Wellcome Sanger Institute
Director of Operations and Strategy (HDR) - Part Time
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Director of Operations and Strategy (HDR) - Part Time
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
We are seeking a Director of Operations and Strategy to lead the operational and strategic development of the HDR UK Cambridge partnership, working closely with the Director and senior scientific leadership team to shape and deliver its scientific agenda.
What you'll be doing
Central to the role is the development and stewardship of complex, multi-institutional partnerships to advance the organisation's strategic goals, spanning the HDR UK central team, universities across the UK and internationally, major funders, and industry partners.
About Us
Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is the UK's national institute for health data science, comprising over 30 partner organisations across all four nations, including the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, and EMBL-EBI. Together with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, these organisations form HDR UK Cambridge, directed by Professor John Danesh.
About You
You will have a proven track record of senior leadership and extensive experience of operations management within a complex, multi-stakeholder organisation, ideally within higher education, a research institute, or a comparable setting. We welcome applications from candidates seeking part-time working arrangements. The role is ideally suited to approximately 0.5 FTE (18.5 hours per week), though we are open to discussing the precise working pattern with you.
Essential Skills
Qualifications
Science degree in a relevant discipline and/or business qualification (e.g. MBA), or equivalent experience.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
- Extensive experience in a business and operations manager (or similar) role
- Demonstrated experience of successful coordination of complex scientific collaborations involving multiple research organisations in national and/or international initiatives
- Extensive experience of developing, handling and reporting complex budgets
- Working experience at a senior level in a complex organisational structure, preferably in a Higher Education Institute, or similar
- Ability to work independently
- Substantial experience of operations management in a complex environment
- Demonstrable experience of developing and implementing strategy, including scientific strategy
- Proven ability to lead delivery of complex multi-institutional scientific projects with multiple stakeholders
- Demonstrable experience developing project management documentation to a high standard
- Demonstrable experience of networking and relationship building and the ability to effectively handling both internal and external partners
- Demonstrates senior leadership, including management of budgets, people, and projects
- Demonstrate an ability to provide, receive and record both routine and highly complex communications, electronically, orally and written
- Ability to work in a constantly changing environment with the capability to interpret management information to amend plans
- High level of influencing and negotiating skills
- Strategic thinking, ability to see the ‘bigger picture’, ability to provide concise analyses of complex issues and options
- Ability to focus and accurately complete tasks within given timeframes while dealing with unscheduled interruptions e.g. changing priorities
- Highly developed communication skills with experience of dealing with people at all levels successfully.
- The ability to quickly assimilate relevant scientific and technical details
- Familiarity with regulatory requirements for human data
- Demonstrates initiative, creativity, flexibility and a personal ethos of continuous improvement
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to plan and schedule effectively
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Other Information
For further details, please see the role profile.
Salary: Competitive salary, pro rata depending on agreed working hours, plus an excellent benefits package.
Application Process: Please apply with your CV and a cover letter outlining how you meet the criteria set out above. Interviews will be held during the week of 20th July 2026.
Closing Date: 16th July 2026
Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger: We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks: LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability, Gender Equity and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others. We believe people do their best work when they can be their authentic selves. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.
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Our Benefits: We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute. Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018. The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines. Life at the Sanger Institute is unique. We are tackling some of the most difficult challenges in genomic research. Our people are shaping the future by delivering life-changing science with the reach, scale, and creativity to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We offer an attractive benefits package at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. We appreciate the importance of achieving work-life balance and support this with a number of family and carer-friendly policies. Plus a flexible working policy for those who may wish to amend their working pattern or arrangement. Each year, the Wellcome Sanger Institute welcomes researchers from around the world to the Genome Campus to collaborate and drive cutting-edge science. Whether you're joining as faculty, a postdoc, or a visitor, our dedicated International Team offers expert guidance and support throughout your journey, promoting the Institute’s global and collaborative ethos.
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