, stakeholders, and others at all levels to deliver excellent service and outcomes. (S/I).
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and possesses flexibility to adapt, change and cope with ambiguity. (S/I).
• IT competency, including Microsoft Office suite. (S).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,895, UK Research and Innovation contributes £8,950 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

We are offering this position with a whole host of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Flexible working hours.
• An excellent defined salary pension scheme.
• Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.

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

Please apply online at UKRI careers.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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 : recruitment@ukri.org
• Email : recruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukri.org