Senior Portfolio Manager
- 📁
- Administration
- 📅
- 20 hours ago Post Date
- 📅
- 2500006V Requisition #
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER
Salary: £45,272 Per Annum
Hours: Full Time / Part Time (Minimum 0.6 FTE Considered)
Contract Type: Open Ended (Permanent)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire (Hybrid)
Grade: UKRI Band E
Closing Date: 09 April 25
Proposed Interview Date: 01 - 06 May 25
About Us
Are you passionate about research? Are you keen to work with researchers, business and Government, defining and implementing strategy to enable excellent research that delivers real impact for the economy and society?
Senior Portfolio Managers sit at the interface between strategic leadership and delivery. You will use your communication skills to develop and implement key priorities, policies, and strategies. You will lead the development and delivery of future activities, building strong relationships with colleagues across UKRI and a wide range of external stakeholders. You will be encouraged to constantly learn and be empowered to explore your curiosity in this rewarding role. Overall you will ensure we fund people and ideas of the highest quality, to implement new, innovative research programmes.
We recognise and value employees as individuals and aim to provide a pay and rewards package that motivates staff to perform to the best of their ability. The reward package includes a flexible working scheme, a Career Average Revalued Earnings pension scheme, 30 days annual leave allowance and a number of other benefits.
EPSRC is a team-based organisation, and no team or directorate works in a silo. An important part of your role will be to work with others to deliver results.
Teams
Successful candidates will be placed in a team with a vacancy following interviews. Vacancies may be in teams across any of EPSRC’s four directorates: Research, Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships, and Operations. If you are invited for an interview, you will have the chance to state any preference you have for a particular directorate, though we will not be able to guarantee to honour all preferences.
Purpose
As a Senior Portfolio Manager in EPSRC, within 6-12 months, you will have a deep knowledge of your area of responsibility (which could be multiple portfolios or programmes), understanding its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You will use that knowledge to collaborate and lead on defining, influencing, and implementing strategy.
Main outputs and activities:
- Deputising for team leads, including in meetings with senior internal and external stakeholders
- Line-manage and/or project manage colleagues: providing leadership and support for personal development and driving a culture of high-performance teamwork
- Building and fostering strong relationships working across EPSRC, UKRI and beyond UKRI, including across the academic community, government, and other stakeholders to ensure that investments are robust, informed, and impactful
- Providing high quality expertise and advice in your areas of responsibility, informed by evidence and engagement with relevant stakeholders
- Leading the development and delivery of investment plans, calls and associated peer review processes, and cases for investment, ensuring that these are of a high quality and in line with UKRI values, principles, and practices
- Contributing to the development of appropriate monitoring, assurance, and evaluation approaches for EPSRC’s investments
Criteria
(S) – Assessed at shortlisting
(I) – Assessed at interview
(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview
Assessment of the following skills will be made via shortlisting, and an in person interview which will include a presentation:
Essential
- Sophisticated analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, and an ability to think strategically (S/I)
- An ability to engage with a range of internal and external stakeholders at all levels, and to influence others to achieve outcomes and improve performance (S/I)
- An ability to work as part of a team, leading and developing staff through behaviour and empathy, including through periods of change (S/I)
- Strong communication skills (both written and oral) with an ability to produce clear, concise, and accurate presentations and written documentation for a wide range of audiences, in the context of strategy development and implementation (I)
- Strong strategic awareness of how the UK research and innovation system operates, and the context and landscape within which EPSRC and UKRI operates (I)
Desirable
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DEVELOPING TALENT:
We are committed to developing employees in their roles throughout their career. Learning and development plans enable employees to continue their professional development through training and development opportunities such as e-learning, classroom training and on-the-job experiences. We encourage our employees to share their learning across teams and organisations.
BENEFITS:
UKRI can offer the successful candidate:
- Flexible Working
- 30 days annual leave + Public Holidays
- Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme
- Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider
Visit our dedicated benefits webpage for more info: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Hybrid Working
These posts are based at our Swindon office, but we operate a hybrid approach, and you can expect a mix of working from home, the office, and external locations. As we recognise the benefits of in person working, EPSRC currently has a minimum expectation that we will work in person, in the Swindon office, at least 2 days per month. On occasions where there is a business need, you may be required to attend the office more than 2 days a month (e.g., for training, events, or team days). This post also requires travel to attend external visits and meetings. We will make exceptions to the minimum requirement to work in person in the Swindon office for individuals that might encounter difficulties because of a disability/health condition. We welcome applications from candidates with special requirements.
Applications
If successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to an in-person interview expected to take place in Swindon. This is the final stage of the selection process.
Online applications only are accepted for this role. Please submit a CV and “Application Statement” in which you should give evidenced examples that clearly explain how your abilities, experiences and skills demonstrate each of the shortlisting criteria listed above. You are advised to familiarise yourself with the STAR methodology (see: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/STAR-method.htm), which is a useful framework for providing these examples. Each document should be no more than three pages.
Please ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria, or submission of an application without an ‘application statement’ may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted ‘application statement’ and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.
If successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend a competency-based interview. You will be asked to provide evidenced examples that demonstrate that you are able to cover the interview criteria. You will also be asked to give a short presentation on a topic that will be provided to you in advance.
UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness, and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.
Your application and performance through this recruitment process may be used for other opportunities that arise within an appropriate timeframe.
Contact
Further information about the role can be discussed with Nick Cooper (Joint Head of Talent and Skills), who is leading this recruitment. Please email nicholas.cooper@epsrc.ukri.org to arrange a mutually convenient time to speak.
About the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council (EPSRC)
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Council (EPSRC) is a partner organisation within UKRI, providing essential research and skills for all sectors of the economy, and through this aims to enhance long-term societal well-being and prosperity.
EPSRC is the main UK government agency for funding this research and training in engineering and the physical sciences. They invest over £850 million a year in a broad range of subjects from mathematics to materials science and from information technology to structural engineering.
For more information about EPSRC click here: https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/
About UK Research Innovation (UKRI)
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.
More information can be found at www.ukri.org.
Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit Benefits of working for UKRI.
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.
How we support EDI in the workforce
At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.
Disability Confident Employer
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
How to apply
Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.
UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.