Head of DiSSCo UK

Head of DiSSCo UK

Salary: 58,589 Per Annum

Band: UKRI Band F

Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)

Contract Type: 3 years Fixed Term

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire

Closing Date: 28 June 2026

About the Role

The Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK (DiSSCo UK) is a 155.6 million investment for a national infrastructure programme to digitise 37 million natural science specimens. To deliver this exciting new programme, AHRC, alongside their delivery partner the Natural History Museum (NHM), are developing a DiSSCo UK delivery team to manage the programme on a day-to-day basis. This new team will be based at Swindon (with strong links to London) and will be responsible for managing the contract with the external evaluation supplier, leading on benefits management, engaging with relevant communities, measuring the impacts of the programme, and ensuring that impacts, outputs and outcomes are reflected upon, reported and communicated in a timely and effective manner. Some of the key activities for the team will be supporting grant holders, designing, and delivering future funding opportunities, and capturing programme and project level impacts.

As this role will involve interaction with grant holders and stakeholders, as well as attendance at events and conferences, the role will involve UK and international travel, including overnight stays.

Your Responsibilities

• Responsible for the strategic management and alignment / strategic leadership and direction of DiSSCo UK.
• Manage the relationship between AHRC/UKRI and NHM, providing the essential bridge between funder and delivery partner.
• Work collaboratively and effectively with DiSSCo UK colleagues (including those based at the NHM), adapting and communicating to ensure shared goals are met, staff feel supported and delivery objectives are maintained.
• Work collaboratively with NHM colleagues to support the work of the DiSSCo EU European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
• Lead on managing the budget and financial reporting for the DiSSCo UK Programme
• Lead on the delivery of future programme approvals including Gate Reviews.
• Line management of the senior manager roles.
• Build strong working relationships to support the delivery of programmes funded by other Research Councils (notably the Natural Environment Research Council and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), and cross-UKRI initiatives, as appropriate.

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Demonstrable experience in developing, leading and delivering strategic activity, preferably in collections or related fields. Familiarity with mandated approvals and assurance processes would be beneficial. (S,I)
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage teams (project & delivery) within complex programmes, ensuring motivation and positive management and development of staff at different levels. (S,I)
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, including working across a variety of disciplines, sectors and professions in support of programme delivery and organisational strategy including academia, government, and industry (S,I)
• Ability to represent an organisation authoritatively in high-level policy discussions and cross-sector forums. (S, I)
• Exceptional communication (both written and verbal) and influencing skills, with the ability to articulate complex issues clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences. (S,I)
• Demonstrable strategic thinking capability, including the ability to formulate and adapt strategy within a dynamic and evolving landscape (S,I)
• Strong creative problem-solving skills, coupled with a proactive and flexible approach to achieving objectives in challenging contexts. (S,I)