Innovate UK
Innovation Lead - Life Sciences
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Innovate UK Secondment Opportunity
Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect:
Innovation Lead - Life Sciences
Applications must be submitted by 22-07-2026.
Job Title: Innovation Lead - Life Sciences
Band: UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs)
Salary: £58,589 gross per annum
Reports to: Head of Healthy Lives
Location: Field-based
Contract: Fixed Term Until 31/03/2030
Please note this advert will close on the 21st July 2026 at 23.59pm.
Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here.
Job Purpose
As an Innovation Lead, you will lead on Innovate UK activity in the Life Sciences Growth Sector Team and for ensuring leading innovations can be developed and maximised by UK business to generate growth and in response to industrial challenges and commercial opportunities. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
- Collaborate in the development and promotion of our strategy in Life Sciences based on a good understanding of relevant industries and technologies and wider innovation infrastructure.
- Lead on the implementation of the strategy to enable industry to develop and commercialise new products, processes, business models and services.
- Build positive relationships with relevant bodies and networks such as businesses, trade associations, Catapults, government departments and agencies, private investors, regulatory bodies and research organisations.
- Ensure that UK activity is set in an international context and recognises regional strengths across the UK.
- Work with Innovate UK and UKRI colleagues and networks on decisions made in your specialist area, to ensure they make sense in the context of the broader organisation, strategically and operationally.
- Represent Innovate UK and UKRI at events (such as conferences, meetings, workshops) and in the media as appropriate.
- Support impact analysis of Life Sciences programmes and projects.
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
- Assessed at shortlisting
- A broad and current understanding of the UK and global life sciences landscape, which could include key subsectors, emerging technologies (e.g. data-driven health, engineering biology, advanced therapies), and the innovation pipeline from discovery through to commercialisation and adoption.
- Assessed at both shortlisting and interview
- Experience of managing a portfolio of activities or investments and tracking related impacts.
- Strong experience in managing relationships with various internal and external stakeholders.
- Assessed at interview
- Decision making capacity, ability to think and act strategically.
- Communication skills.
- Insight into the challenges and opportunities facing life sciences businesses, including access to finance, regulation, scale-up, market access, and health system adoption, alongside a passion for strengthening the UK’s global competitiveness in this sector.
- The ability to operate with technical credibility across multiple areas of life sciences, combined with strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how businesses grow and scale.
- Strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across industry, academia, investors, government, and the wider innovation ecosystem.
- The capability to provide thought leadership within their area of expertise, contributing to the development and delivery of Innovate UK and UKRI strategies, and shaping priorities for investment and intervention.
- The ability to work collaboratively within a team environment, while also demonstrating initiative and autonomy in driving forward activities, programmes, and partnerships.
- A strong delivery focus, with motivation to achieve outcomes that support the success of others, including UK businesses, partners, and colleagues, and maximise the impact of public investment.
- Knowledge of the UK innovation and policy landscape, including government priorities, funders, and key actors across the life sciences ecosystem.
- Demonstrated experience in medicines discovery or development, or manufacturing gained within the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology sector, or a contract research organisation (CRO).
- Strong understanding of the medicines R&D&I landscape, including drug discovery processes from target discovery through to preclinical development, including key translational and development challenges.
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Person Specification
This role requires an individual with a strong understanding of the UK life sciences ecosystem, including therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health, and enabling technologies, and the pathways through which innovations are developed, commercialised, and adopted. We are looking for someone with commercial awareness who can manage contending priorities and a sophisticated partner environment.
You will be able to make sense of multiple data sources, to establish underlying patterns and articulate a clear and compelling vision of what needs to be done.
- A great teammate, willing to share knowledge on with and to learn from others.
- Able to self-start when needed.
Experience & Qualifications:
- Essential:
- Degree or post-graduate qualification, or equivalent experience, in a subject relevant to Life Sciences.
- Up-to-date and broad-based knowledge of innovation in Life Sciences in a commercial environment.
- Appreciation of the wider industrial landscape in the UK.
- Familiarity with the wider research environment.
- Ideally, experience of working across technology fields and with a broad and current understanding of developments in other technology areas.
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 be 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.
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.
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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.
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 here.
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
- 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.
- Artificial Intelligence: 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.
- 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 Research: 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.
- Final Appointments: Final appointments will be subject to pre-employment screening.
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Welcome to the Recruitment Site
For Innovate UK Business Connect employees to apply for job opportunities within Innovate UK. If you are not a Business Connect employee you can view externally available vacancies in Innovate UK here.
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