Senior Policy Engagement Manager

UK Research and Innovation

Senior Policy Engagement Manager contributing to funding policy development at UKRI. Collaborating with research councils and stakeholders to improve funding practices and user experience.

Posted 6/3/2026full-timeSwindon • 🇬🇧 United KingdomSenior💰 £46,743 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Support the development, simplification and implementation of UKRI funding policy, using evidence and user insight to shape recommendations.
Produce high‑quality policy papers, briefings and proposals for senior decision‑making forums, ensuring policies are coherent, deliverable and user‑centred.
Design and deliver engagement activities (e.g. workshops, forums, surveys, user testing) to inform policy development and Funding Service improvements, acting as a trusted advisor on user‑centred engagement approaches.
Analyse engagement feedback and generate clear insights, including “You Said, We Did” reporting, to influence decisions and drive continuous improvement.
Produce clear, accessible communications on policy changes, operational improvements and service performance.
Develop and maintain guidance, FAQs and digital content for applicants, reviewers and research organisations, ensuring accessibility and consistency.
Build and maintain strong relationships across the nine Councils and with key external stakeholders, representing the Funding Policy and Engagement team at meetings and networks.
Regular UK travel should be expected as part of this role, particularly to deliver and support workshops, events, and stakeholder engagement activities across the research and innovation community.
Track engagement activity and contribute insights to dashboards, performance reports and impact reviews.
Support and deputise for Policy Leads and the Associate Director, confidently facilitating meetings and discussions, challenging assumptions constructively, managing expectations, and ensuring actions are agreed and progressed.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Proven experience of research administration, policy or strategy development within a research organisation, funder or complex public sector environment, with a strong understanding of the UK research and innovation landscape (S&I).
Strong strategic thinking and judgement, with the ability to analyse complex issues, identify trade-offs, and develop practical, evidence-based solutions that balance policy intent, operational delivery and user impact (S&I).
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex policy and operational information clearly for a range of audiences, including senior governance forums; experience producing user focused and accessible content (S&I).
Demonstrable ability to influence, negotiate and broker agreement across diverse internal and external stakeholders, securing buy in where there are competing priorities or perspective (S&I).
Experience leading, designing or advising on engagement activity (e.g. workshops, consultations, surveys, user testing or forums), and using insight from engagement to inform policy development, decision making or service improvement (S&I).
Strong delivery and analytical capability, including planning and prioritising work across multiple workstreams, synthesising evidence from a range of sources, and operating effectively in a changing or ambiguous environment (S&I).

Benefits

Comp & perks

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!

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

policy developmentresearch administrationstrategic thinkinganalytical capabilityuser testingengagement activity designevidence-based solutionscommunication skillscontent productionperformance reporting

Soft Skills

influencingnegotiationrelationship buildingfacilitationstakeholder engagementjudgementproblem-solvingadaptabilitycollaborationuser-centred approach