Funding Manager

Funding Manager

Medical Research Council

Salary: £37,841 per annum

Band: UKRI Band D

Team: Challenge-Led Directorate, Training and Careers

Contract Type: Open ended

Hours: Full-time (flexible working available)

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available

Closing Date: 19 November 2025

About the role

You will contribute to the MRC mission as a funder improving human health through world class medical research, by helping to deliver MRC funding through research grants. You will work closely with other administrative support colleagues as well as wider team members in a supportive and collaborative environment to contribute to team objectives.

The successful candidate will provide administrative and managerial support to MRC's Training and Careers Panels team which delivers the peer review and management of MRC's fellowship applications

Your responsibilities:

• The end-to-end grant awarding process including oversight of the peer review process, funding meetings and post meeting activities
• Attending and Participating in Funding Meetings
• Line Management of a small team (2-3) with responsibility for attendance and performance management, supporting career development and training, completing yearly appraisals.
• Working within the cross Board and Panel resourcing matrix, manage strategic funding calls and task manage a small funding call team
• Collaborate with peers to deliver a flexible approach to resource management across all MRC funding schemes.
• Ensure the team is operating in a consistent and effective manner supporting continuous process improvement
• Support the monitoring and evaluation of the Panel's portfolio of MRC funded research by undertaking coding and classification for relevant Panel schemes
• Respond to enquiries from the research community and communicate MRC funding policies, taking decisions on exceptions.
• Ensure consistency of funding process, guidance and training, monitoring and reporting.

Close working relationships will be required with:

• Applicants for MRC funding
• Peer reviewers and those who select peer reviewers
• Board and Panel members
• MRC staff, including:
• Board and Panel Management team
• Research Funding and Policy Delivery team
• Events and Committees Team
• Head of Theme and Programme Managers within the Board/Panel teams
• Information and Analysis team
• UKRI staff

Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Experience of leading/managing others to deliver activities, following agreed processes, within timescales (S/I)
• Experience of managing people – line manager or task manager (S/I)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including experience in drafting correspondence, papers/briefings and minute taking tailored appropriately to the audience (S)
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills with evidence of effective teamwork (S/I)
• A proven ability to work with ambiguity and change, sometimes managing difficult situations by utilising excellent problem-solving skills (S/I)
• Excellent self-motivation and proactiveness in using initiative to deliver results (S/I)
• A good understanding of peer review in research funding (S/I)
• Good analytical skills including numerical skills, able to query databases and analyse data accurately (S/I)
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office – including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel (S)

Desirable

• Experience working within a research organisation or research administration environment (S/I)
• Knowledge of UKRI and grant processing (S/I)
• Knowledge of Siebel, Oracle, Zoom and Microsoft Teams (S)

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning

A list of benefits below:

• 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

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact