Research Funding and Communications Officer

Closing Date: 5pm 7th August

Interview Date: 15/16th August TBC

The post holder will lead on the Foundation’s research communications activities, working closely with the Comms and Digital Lead to execute a research communications strategy. This will ensure that our supporters are kept informed on the latest research developments and enable us to demonstrate the impact of our research.

The post-holder will also support the delivery of our annual grant schemes, as well as helping to manage our portfolio of funded projects. This will involve close working with our Research Programme Managers and include administering, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the performance of awards, ensuring the outputs are of the highest quality and supporting the charities activities.

The post-holder will have an important role to play in our busy and small-knit research team. They will be exposed to all aspects of grant management and use their communication skills to effectively share more information about the research we fund with our key stakeholders.

Key responsibilities:

Research Communications

• Work closely with the Communications and Digital Manager to oversee our research communications strategy and programme of activity;

• Lead on the development of all external research communications activities to communicate the impact of our research and ensure our supporters are kept up to date with the latest developments. This includes developing news stories, blogs, newsletter content, infographics, research webinar series and our annual research impact report;

• Liaise with our funded researchers to secure pictures and other content (e.g. video) for use on socials including making site visits to labs across the UK;

• Liaise with our communications team and PR agency to take advantage of any press opportunities that arise for our research communications, supporting the development of position statements and press releases.

Research Funding Administration

• Support the Research Programme Managers by ensuring our research grant rounds are effectively administered in line with Association of Medical Research Charity (AMRC) policy, including coordinating comprehensive internal and external peer review, supporting research review committees, drafting feedback for applicants, managing the contracting and financial monitoring of awards;

• Assist the Research Programme Managers in managing the research programme budget including planning, monitoring and forecasting;

• Support the ongoing development and implementation of our online grant management system, Flexi-Grant;

• Track and assess progress of funded awards, building and managing relationships with award holders and maintaining regular communication through the project life cycle;

• Assist the Research Programme Managers in preparing reports and correspondence for the Board of Trustees related to funded awards.

General Responsibilities

• Contribute to the team being proactive and supportive, and working effectively and efficiently to achieve agreed objectives;

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of strong internal relationships across the charity, working specifically with the Fundraising Team to support income generation;

• Represent the Foundation at external scientific meetings and conferences;

• Undertake other work as required by the Research Programme Managers or Director of Research.

Skills and experience required:

• Educated to postgraduate level in a relevant biomedical science subject e.g. biology, molecular sciences, neuroscience, pharmacology;

• Experience of research communications, including the ability to disseminate complex scientific information and present it to non-technical audiences;

• A great communicator, with excellent written and oral skills and the ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders;

• Proven project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects at the same time;

• Self-motivated, proactive and able to work using own initiative;

• Organised, with a proven ability to successfully manage a broad spectrum of tasks, deadlines and individuals;

• Motivated to make a real difference for those living with MND and future generations.

This is a full time, home-based role, with travel across the UK.