Job Description
ESRC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AND SKILLS
SALARY: £94,931 - £110,000 (+ £5,560 London allowance) per annum
HOURS: Full Time or Part Time (minimum 0.8 FTE)
CONTRACT TYPE: Open Ended (secondments welcome)
LOCATION: Caxton House, London (Hybrid)
CLOSING DATE: 15 February 2026
To view the full job description, please click 'Apply' to visit our careers site, where you can download the candidate pack and learn more about the role.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are seeking a dynamic social science research leader with professional standing who can turn complex challenges into opportunities, shaping national data infrastructures to support government priorities such as the industrial strategy, while also driving the development and deployment of talent and skills in social and economic research.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
As ESRC Executive Director for data infrastructures and skills, you will lead on shaping investments that drive impactful research to inform economic, public service, and societal decisions over the next decade. With direct responsibility for budget lines covering data, talent, and skills, you will ensure alignment with UKRI priorities while keeping pace with evolving social science needs, technological advances such as AI, and computational capabilities. The role requires building funding and collaboration partnerships with research councils, government departments, and devolved administrations, while engaging the social science community to both capture emerging insights and communicate ESRC's agenda to senior leaders. Working within a collaborative executive team, you will help ensure that infrastructure, talent, and skills priorities are coherent, optimised, and embedded in the ESRC Data Infrastructure and Skills strategy.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Reporting directly to the ESRC Executive Chair you will be the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for:
- The Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK) programme, which has recently received approval of £168m for the next investment phase (2026 - 2031).
- The Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK) programme.
- The UK Data Service (UKDS).
- The Population Research UK (PR UK) programme.
- The Understanding Society longitudinal study.
- The UK Centre for Evidence Implementation in Adult Social Care (IMPACT).
Additionally, you will be responsible for:
- Delivery of over £100M per year of UKRI's research and talent budget, programme evaluation.
- Direct responsibility for the leadership management and development of c80 staff across data and infrastructure investments, talent and skills, and public engagement.
- Leading on the inception, direction and timely delivery of any new ESRC data infrastructure investments.
- Exploiting your ESRC domain expertise to seek out opportunities for collaborations that leverage partnerships to support the delivery of data infrastructure, talent and skills programmes.
- Championing equality, diversity and inclusion.
YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Graduate qualified with strong scientific record and deep expertise in social science data infrastructures.
- Proven senior leadership in social sciences, managing major initiatives and programmes.
- Extensive stakeholder management skills: negotiation, relationship-building, conflict resolution, and influence.
- Experienced in programme management and evaluation, including risk management and outcome delivery.
- Effective leader with solid track record in staff performance and development
INCENTIVES
UKRI can offer the successful candidate:
- Flexible Working
- 30 days annual leave + Public Holidays
- Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme
- Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider
Visit our dedicated benefits webpage for more info: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
