Senior European Advisor

UKRI International 

Salary: £43,116 per annum
Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 hours per week FTE)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon (with regular travel to Brussels. Hybrid working available)
Contract type: Open ended
Closing date Sunday 8th December 2024

About

The UK Research Office (UKRO) is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s International team, and is responsible for engagement with EU research and innovation programmes. UKRO delivers an advisory service for research organisations (mainly UK HEIs) and provides National Contact Point services on behalf of the UK Government.

One of UKRO's primary roles is to maximise UK engagement in EU-funded research, innovation and higher education activities by:

• Providing National Contact Point Services to support European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), COST and Widening Participation  
• Enabling stakeholders and to participate in EU programmes and fully exploit the opportunities available to them;
• Delivering a set of unique, specialised services that are tailored to meet the evolving needs of UKRO’s subscribers

UKRO also champions the UK’s participation in European research  and innovation programmes as an Associated Country by:

• Supporting UK input into networks concerned with European research, innovation and higher education policy development by informing, advising and liaising with the appropriate bodies both in the UK and the EU;
• Advocacy and influencing on behalf of the UK as an associated country, engaging with UK and EU stakeholders, providing intelligence and insight. 

Further information on UKRO can be found on the website at http://www.ukro.ac.uk (all UKRI employees can create a profile on the UKRO Portal to access subscriber only information). 

Role Purpose

The UKRO Senior European Advisor & National Contact Point (NCP) Coordinator role is based in the UK with an expectation of regular travel to Brussels  ensuring in-person engagement with the European research and policy environment through networking and workshop events. Therefore the job holder will be required to work flexibly to fulfil engagement activities.

The day-to-day role is varied, covering NCP services, monitoring policy updates, producing UKRO portal articles and written briefs, networking and building key contacts within the European Institutions as well as stakeholder relations in the UK within and outside of UKRI, and in addition individual European Advisors are issued with a portfolio of research organisations for whom they are the main contact for advice concerning participation in European research funding. 

The role will have oversight of all UKRO NCP services (the UK MSCA and ERC helpdesks, COST and Widening) and be responsible for task-managing NCPs, ensuring effective delivery of these services on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).  

European Advisors must be able to build a rapport with their allocated institutions in order to deliver a tailored service which reflects the varying interests and needs of organisations participating in Horizon Europe.  European Advisors must also understand the practical issues facing universities pre and post-award with regards to the acquisition and management of European funding. 

Communication is key to the role: European Advisors must be able to understand and convey complex messages and policies in clear, jargon free language, both verbally and to a high written standard.

Candidates must be able to work independently as well as in a team, be a confident presenter and networker with outstanding communication skills. Finally, candidates should be excited about the chance to play a role in supporting and developing the UK research community through the crucial services that UKRO provides.

The role is fast-paced, with a considerable degree of autonomy and agency required by, and afforded to successful candidates. 

Key Responsibilities

Tasks include:

National Contact Point (NCP) services coordination

• Oversight and coordination of UKRO NCP services, ensuring consistent resource for NCP helpdesk services and delivery of timely training webinars ahead of key deadlines primarily for Legal and Financial questions, as well as for the New European Bauhaus scheme.
• Liaison with DSIT NCP Coordinator and the wider NCP team across UKRI and Innovate UK.

Effective monitoring and outputs:

• Deploying and developing expert knowledge legal and financial issues relating to European research and innovation policy.
• Gathering, analysing and disseminating relevant information on EU programmes (with a focus on Horizon Europe) and policies in research, innovation.
• Expected outputs include daily articles for the UKRO Portal, and producing and maintaining factsheets and other resources for UKRO’s stakeholders.

 Quality advice and customer service:

• Providing high quality guidance and advice on EU funding programmes and their implementation, as well as by carrying out regular presentations, briefings and training sessions to UK researchers and businesses. This includes bespoke, full-day briefing visits to subscribing institutions in the UK.
• UKRO plays a key role in support for research managers, meaning that the jobholder will be expected have and further develop significant expertise on EU funding implementation, including in the field of EU grant finances and grant rules.

Stakeholder liaison:

• Liaise with and develop effective contacts with the European Commission and other European institutions and organisations, including liaison in Brussels with respect to areas of research and policy the role holder is responsible for, including the networking and interactions with Commission colleagues and policy makers.
• Liaison with UKRI councils, Innovate UK, the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and other stakeholder organisations with a role in research policy.
• Liaison with networks and organisations supporting the research and innovation sector including Universities UK International (UUKi), and the Association of Research Managers (ARMA), as well liaison with the UK research community.

 Teamwork and knowledge sharing:

• The post holder will be a champion and authority on legal and financial aspects of European funding and be able to support team members to develop their knowledge.
• The post holder will be expected to work as an integral part of the European UKRO and NCP teams across UKRI.  This involves briefing colleagues on portfolio areas, contributing to joint activities and team discussions and projects. 

The jobholder will have significant freedom and flexibility when it comes to playing a key role in the work of the Office, but also be expected to manage a variety of monitoring tasks and contribute significantly to outputs while always providing added value services to UKRO’s customers.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

• An understanding of the European funding landscape, including legal and financial aspects, preferably with experience of working in a role that promotes effective UK engagement in EU Research, innovation and higher education activities, or equivalent experience. (S&I)
• An understanding of the work of UK Research and Innovation, its constituent councils, as well as UK research and higher education funding systems.(S&I)
• Leading and driving projects, demonstrating sound project management and organisational skills, including the use of effective change management mechanisms.(S&I)
• Ability to think creatively, offer new insights and generate new ideas with practical application, demonstrating initiative. (S&I)
• Ability to investigate and analyse problems systematically, including turning ambiguity into clear decisions and reasoned proposals for actions. (S&I)
• The ability to multi-task, work flexibly and to plan, prioritise and manage delivery of a diverse portfolio of projects and activities with different timescales priorities and delivery mechanisms, working individually and as part of a team. (S&I)
• Strong written and oral communications skills, including the ability to interpret and present information to a wide range of audiences, with clear and concise messaging and advice suitable for senior executives and decision-makers. (S&I)
• A demonstrable ability to influence and persuade others, negotiate diplomatically, work with people of all levels and to build good relationships and effective partnerships, including with external and/or international stakeholders. (S&I)  
• Strong leadership and people management skills, motivating and managing cross-organisational teams. (S&I)  
• Evidence of working collaboratively and constructively with other colleagues across an organisation, with the ability to contribute effectively as a member of cross-organisational matrix teams. (S&I) 

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview