Job Description

INVESTMENT OFFICER

SALARY:

29,923 Per Annum

HOURS:

Full Time or Part Time (Minimum 0.8 FTE)

CONTRACT TYPE:

Fixed Term (Concluding January 2026)

LOCATION:

Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire

GRADE:

UKRI Band C

POSITIONS AVAILABLE:

1

CLOSING DATE:

18 AUG

ABOUT US

The AHRC's

Design, Commercialisation and Innovation

team is responsible for an exciting portfolio of investments and activities within Design, Commercialisation and Innovation. As one of a number of AHRC programme teams, the team works to scope and shape strategy and policy for future investment in its remit areas and at the interface with other parts of UKRI.


Our work includes overseeing our flagship design funding programme - Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition - which will soon be moving onto its second phase. The team is also responsible for managing AHRC's relationship with the Design Council, now part of the UKRI family, and working closely with Design Council colleagues to deepen our understanding of design and develop and deliver shared ambitions.


The Design, Commercialisation and Innovation team also supports the commercialisation of arts and humanities research through AHRC and UKRI-led initiatives and increasing our understanding of the innovation and commercial potential of arts and humanities research of all kinds.


The

Research and Innovation Infrastructure

team was established in 2019 and is responsible for the development and implementation of AHRC's Infrastructure Strategy and Programme. The team leads on AHRC's engagement with the UKRI Infrastructure team to ensure that the arts and humanities, specifically digital, creative industries, cultural assets and heritage science, are appropriately represented in the wider UKRI Infrastructure Programme, and the extent of their contribution to research and innovation understood. The team's remit includes management of a funded portfolio, scoping and shaping policy and future investment in this area, commissioning new research and stakeholder engagement. For further information about arts and humanities infrastructure, please refer to the relevant sections of the UKRI Landscape Analysis (pp. 73-81) and Infrastructure Opportunity Report (pp. 64-85).


The Infrastructure Team is developing a varied portfolio of large, multi-year investments, including the following programmes and bids:

Heritage Science

- RICHeS - Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science

Digital Innovation

- iDAH - Infrastructure for Digital Arts & Humanities

Digital Collections -

DiSSCo - The Distributed System of Scientific Collections.

Digital Collections (scoping work) -

Developing a future programme around a digital infrastructure for national collections to follow on from Towards a National Collectionprogramme.

PURPOSE

This position will require you to work across two teams - the Design, Commercialisation & Innovation team and the Research & Innovation Infrastructure team. Your work will be split equally between these two teams.


An AHRC Investment Officer plays a crucial role in the delivery of their team's priorities, particularly in relation to the management and development of key programmes, investments and partnerships. The main purpose of the Investment Officer role across AHRC is to support the delivery of team and organisational objectives.


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

MAIN OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES

Working with the team head to plan and deliver team-level activities (e.g. team meetings, away days, L&D) Supporting other operational activities, including delivery of funding calls and team-level reporting Supporting the management of investments within the team's portfolio, including involvement in monitoring and reporting Contributing to and/or leading portfolio development, including evidence gathering and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data Contributing to and/or leading the production of case studies and other narratives that highlight research outputs and impacts Supporting stakeholder management, including ownership of team mailboxes and contact lists Supporting stakeholder engagement, including planning and delivery of events Secretariat duties including but not limited to taking meeting minutes, scheduling meetings and raising purchase orders

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

(S) - ASSESSED AT SHORTLISTING


(I) - ASSESSED AT INTERVIEW


(S&I) - ASSESSED AT BOTH SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEW



ESSENTIAL:

Leading and communicating: Ability to communicate effectively in different media, with a range of audiences (S&I) Working with others: Ability to work collaboratively, actively seeking and offering support to help achieve progress in delivering objectives (S&I) Making effective decisions: Ability to make appropriate level decisions, informed by evidence gathered, and escalate where necessary (S&I) Solution focused: Ability to prioritise effectively, taking into account the needs of multiple stakeholders (S&I) Delivering at pace: Ability to create and manage clear workplans and timelines (S&I)
DESIRABLE:

Seeing the bigger picture: Understanding of UKRI and AHRC's business and priorities (S) Changing and improving: Ability to take initiative and actively contribute to continuous improvement at individual or team level (S)

INCENTIVES

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)