Project Manager / Benefits Manager – IS8 Life Science Programme

Job summary

Project Manager / Benefits Manager – IS8 Life Science Programme
Medical Research Council
Salary: £37,841 per annum
Band: UKRI Band D
Contract Type: Open ended
Hours: Full-time (flexible working available)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available
Closing Date: Wednesday 1st July 2026

Job description

Purpose

To support the effective management, delivery, and coordination of the UKRI Life Sciences Industrial Strategy programme.

As the Life Sciences Project Manager / Benefits Manager, you will work with colleagues across UKRI to help deliver strategic government and societal priorities through the UKRI Life Sciences programme. You will play a key role in programme and project governance, ensuring that intended benefits and outcomes are successfully achieved.

You will be responsible for driving and overseeing the delivery of a set of projects, ensuring that objectives are clearly defined and delivered within agreed time, cost, and quality parameters. You will facilitate collaboration across teams and lead effective communication with stakeholders to support the design, development, and delivery of programme activities.

You will provide matrix management oversight of relevant UKRI teams and work closely with teams supporting other Industrial Strategy programmes.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Responsibilities

• Coordinating and delivering the relevant programme’s various projects, dependencies (internal and external), key milestones, risks, governance, financial management, and benefits planning
• Matrix working with teams across the councils for the delivery of activities
• Coordinating and contributing to the development of Business Cases
• Identifying and managing internal and external stakeholder relationships.
• Managing resources and direct planning scheduling, resourcing and estimating for complex and large-scale programmes.
• Overseeing risk and issue management and ensuring mitigations are in place and resolved.
• Developing project specific benefits realisation plans to ensure realisation of benefits for programmes through planning and designing and ensuring that project outputs meet programme requirements.
• Managing programme performance & controls including maintaining overall integrity and coherence of programme and governance framework to support the project. Plan and coordinate the delivery of programme assurance activities.
• Working with project leads to ensure dependencies are actively managed, and act as an arbiter and enforcer to resolve issues between the various elements of the programme.
• Seeking and managing approval of project budgets through appropriate governance, and tracking delivery within budget.

Wider Responsibilities

• Guidance & Support – Seek appropriate support, guidance and coaching from the project community. Show commitment to personal development. Promote effective individual and team performance.
• Budget and Resourcing – working with colleagues across UKRI to ensure needs fit within the organisation.
• Support the delivery of continuous improvement interventions as required.

Person specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

• Experience of project management of complex R&D programmes.(S&I)
• Experience of successfully engaging with a range of internal and external stakeholders.(S&I)
• Project management qualification such as APM project management qualification / PRINCE2 or transferrable skill set.(S)
• The ability to identify, analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative evidence and data to enable decision making, strategy development and implementation.(S/I)
• Management experience, coupled with the ability to mentor, motivate, support and inspire others to work effectively to deliver their own personal objectives and team goals.(I)
• The ability to review ways of working and suggest improvements, contributing to the development and implementation of new ideas and approaches.(I)
• An understanding of the wider strategic environment UKRI operates in and an interest or understanding of the research environment and related Government departments. (I)
• Excellent written communication skills, including a good working knowledge of MS Office packages. (S&I)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,841, UK Research and Innovation contributes £10,962 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined salary 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!

For further information on our benefits please see:

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

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org.

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

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : UKRI Recruitment Team
• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org