Head of Service Delivery – UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Location: Swindon, England, United Kingdom
Salary: £58,589 per annum (UKRI Band F)
Contract Type: 3 Year Fixed Term (with possibility of extension)
Hours: Full Time or Part Time (minimum 0.8 FTE)
Closing Date: Sunday, 15 March 2026
Proposed Interview Dates: Week commencing 6 & 13 April 2026
Hybrid Working: This role supports hybrid working. Postholder is required to attend one in-office team day per week at Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire.
About the Role
UKRI is seeking a Head of Service Delivery to join the Infrastructure Team and lead the delivery of the Next National Supercomputing Service (NNSS) – a £750m project providing the UK scientific community with cutting-edge computing capabilities.
The successful candidate will:
- Collaborate across UKRI, government departments, PSREs, academia, and industry.
- Lead service providers in implementing and managing hardware and service provision contracts.
- Monitor and evaluate service performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Support strategic projects within the UKRI Infrastructure team.
For more information, contact:
- Richard Gunn, DRI Programme Director – richard.gunn@ukri.org
- Luke Davis, Associate Director for Computational Services – luke.davis@ukri.org
Key Responsibilities
- Ensure NNSS service providers meet agreed requirements and manage contractual issues.
- Implement governance, advisory, and management structures for successful service delivery.
- Integrate NNSS with broader UKRI and DSIT compute ecosystem initiatives.
- Drive stakeholder relationships across government, academia, and industry.
- Support time-bound strategic projects within UKRI Infrastructure.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria:
- Awareness of large-scale compute services and digital research infrastructure (S&I).
- Experience leading complex, high-profile technical or infrastructure projects (S&I).
- Ability to integrate services/projects within strategic/policy landscapes (S&I).
- Experience coordinating research or innovation communities and partnerships (S&I).
- Excellent oral and written communication, including public speaking and technical reporting (S&I).
- Ability to manage multiple commitments, navigate ambiguity, and make effective decisions (S&I).
- Resilience and capability to handle high-profile issues independently (I).
(S = Shortlisting, I = Interview)
Benefits
- Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme
- 30 days annual leave + 10.5 public/privilege days
- Employee discounts on retail and leisure
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Flexible working options
- Professional development support and continuous learning culture
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