Executive Director of Science

Salary: £94,931 to £117,800 per annum (dependent on skills and experience) 

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

Contract Type: Open Ended, secondees and transfers welcome from universities and institutes where relevant, minimum duration 3 years.

Location: Primarily based at Polaris House, Swindon, with hybrid working as well as frequent travel for key meetings. 

Closing Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026 at 23:55

Interviews are expected to be held in in person on w/c 03 August 2026 in London

About NERC

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funds environmental science that is ambitious, creative, and transformative. We have nurtured and curated the environmental science base in the UK for over 60 years since our foundation in 1965. We invest in the research, people, skills, infrastructure and data needed to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of environmental science and innovation on the global stage.

NERC’s science spans the entire earth system from the atmosphere to the biosphere, hydrosphere, sub-surface, oceanic and the polar regions. We provide essential national capability through our research centres: the large research infrastructure, services, facilities, and data centres that enable cutting-edge research and make its outputs widely accessible. This includes research stations around the globe, a fleet of ships and aircraft, and satellite technology to monitor environmental change on a global scale. The long-term data which these NERC investments deliver is a critical national resource underpinning evidence-based policy decisions, enabling economic growth and securing the UK’s global leadership on environmental issues. 

NERC maintains a unique portfolio of national science infrastructure, including polar research stations, Royal Research Ships, satellite technologies, data centres and monitoring stations around the world. As part of UKRI, NERC is responsible for the British Geological Survey, the UK’s premier, impartial provider of geoscientific data, mapping and research, and the British Antarctic Survey – the UK’s national polar research institute, delivering world-leading interdisciplinary science in Antarctica and the Arctic to understand Earth’s climate, ecosystems and ocean circulation. 

The Role

We are seeking a dynamic, creative, and respected science leader– someone motivated by delivering impact and inspired by the opportunity to shape the future of UK environmental research.

This is a pivotal leadership role at the heart of NERC and UKRI. With responsibility for a substantial research and innovation portfolio, you will manage a large team and are expected to set the project management and governance structures in place to ensure you invest purposefully to deliver world-leading environmental science that supports growth, informs government priorities and delivers tangible benefits for society. You will shape research programmes, influence system-wide priorities, translate scientific ambition into meaningful outcomes, and most importantly work collaboratively across UKRI to make an impact.

As Executive Director of Science, you will combine intellectual leadership with strong strategic and delivery capability, working across disciplines, organisations, and national boundaries to turn complex challenges into opportunity. 

You will have responsibility for developing and delivering NERC’s curiosity-driven science portfolio, securing our talent and skills pipeline, reimagining our approach to knowledge exchange and commercialisation, and curating the digital and data outcomes from all these investments including our research centres. You will be expected to align your portfolio with the government’s industrial strategy and wider priorities. 

You will bring: 

• Science leadership and authority across environmental science, with a strong track record of bridging disciplinary boundaries to unlock transformative research outcomes, underpinned by senior-level governance, programmatic leadership and decision making at an executive level.
• Proven senior research innovation and delivery experience gained in universities, national research organisations, or government science departments, with clear evidence of impact, credibility, and successful stewardship of significant portfolios. 
• Strategic and tactical vision seeing challenge as a catalyst for research innovation – identifying new ways of working across NERC and within UKRI so our research investments are empowered through collaborating effectively with partners nationally and internationally.
• Inclusive, collaborative leadership, demonstrating credibility, empathy and effectiveness in working with diverse communities, stakeholders and delivery partners. 

As a newly created role, the Executive Director of Science offers a rare opportunity to shape a bold, future-focussed agenda for environmental science – advancing knowledge while accelerating the application of research and innovation to deliver economic and societal benefit. 

The role has direct responsibility for approximately £300m of NERC investment, spanning curiosity-driven research, talent and skills funding, and strategically prioritised research programmes. You will ensure that these investments deliver impact and align with the new UKRI allocations model which underpins UKRI’s evolving transformation agenda. 

Responsibility for a further £150m of investment is shared with our NERC Chief Operations Officer (COO), reflecting the symbiotic relationships between NERC research programmes and NERC’s operational architecture. You will lead the science requirements development for future NERC research infrastructure, setting the science demand signal for investment in large capital programmes, delivered by the NERC COO. 

Success will require both strategic oversight and the ability to adapt at pace, keeping ahead of emerging scientific priorities and rapidly advancing technological and computational capabilities, while supporting teams to deliver at scale. 

A core element of the role will be building and leveraging partnerships – across UKRI, with other research councils, government departments and international funding agencies – to maximise the impact of NERC’s investments. This will be particularly important in areas where environmental science intersects with broader national priorities, such as health, energy systems, and resilience in urban and engineered environments. Forging collaborations across UKRI’s new Industrial Strategy programmes will be particularly important. 

You will command professional esteem and engage pro-actively with NERC’s diverse science community, drawing on their insights to shape future priorities, while clearly articulating NERC’s strategic direction, particularly with senior academic, public sector and international leaders. 

As a member of the NERC executive team, you will work closely with NERC’s Directors to ensure coherence and optimisation across the full research portfolio. This includes NERC Research Centres that receive funding to deliver long-term, large-scale research programmes and critical infrastructure platforms for the environmental science community

Key Responsibilities

• Reporting directly to the NERC Executive Chair you will have responsibility for: 
• Budget delivery of over £300m per year of UKRI’s advancing knowledge, talent and NERC-led areas of UKRI’s wider priorities budget supporting research institute outcomes. You have shared responsibility for a further £150m with the NERC Chief Operating Officer. 
• Staff the leadership management and development of c.80 staff, and an opportunity to shape your team to best deliver against your responsibilities. 
• Advancing knowledge through a well-designed programme of curiosity-driven research, talent and skills funding with a view to increasing the rate of conversion of curiosity-driven research (UKRI priority bucket 1) into societal outcomes including innovation and growth (UKRI priority buckets 2 and 3). 
• Data-driven investments in scientific infrastructure to deliver NERC’s current and future science needs, in order that NERC can effectively task its research centres to deliver the long-term data to support the evolving needs of the environmental science community, as well as working with the Chief Operating Officer and the centres to prioritise NERC’s investment in research equipment, facilities and infrastructure. 
• Shaping collaboration across new UKRI programmes and aligning with UKRI policies and to inform the latest thinking to continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of NERC’s science funding.
• Driving leverage through strategic opportunities for collaborations that leverage partnerships including international collaboration.
• Supporting research community as our critical point of senior contact, winning trust, and confidence at senior level to pick up the latest intelligence on scientific developments and ensure strong stakeholder relationships with universities and research institutes.
• Liaison across UKRI teams to ensure that NERC delivers the best possible outcomes against our priorities.
• Team working across our executive team to lead and support change in NERC as part of UKRI’s transformation, including the evolution of executive team roles and responsibilities. 
• Championing equality, diversity and inclusion 

For more information about the role, please download the candidate pack

What we’re looking for: 

S – Assessed at shortlisting

I – Assessed at interview

S&I – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview 

• A strong track record of achievement and established credibility in a senior role relevant to the Environmental Sciences. This can include, but is not limited to, roles from across academia, research institutes, or policy. (S)
• Substantial and diverse experience of working across the UK science funding landscape and a deep understanding of environmental science and its applications relevant to the NERC and UKRI’s mission (S)
• A consistent track record of research delivery and governance with an ability to take a broad view across the NERC in formulating strategy and priority areas for future investments. (I)
• An ability to work within a fast-moving environment, troubleshoot problems and resolve issues as they emerge, anticipating obstacles and staying ahead of emerging risks. (S&I)
• Financial aptitude and analytical skills with experience managing comparable budgets – including working with finance professionals to appropriately forecast and plan expenditure, working within delegated budgetary responsibilities. (S)
• Demonstrable programme delivery skills in a research funding or related environment, delivering large research programmes across complex teams. (I)
• Strong leadership skills, demonstrating an ability to work across functional and organisational boundaries to deliver shared goals and outcomes. (S&I)

Desirable Criteria

• A PhD in a STEM subject, or related experience
• Your team is primarily located in the Swindon area. Whilst an ability to lead and build relationships at a distance is beneficial, this is also a role where visibility will be important, so travel to our offices and sites on a regular basis is expected.

Benefits

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 excellent 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

Please click here for more details on the Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

How to Apply

Please submit your application via the UKRI Careers Portal by 23:55 on Wednesday 8th July 2026.

 You will need to supply: 

• a curriculum vitae (CV) 
• a supporting statement/covering letter demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria 

We reserve the right to close the advert early if required. 

Your CV and supporting statement must each be no longer than two A4 pages in length. 

• Your statement of suitability should provide specific information about why you believe you would be suitable for appointment into this role. 
• Think about your knowledge, skills, experience, personal attributes and vision for the organisation, and take full advantage of the space available. 
• Use practical examples where possible and ensure you refer to which of the essential criteria your application is aligned to. Again, please aim for no more than 2 A4 pages. 

Should you have any problems with submitting your application via the Careers Portal, please do send an email to [email protected] and a member of our team will be in touch.

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.

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’.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. 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.

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 rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

As part of the pre-employment checks there is a requirement to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Screening. BPSS is a pre-condition of employment and failure to achieve it may mean that the employment offer is rescinded. UKRI reserves the right to run, or re-run, security clearance as required during the course of employment.