Operations Officer

Salary: 30,895 per annum

Band: UKRI Band C

Contract Type: Fixed Term (9 months). Ends 31st March 2027.

Hours: Full-time (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available)

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available

Closing Date: 28 June 2026

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) supports world-class arts and humanities research. Part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. We fund academic research in over 50 subject areas from archaeology to linguistics, law to visual arts as well as supplying to cross-cutting research agendas addressing the major challenges facing the world today, such as climate change, global poverty, gender inequalities and health crises. Research into these areas helps us to understand our experiences, identities, and histories, and question our cultural assumptions.

We receive over 100m each year from the UK Government and distribute funding through competitive funding calls that reflect and support the needs of the academic community. We also promote arts and humanities research more widely, showcasing how research has a positive impact on public policy, the economy, society, and culture.

About the role

A post has become available providing operational and administrative support to a busy team within the AHRC. The Operations Team is looking to recruit one Operations Officer on a fixed term basis (until March 2027) to join the Policy and Process area of the Team.

The role is fundamentally an administrative role tasked with the operational delivery of the teams objectives. This exposure to the broad and varied work of the AHRC will provide you with an excellent understanding of the national and international research funding landscape and allow you to develop a long-term career path within grants funding.

We may make further appointments to administrative Band C posts in the AHRC Grants Operations Team from this recruitment exercise should roles become available.

Your responsibilities:

• providing general operational and organisational support to the AHRC Grants Operations team including managing shared mailboxes, supporting the implementation of grants policy and process updates, supporting the purchase order process, creating online surveys, processing disabled student allowance claims and supporting the research outcomes reporting process

• being a first point of call for external enquiries; engaging directly with prospective applicants, grant holders and other external stakeholders in relation to AHRC grants policy, funding provision and processes, and providing answers and guidance in a timely manner

• engaging with and supporting continuous improvement project work and initiatives, seeking to refine processes, policy, and ways of working within both your team and the wider organisation

• occasionally you may also support meetings, webinars, and events both internally and externally and both in-person and virtually; tasks include securing venues (or virtual meeting space), arranging logistics, making travel and accommodation arrangements, and processing expenses claims

• supporting training and guidance on the systems and processes of AHRC

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

Essential

You have excellent organisational and administrative skills, and the ability to work flexibly and multi-task with good attention to detail, often at pace (S&I).

You have sound numeric skills, including handling and analysing data sensitively, accurately, and responsibly (S&I).

You have excellent written communication skills and can draft and understand complex written documents and interpret them clearly (S&I).

You can work independently, think creatively, solve problems, and make effective decisions (S&I).

You are a great team player and can provide support to colleagues, sharing knowledge and information, and giving towards the achievements of your team and the wider organisation (S&I).

You are an excellent communicator with good social skills, working effectively with colleagues at different levels both inside and outside the organisation, while being an effective ambassador for the AHRC (S&I).

You have a good working knowledge of IT and programmes (Outlook, MS Word, Excel, MS Teams, etc.) with the ability to quickly learn new software and systems. (S&I).