Job Description

Reviews & Assurance Officer

Medical Research Council (MRC)

Salary: 29,923 per annum

Band: UKRI Band C

Team: Quality Assurance, Reviews & Operations (QARO) Team

Hours: Full time

Contract Type: Open Ended.

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

Closing Date: Monday 4th August 2025

As Reviews & Assurance Officer you will provide effective and proactive administrative support to deliver the programme of reviews of large investments (including institutes & units) and support the annual assurance process as well as other projects.

Responsibilities

Support the delivery of large investment review projects:

Serve as the central point of contact for your assigned reviews, proactively monitoring and driving forward the actions required including: + Organising internal and external meetings.
+ Drafting, collating and circulating electronic papers for meetings.
+ Requesting, gathering and collating peer review comments from international experts.
+ Collaborating with and upwardly managing multiple internal colleagues and external stakeholders throughout the process to keep activities on track.
+ Securing venues and accommodation for international panels where required.
+ Attending and supporting review meetings.
+ Project managing activities to ensure that each project delivers to the agreed timeline.
+ Organising and prioritising actions in order to progress multiple projects simultaneously.
+ Liaising with a wide range of people, both internally and externally, responding to queries and providing clear advice.

Support the delivery of the annual assurance programme for large investments:

Scheduling and organising meetings (including the coordination and collation of associated papers). Requesting, gathering and collating annual reports and returns from large investments and checking their completion. Ensuring annual returns are appropriately stored on electronic systems. Proactively monitoring and progressing actions required to keep projects on track.

Administration and records management:

Generating a robust audit trail, ensuring the efficient organisation of documents within the agreed file structures on the electronic records management system in line with current policies. Providing support to other team members in general administrative tasks and when workloads peak. Supporting issue resolution and problem solving.
The above lists are not exhaustive, and the post holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post. All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the policies of MRC (UKRI).

Additional information

The post holder will be required to attend meetings (up to 3-4 per year) which require UK travel and overnight stays (~ 2 nights). Site visits are planned in advance and longer than normal working hours will be required on these visits.

Personal Specification

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

Education / Qualifications / Training required:

Essential:

A-level qualifications (or equivalent qualification or work experience) (S) English and Maths GCSE at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent qualification) (S)

Previous work experience required:

Essential:

Experience of working in an administrative role (S) Experience of arranging meetings (on a small and larger scale) (S&I) Experience of preparing and circulating agendas and meeting papers (S&I)

Knowledge and experience:

Essential:

Competent in using Microsoft applications and constructing PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (S) Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to present information in a clear and succinct way (S&I) Excellent attention to detail (S&I) Ability to organise own workload and deliver to tight timescales including ability to prioritise/re-prioritise to deliver on time (I) Confident in dealing with people at all levels and a willingness to upwardly manage (I) Ability to work both independently and as part of a larger team (I) Demonstrable problem-solving skills, with the ability to contribute to ongoing process improvements within the team (I) Willingness to travel to MRC Sites. (I)

Please note that applications must include both a CV and a cover letter that clearly addresses the essential criteria. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Working relationships:

Reports to: Senior Reviews Officer


The post holder will be expected to build effective working relationships with colleagues across MRC Head Office and relevant external large investments.

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent) Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice Flexible working options
Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)


Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org