Horizon Post Award Lead
Horizon Post Award Lead
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Job Description
Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect:
Applications must be submitted by
Horizon Post Award Lead
The Horizon Post Award Lead is a highly visible and important part of the Horizon Operations Team.
*Please note this advert will close on the 25th July 2025 at 23.59pm.
Watch our video Why Join Innovate UK here.
Title: Horizon Post Award Lead
Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs)
Salary: 45272 gross per annum
Reports to: Line Manager Job Title
Location: Swindon (Hybrid Working)
Contract: Fixed Term Until (30/09/2026)
Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood prior to a move taking place.
Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.
Context:
The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Operations Team. The role holder is responsible for managing 3 direct reports with a total team size of up to 20 FTE.
We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.
Job Purpose:
The Horizon Post Award Lead is a highly visible and important part of the Horizon Operations Team. The position assumes responsibility of all post-award activity ensuring that the claims for all live projects are paid within the required timescales and are subjected to the appropriate level of monitoring and assurance. The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues throughout Operations and take personal accountability for relationship management actions and decisions made for the team together with the efficient delivery of the relevant systems data processes mechanisms and policies. Some additional leadership and line management responsibilities are anticipated to be added to the role as monitoring impact across UKRI develops.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Lead motivate and support your direct reports and their teams
- Lead transformational change within your teams and promote a culture of continuous improvement
- Use the data available to monitor performance and processes identify gaps in processes or issues and work with your teams to improve them and resolve them
- Use the data available to create a proactive business process leveraging technology to improve the speed and reliability of processes
- Work with your teams to create a customer account management culture throughout your teams
- Promote Excellence in delivery throughout your teams look at current processes and improve them for example how can we use technology to ensure people can find information online without having to call or email.
- Overall responsibility of the monitoring and payment of claims for all live grants is delivered on time and at the appropriate quality.
- Influence the development of IFS PA to ensure that it meets Operational requirements for internal and external users
- Create effective relationships with wider Horizon Program
- Create effective dashboards to report on the position of all projects within the live project process so that we understand where each project is in its life cycle
- Provide leadership on improvement and pilot projects within monitoring and claims to improve the quality of the process reduce the time to react and reduce the cost
- Lead your team in building strong relationships with others across Innovate UK and collaborate in cross council working groups
- Overall accountability for the teams delivery of service level agreements (time cost and quality) and
- build the capacity to flex with changes in volume
- Initiate a neuro-diverse approach to communication with Innovate UK customers
- Work with your teams to implement an Accessibility process to ensure that there are no technology barriers to entering an Innovate UK competition
- Act as a senior escalation point for each of your Direct reports and their teams with authority for making difficult and complex decisions
- Manage and mentor all your direct reports including conducting regular 1-2-1s and ensuring that PDRs are conducted with associated objectives set
- Ensure high quality internal and external customer service is maintained by all teams
- Overall accountability for good relationships of all stakeholders in the process and effective communications with stakeholders
- Responsible for process improvement and implementation of change as required in line with continuous improvement developing and implementing of new policies and processes where required.
- Deputising for the Head of Horizon Europe Operational Delivery as and when required
- Be a strong advocate of the core values of UKRI and Innovate UK contribute to UKRIs overall strategy for monitoring and impact and represent UKRI / Innovate UK externally as a senior leader as required at conferences meetings and with the media
This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.
Shortlisting criteria
(S) Assessed at shortlisting
(I) Assessed at interview
(S&I) Assessed at both shortlisting and interview
Person Specification:
The post-holder should have operational/project management and leadership experience in a fast paced and customer service oriented environment. They must be passionate about customer service and have an engaging and encouraging manner for mentoring their teams.
Experience & Qualifications:
Essential
- Degree level qualification or equivalent experience
- Experience of managing a large changing fast paced administrative team in a customer facing environment
- Proven ability to build effective working relationships with administrative teams and stakeholders at all levels of the organisation
- Stakeholder identification and management including regular appropriate and timely communications
- Proven team leadership in particular developing and leading teams to achieve their full potential recognising the changing needs of the business
- Experience of managing budgets and having responsibility for sign off
- Experience leading to an understanding and commitment to the values of accountability probity openness and diversity and a significant grasp of public accountability and the associated obligations
- Experience of working with procurement regulations
- Experience of working to strategic goals
- Experience of setting smart objectives for your direct reports
- Strong communication skills
- Strong knowledge and understanding of Innovate UK Post Award Systems and Processes
Desirable
- Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner
- PRINCE2 Practitioner
- Commercial acumen developed in the private-sector or at the public/private-sector interface
- Leadership of multi-disciplined teams both internal and third party to achieve SLAs to schedule to budget and to the required quality
- Strong knowledge and understanding of Innovate UK Post Award Systems and Processes specifically relating to the Horizon Europe Guarante
Competencies:
All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:
Thinking and Problem Solving Stakeholder management Communication skills Influencing Self-awareness/self-management Strategic awareness Working with others Project management
Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage in addition to the criterias listed in the person specification.
Travel Requirements:
Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion:
Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally with fairness respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.
Equal Opportunities:
We are an equal opportunities employer committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion providing further information. In confidence Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.
UK Research and Innovation:
Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online Benefits:
We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days annual leave 10.5 public and privilege days flexible working hours an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.
Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Flexible Working:
We understand the importance of work-life balance and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.
Pre-employment Screening:
To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.
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.
UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health agriculture and food security and bioscience for health which includes research on animals genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.
Applications must be submitted by;
Employment Type
Full-Time
