Job Description

Salary

The starting salary will be from 43,482 on Grade F, depending on qualifications and experience.

Contractual hours

36.5

Package

Generous holiday allowances, flexible working, pension scheme and relocation package (if applicable).

Job category/type

Admin, Professional, Managerial

Date posted

09/12/2025

Job reference

Q08515

Research Division

This full-time role is available from January 2025 for 18 months. There is a possibility of extension subject to additional external funding.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working - some time on campus and some from home.

We welcome applications from candidates interested in working part-time hours or job-sharing arrangements.

About SWSDE

The NHS South West Secure Data Environment (SWSDE) is part of a national programme developing secure infrastructure for research that requires access to sensitive health data. The SWSDE aims to provide faster, fairer and safer access to health and care data from the South West for research. To achieve this, the programme will create a secure environment to store and link together regional health and care data from primary care, acute, community, social care and multi-modal sources.

About you:

You have experience working closely with researchers to develop funding applications and a strong understanding of the research funding ecosystem. You know how to support researchers in building a compelling case for funding, drawing on relevant networks, data, and expertise.

You enjoy creating data-driven narratives and collaborating with researchers to communicate these effectively in grant applications. You're confident contributing to smaller bids at pace, and you're able to take the lead on larger, more complex programme grants - coordinating multiple stakeholders and managing timelines to deliver high-quality submissions.

You're excited by the huge potential offered by improving access to health data for research and motivated by the chance to contribute to a dynamic and ambitious programme with regional and national impact.

You're comfortable working independently as part of a busy, supportive team. You are able to work professionally and effectively within a complex and dynamic ecosystem, building trusted and effective relationships to support the programme's aims.

About the role:

The Research Development Manager (RDM) will be part of a new cluster of roles based at the University of Exeter, supporting researchers to develop successful funding applications that include access to the South West Secure Data Environment (SWSDE) for health data research.

You will work closely with researchers to shape and strengthen funding proposals, helping them articulate the value of their research and the role of the SWSDE within it. You'll collaborate with regional NHS data contributors, the wider SWSDE team, and University of Exeter Professional Services to ensure researchers have access to the evidence, data, and strategic insight they need to build compelling cases for funding.

The role will primarily focus on supporting the development of high-quality applications, contributing to the strategic growth of the SWSDE research portfolio, monitoring and reporting on SWSDE funding metrics, and tracking and identifying and promoting suitable funding opportunities to your networks. You will work closely with colleagues in the SWSDE cluster at the University of Bristol to shape regional and national scale bids.

The SWSDE is an exciting new programme with huge ambition. This role will be a key part of the team, providing strategic insight into the evolving research landscape and helping to position the SWSDE as a platform for high-impact, data-driven research.

The role will include (expenses paid) travel across the South West region, including regular travel to Bristol and occasional travel for national events, including overnight trips.

About the Research Division and Research Software and Analytics team

The Research Division is a key enabler to the delivery of the University's Strategy 2030, the Research and Impact Strategy, successful REF performances, and generating external research income, by:

supporting the full research project lifecycle from inception to impact; offering research infrastructure support; providing leadership for the Exeter Doctoral College; delivering joint strategic, policy and planning support to the University and Faculties.


The division consist of four service groups: Doctoral College; Research Services; Research Software and Analytics; and Technical Strategy and Operations.

The Research Software and Analytics Group provides specialist skills to enable data-driven research across the university. The Group consists of Research Software Engineers, Research Data Scientists, and Research Data Stewards who together deliver bespoke research software, data science solutions and professional data management services to improve reproducibility and bolster impact. The SW SDE cluster will be a new team with the RSA group.

Please ensure you read the and Person Specification for full details of this role.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world's most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99 percent of our research is of international quality and 47 percent is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework)

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research - Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from service people.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community.

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

41 days leave per year options for flexible working numerous discounts at leading retailers onsite gyms on all of our campus' and a cycle to work scheme sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to six weeks full pay) and a Fertility Treatment Policy stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

Please contact Chrissie Walker, Senior Research Manager, for more details: c.j.walker@exeter.ac.uk

The University of Exeter is a proud supporter of the Technician Commitment, a charter focussing on the visibility, recognition and career development of our technical staff. For further information please see our website.