Director of Grants and Programmes

First interviews will be held 25-26 August 2026 with the CEO, Roz Campion, and the COO, James Lawrence, and focused on two competencies – leadership and delivery.

Second interviews will be held on 1 September 2026 with an external panel.

Please see the full job pack for more information.

If you would like a conversation about this role, please contact rosalind.campion@acmedsci.ac.uk copying in ceooffice@acmedsci.ac.uk

These are the six areas we will explore with candidates. They match the six parts of the role above, so you can read straight across — and your supporting statement can follow the same structure if that helps. We do not expect anyone to arrive with every part fully formed, but the strongest candidates will be convincing across most of them.

A strong track record of running grant schemes or of significant programmatic delivery. Much of this is operational: holding an annual cycle to time and budget, catching problems early and getting stuck things moving again. It is also about making sure the portfolio adds up to a coherent whole rather than a collection of separate schemes, with the governance discipline — sound contracts, clean compliance, rigorous oversight — that sits behind delivery done well.

A track record of building and sustaining partnerships with funders, delivery organisations and industry, and the skill and pace to turn them into agreements where appropriate. We will want to hear how you have handled a complex negotiation and brought it to a close. The Chief Operating Officer leads the Academy’s income strategy, so we will also explore how you develop partners in concert with colleagues.

This role runs from Fellows (some of the most eminent scientists in the country) to researchers at the very start of their careers, and from government and funders to industry partners. We are looking for someone with the range to work well across all of them, and the credibility to be taken seriously at every level. We will also explore how you have widened access and drawn talent in from beyond the usual places.

A commitment to looking at what difference the portfolio you lead makes. We are looking for someone who treats evaluation as a source of learning and uses what it shows to decide what the Academy should do next, keeping sight of the people and patients the work is for.

A brilliant leader of people: someone who gets the best from a talented team by giving them space and ownership, backing them with real support and coaching, and building a culture where people thrive and develop.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you would share responsibility for the Academy as a whole, not only your own directorate. We want someone who takes that seriously, brings challenge where it is needed, backs colleagues when it counts, and helps make the Academy a brilliant place to work.

Please see the full job pack for more information.

We offer a competitive and evolving benefits package designed to 
support your wellbeing, development and work–life balance, including:
• Competitive salary and pension 
• 26 days’ annual leave, plus bank holidays 
• Option to buy or sell annual leave 
• Additional paid closure between Christmas and New Year 
• Hybrid and flexible working 
• Health, wellbeing and employee support programmes
• Cycle-to-work scheme and everyday benefits 
• Structured learning and development 
• Enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity leave 
• Enhanced occupational sick pay