Programme Director – Public Partnerships

The Medical Research Council (MRC)

Programme Director - Public Partnerships

Salary:  £84,001 per annum
Hours: Part time 0.6 FTE (22.2 hours per week)
Contract Type: Fixed Term (24 months)
Location: Base: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire. Remote or hybrid working.

This role is also open as an external secondment opportunity, where the host employer would be remunerated.

Purpose of the role

The role of ‘Programme Director – Public Partnerships’ will be to provide thought leadership, advocacy, and internal and external visibility to the MRC’s exciting programme of activity around public partnerships and to work with existing MRC head office staff to implement and evaluate the new MRC public partnerships strategy. This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated individual to ensure the successful integration of public partnerships into research funding and research culture, and impact on the wider biomedical research landscape. 

The Programme Director will act as a change agent, drawing on their own expert knowledge and recruiting external networks to ensure MRC is both challenged and supported to develop an effective and innovative approach to public partnerships. They will empower existing MRC head office staff to develop relevant skills and work with them to establish a future team structure with the level of expertise that will ensure public partnerships become embedded in MRC culture and are sustainable long-term.

Leadership/Teamwork/Collaboration

The Programme Director will be a senior member of MRC staff accountable and reporting to the Director of Policy, Ethics and Governance for the overall development, delivery and management of their programme of work. They will provide advice to MRC’s senior leaders (Executive Board and Council) ensuring that MRC’s commitment to public partnerships is strong and visible. 

The Programme Director will be able to draw on the knowledge and experience of the existing cross-office MRC public partnerships team, Director of Policy Ethics and Governance and the Public Partnerships Oversight Group in discharging their responsibilities, as well as on UKRI cross-council public engagement and involvement groups.

Programme Delivery

The Programme Director will work closely with existing MRC staff to establish a programme of work that is inclusive, delivered in accordance with good practice and aligned to where public partnerships can have greatest value. They will play a vital role in connecting MRC’s public partnerships programme into wider MRC initiatives and investments, and relevant activities across the health and biomedical sector.

The Programme Director will bring experience of collaborating and co-developing research-related activities with public partners (individuals and organisations), within non-clinical as well as clinical research, to support the MRC in delivering its new strategy and wider culture change.

The Programme Director will be involved in decision-making at key stages in implementation of the new MRC Public Partnerships Strategy and will provide leadership for specific initiatives within the delivery plan, including developing and co-chairing the new MRC public partnerships advisory group.

Responsibilities

Providing leadership and vision

• Providing intellectual and strategic leadership, visibility to support implementation of the MRC public partnerships strategy, with a focus on adding value to clinical and non-clinical research.
• Promoting a positive vision for the MRC public partnerships strategy to MRC and UKRI staff and senior leaders, the public and external stakeholders; developing a strong narrative for its activity and achievements.
• Providing expertise and thought leadership for the MRC on topics related to public partnerships (including public involvement, public engagement, community engagement and co-production).

Delivering a programme of work, with MRC head office staff and public partners, to implement the MRC public partnerships strategy and effect culture change, through:

• Defining and shaping an action plan to implement the priorities set out in the MRC public partnerships strategy,
• Drawing on their own public partnerships expertise, and the expertise of others, to identify the most effective ways for MRC to build on areas of strength in public partnerships,
• Developing and co-chairing an MRC public advisory group to influence MRC strategy, culture, policy and practice at MRC head office and throughout the MRC research community,
• Supporting the MRC to involve public partners in the development of corporate strategic priorities and delivery plans, and
• Identifying and filling gaps in the knowledge, skills and expertise of MRC staff to enable the effective delivery of the strategy and embedding of public partnerships across head office activities.

Enabling the wider MRC research community to build effective public partnerships to support research, through:

• Acting as a visible champion for the MRC public partnerships strategy with internal and external audiences,
• Energising and cultivating public partnerships at MRC head office and in MRC research establishments, engaging with different public and professional communities to support research culture change and the embedding of co-production within research-related activities,
• Identifying, and strengthening collaborations with a wide range of public partners, organisations and stakeholders within health and biomedical research, including MRC researchers, people and communities, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) groups, charities and other relevant stakeholders at local and national level,
• Ensuring there is coherence across head office activities and through wider MRC public partnerships initiatives (including funding calls).
• Scoping areas where public partnerships would add greatest value and finding opportunities for targeted initiatives to maximise the benefits and use of public partnerships, and
• Leading external engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including public partners, drawing on their expertise to establish new partnerships and define future priorities.

Assure the future sustainability of public partnerships at MRC, through:

• Co-developing future MRC strategic priorities and initiatives,
• Supporting a change in culture that embeds public partnerships across the research that MRC funds,
• Supporting the development of an appropriate monitoring and evaluation framework for the MRC public partnerships strategy and related initiatives,
• Communicating the achievements of the programme to different audiences, and
• Preparing a final report, drawing together lessons learned and making recommendations for future strategic commitments by MRC.

Essential skills, qualifications and experience

To be assessed at shortlisting:

• A degree and/or appropriate professional qualifications or equivalent experience
• Have credibility within a field(s) relevant to public partnerships (or public involvement, public engagement, community engagement) through personal leadership or management of a significant programme of public partnership activities.
• Able to provide evidence of successful research-related co-development activities working in partnership with patients, public partners or community groups.
• Demonstrate the ability to guide and inspire others and bring people together to reach consensus and build common purpose.
• Have experience of forming good working relationships.  This encompasses influencing and advising others, both within a team and at a range of different levels internally and externally, including researchers, practitioners and policy makers, at both the national and international level.

To be assessed at interview:

• Must have experience of identifying important audiences and priorities for partnerships, within the current UK and international research landscape, reconciling differing perspectives for overall benefit.  Also being skilled in identifying, exploring and developing opportunities for public partnerships more broadly, across different interfaces.
  
• Be a strategic thinker who is focused on achieving maximum research and policy impact in the context of health and biomedical (clinical and non-clinical) research, with capability to apply this to MRC’s work.
  
• Demonstrate they can act as a figurehead for the MRC Public Partnerships Strategy and associated programme of work.  
  Appreciate the requirements, or have experience of, delivering a complex project effectively with high quality outputs.  Including prioritising workloads, understanding realistic timescales, overcoming barriers and handling risks as part of this process. 
  
• Able to share a vision and future plans relating to the responsibilities and goals of this role. 

To assess at both shortlisting and interview:

• Must have excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills; able to give presentations and written reports for different audiences, including public partners, people with lived experience, MRC staff and senior executive team.

Interviews are due to take place on 24th or 25th February 2025.