Ref Number
B09-01408
Professional Expertise
Research and Research Support
Department
Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement) (B09)
Location
London
Working Pattern
Full time
Salary
£43,981-£54,019
Contract Type
Fixed-term
Working Type
Hybrid
Available for Secondment
Yes
Closing Date
04-Sept-2026
UCL is a world-leading, research-intensive university, consistently ranked among the top ten in the world, with an annual turnover of well over £1 billion. Our research and innovation continue to grow in scale and complexity, with record levels of research income and impact achieved last year.
You'll join Research and Innovation Services (RIS) — the team that supports, advises and provides expertise to UCL's academic community across our extensive and varied portfolio of externally funded projects. RIS brings together four teams: Award Services, Contract Services, Planning, Insight & Improvement, and Compliance and Assurance.
Within RIS, Planning, Insight & Improvement leads on short- and long-term business planning, the improvement of end-to-end processes and operational activity, and the stewardship and analysis of research administrative data — all to make research and innovation support better across the university.
You'll be joining RIS at a genuinely exciting time. UCL has just launched its five-year strategy, in which RIS plays a key role, and we're investing in a number of strategic programmes across the directorate — bringing in new capacity, expertise and development opportunities that will help shape UCL's research environment and impact for years to come.
This is a great opportunity for a project management professional who enjoys getting close to the detail of how services actually work — and making them work better. You'll use your continuous improvement and business change expertise across a varied portfolio of projects, helping Research and Innovation Services keep pace with UCL's evolving needs. You'll work flexibly across multiple projects at once, and you'll have real scope to identify opportunities for improvement and see your solutions through to delivery.
What you'll be doing
- Build relationships with colleagues across Research and Innovation Services and in academic departments, gathering feedback and spotting opportunities to improve services, processes, systems, policies and data.
- Log and help prioritise improvements to research and innovation services, processes, systems, policies and data.
- Lead and deliver small-scale projects that increase the value of the services RIS provides.
- Support the delivery of RIS workstreams, making sure discovery phases gather enough evidence and data to enable strong service design.
- Build your continuous improvement toolkit — defining requirements, driving process change, facilitating workshops and carrying out process mapping — with support along the way.
- Track and communicate the impact of improvements you help deliver.
- Understand stakeholder needs fully when designing and implementing improvements, including any dependencies or wider impacts.
- Work with other UCL divisions — including Change & Improvement, the Information Services Division, the Office of the Vice-President (Strategy) and the Research and Innovation Operations change portfolio — to deliver joined-up business change.
- Stay closely connected to the Planning, Insight and Improvement project portfolio, feeding into wider RIS discussions on service improvement.
- Identify when external resource or expertise is needed, and work effectively with external suppliers.
- Build strong working knowledge of UCL's research management systems (Worktribe, MyFinance, Data and Insight Service) and their related processes.
- Support the development and delivery of UCL's research management systems and interfaces, including aspects of testing on Worktribe Test systems.
- Develop and deliver training on research management systems and processes, and keep training materials fresh and up to date.
- Build a network of contacts at other institutions and research funders to keep on top of sector
You're a natural problem-solver who enjoys untangling complex processes and finding practical, workable solutions. You'll be comfortable managing multiple projects at once, building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, and communicating clearly about the changes you're driving. You'll thrive in this role if you can bring:
- Experience of delivering process or service improvement activity in a previous role.
- Experience of developing and implementing end-to-end business processes, and understanding their impact on other service functions.
- Experience of capturing and developing business requirements, with the ability to prioritise effectively.
- Experience of using data to identify and analyse options for service improvement.
- Experience of working in a project and/or agile environment, with a good understanding of fundamental project management principles.
- A proven ability to analyse complex, challenging issues and develop innovative, creative solutions.
- Good written and oral communication skills, including presentation and report writing.
- An excellent attitude to customer service.
Experience within a Higher Education research services or administration function is a bonus, as is experience advancing research management systems in a complex organisation, or familiarity with tools like Microsoft Project — though none of these are essential.
Above all, we're looking for someone who's committed to providing a responsive, helpful service, who makes best practice a genuine priority, and who's happy documenting and sharing solutions so others can build on them too.
- Hybrid working, with the flexibility to work remotely for up to 80% of the week if that suits you.
- 27 days' annual leave plus 6 university closure days and statutory bank holidays, with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days each year.
- Membership of one of the UK's leading pension schemes (USS or SAUL, depending on your role).
- A genuinely exciting moment to join RIS, with new investment, strategic programmes and development opportunities opening up across the directorate.
- Access to UCL's wider staff benefits, including season ticket loans, cycle-to-work schemes, staff discounts, wellbeing support and a strong culture of learning and development.
- The chance to shape how one of the world's leading research universities supports its academic community, working across a genuinely varied project portfolio.
As London's Global University, we know that diversity fuels creativity and innovation — and we want our community to reflect the full diversity of the world's talent. We're committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where everyone truly belongs.
We particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce, and we're happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments or flexible working arrangements you may need throughout the recruitment process and beyond.
