Competition Lead
Salary: £46,743 gross per annum. Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs). Contract: Fixed Term until 31/03/2027. Reports to: Customer Relationship Lead. Location: Swindon (Hybrid Working). Advert closes 4th June 2026 at 23:59pm.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
- Manage the daily operations of the teams supporting the end-to-end process, allocating work to the individual team members, ensuring training across all activity is in place to maintain a fully functional team. (S&I)
- Deputise for the Customer Relationship Manager and help inform policy decisions and continuous process improvement. (I)
- Deputise for other Competitions Leads and help support the teams to ensure a consistent approach across the competition landscape. (I)
- Take ownership of your teams decisions and focus on delivering exceptional service through all pre-award activities (I)
- Support other areas of Operations i.e. Customer Support Services and the Post award teams in understanding the specifics of a competition to enable them to maintain high levels of support to applicants (I)
- Work with the Customer Relationship Manager to produce regular reports on all pre-award activities to track performance and service levels (I)
- Act as the escalation point for any queries which cannot be resolved by a team member, collaborating with other Operations management team members for assistance on resolution as necessary (I)
- Define and create realistic SLAs to measure team performance (I)
- Ensure that your team is successfully completing all activities within agreed SLA’s. (I)
- Ensure that all internal approval steps are completed and that your team issue the correct advice and guidance through the relevant channels (I)
- Perform regular quality assurance checks and reviews with team members to ensure high levels of customer service (S&I)
- Represent the team at Operations management meetings in absence of Customer Relationship Manager (I)
- Work in an agile manner to respond to demands for change as the business needs (S&I)
- Monitor the delivery of competitions to ensure they are delivered on time and at the appropriate quality. (I)
- Manage and mentor all your direct reports, including conducting regular 1-2-1’s and ensuring that PDRs are conducted with associated objectives set (S&I)
- Ensure high quality internal and external customer service is maintained by your team (I)
- QA competition guidance notes and briefs for external publication requiring a deep understanding of the competition process, with support from the Competitions Compliance Manager. (I)
- Oversee the competition process for all competitions, to ensure equity across all applicants from initial application through to final offer. Ensure that project setup runs smoothly for all successful projects. (I)
- Mentor team members to be able to deliver high quality presentations on the competition process at briefing events, leading by example as necessary. (I)
- Manage and provide a point of escalation for all complaints relating to the competition process (I)
- Ensure any applicant complaint, information request, Innovation Lead query or CSS query is dealt with in a timely manner (I)
- Be a strong advocate of the core values of UKRI and Innovate UK (I)
- Communication Work collaboratively with the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and Innovation Leads to deliver professional and high quality briefing events to applicants. Represent Innovate UK at meetings, conferences, workshops, regional events and similar activities to help develop and publicise the work of all Innovate UK’s pre-award activity. Develop networks through UK Research and Innovation to share best practise and foster understanding of Innovate UK’s purpose and processes. (I)
- Work with the other team leaders in Operations to identify topics for escalation to the Monthly Managers meeting (I)
- Manage the team to ensure continued improvement, responsiveness to requirements and individual personal growth (S&I)
- Sometimes support other elements of Innovate UK’s delivery. 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. (S&I)
Experience & Qualifications
- Essential – Degree level academic qualification or equivalent experience (S&I)
- Management experience within a changing, fast paced, administrative team in a customer facing environment (S&I)
- Proven ability to build effective working relationships with administrative teams and stakeholders at all levels of the organization (I)
- 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 (I)
- Experience of working in a managerial role in a funding assurance or related discipline (S&I)
- Experience of working with procurement regulations (I)
- Experience of working to strategic goals (I)
- Experience of setting smart objectives for your direct reports (I)
- Strong communication skills (S&I)
- Ability to make decisions and operate independently. (I)
- Excellent diplomacy and balanced judgement. (I)
- Exceptional influencing, negotiation, and relationship-building skills (I)
- Strong team working skills with the ability to network beyond the core team, throughout the organisation and UKRI. (I)
Competencies
- Thinking and Problem Solving
- Stakeholder management
- Communication skills
- Influencing
- Self-awareness/self-management
- Strategic awareness
- Working with others
- Project management
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, health 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.
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.
Employee Benefits
- 30 days annual leave
- 10.5 public and privilege days
- Flexible working hours
- An exceptional defined benefit pension scheme
- Access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes
Shortlisting Criteria
S – Assessed at shortlisting; I – Assessed at interview; S&I – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview.
#J-18808-Ljbffr…