Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect: Applications must be submitted by 28-02-2025 Vacancy for Portfolio Executive – Innovation Infrastructure The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Innovation Infrastructure team which is part of the Innovation Ecosystem directorate in Products and Services. The Innovation Infrastructure Team is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of Innovate UK’s £1.6bn core grant funding across a nationwide network of 9 Catapults and their centres, and newly merged UK Agri-tech Centre. Please note this advert will close on 23.59 on the Thursday 27th February 2025 Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Portfolio Executive – Innovation Infrastructure Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £45,272 gross per annum Reports to: Programme Manager, Innovation Infrastructure Location: Field based Contract: Permanent Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements. Job Purpose: The Portfolio Executive will form part of the PMO team and report to the Programme Manager for Innovation Infrastructure, with a focus on supporting the Portfolio Management of Catapults and the UK Agri-tech Centre. This role involves supporting the wider team with monitoring and reporting on performance, analyzing data, and providing insights to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and will require the job holder to have a good understanding of the strategic context in which Catapults and the UK Agri-tech Centre operates. Some of the broader activities that the role holder may undertake include, but are not limited to: Quarterly reporting of the Catapult Portfolio, tracking and programme management of the team activities, recording and demonstrating progress against the Catapult business case; developing the next Catapult Portfolio 5 year business case with DSIT/HMT; 5 year grant funding agreements for the Catapults; Catapult impact evaluation frameworks and methodologies; internal and external communications plans; Catapult strategic transformation and co-ordinating strategic meetings relevant to Impact, Governance and Assurance with Catapults and UK Agri-tech Centre and wider stakeholders. They will also be responsible for delivering effective PMO support for the governance of the portfolio and they will work closely with the team’s Impact & Performance Manager. The role may also involve providing support to other programmes in the Innovation Ecosystem directorate as required by the senior leadership team. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Day-to-day portfolio management of multiple projects and activities within the Innovation Infrastructure team to deliver agreed objectives and outputs Leading on delivery of activity to ensure continued progress towards team objectives Operate professionally and autonomously across busy, multi-organisational teams, proactively managing a variety of tasks through to completion, within time, budget and quality constraints Create plans and lead the portfolio governance of the projects and team activities, tracking and reporting against key milestones Identify and monitor portfolio risks and issues both at a strategic and operational level. Develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate Build and maintain effective relationships with both internal and external stakeholders and third-party suppliers, and address issues as necessary Maintain all portfolio documentation and provide secretariat support as required for Catapult Portfolio Board Ensure timely reporting and communications to support effective decision making Champion best practice and continuous improvement 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. Person Specification: (S) – Assessed at shortlisting (I) – Assessed at interview (S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview Experience & Qualifications: Essential – Educated to degree-level or equivalent relevant experience (S) Experience of working on a range of projects concurrently including business change and process change (S&I) Excellent written and oral communication skills, including presentation delivery and workshop facilitation (S&I) Well developed analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to quickly understand new and complex issues, the connections between them and to apply creative solutions (I) Ability to manage sometimes conflicting demands of multiple stakeholder groups (I) Experience of working in a complex multi-organisation and/or programme environment (S&I) Experience of building rapid and robust relationships with senior stakeholders and successfully managing multiple stakeholders with conflicting demands and priorities (I) Excellent planning and delivery skills, delivered consistently within the constraints of time, cost and quality (S&I) Ability to work both independently and collaboratively under pressure on high profile, business critical projects (S&I) Strategic Thinker (I) Good change management skills and able to work in an environment of uncertainty and ambiguity Desirable - Proven track-record of using PRINCE 2, APM PMQ, MSP or an equivalent methodology for project or programme management eg Agile (S) Familiar with the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem, including barriers, drivers and opportunities (S&I) Experience of adapting ways of working to suit non-standard programmes or funding vehicles (I) Full project lifecycle and programme management experience (S&I) Knowledge of Agile project delivery (S&I) 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 criteria’s listed in the person specification. Travel Requirements: Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon or London office once a month and may have two to four nights away from home per quarter on average to attend meetings, conferences and events. 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 http://www.ukri.org/. Employee 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; 28-02-2025