Digital Research Data Lead

**Salary**

The starting salary will be from £50,253 to £67,468 on Grade G, depending on qualifications and experience

**Contractual hours**

36.5

**Package**

Generous holiday allowances, flexible working, pension scheme and relocation package (if applicable).

**Job category/type**

IT and Digital

**Date posted**

20/08/2025

**Job reference**

Q07073

**IT Services**

**Shape secure,**FAIR, and sustainable data services for world-class research**

Data is at the heart of modern research, underpinning every stage from discovery to impact. From vast climate records and genomic datasets to sensitive health information, research data fuels innovation, enables collaboration, and drives evidence-based decision making.

You will work in close collaboration with global technology leaders in cloud storage, data analytics, and security, ensuring Exeter’s research data services benefit from the latest advances and international best practice.

Your leadership will ensure Exeter’s research data is managed, shared, and preserved to the highest standards, enabling our researchers to produce work that is open, reproducible, and globally recognised for its integrity and impact. You will lead the development of research data services, governance frameworks, and best practice stewardship across disciplines, including secure and sensitive data environments such as our Secure Data Research Hub. You will work closely with the Digital Research Programme Manager to deliver new data capabilities and with the Digital Research Services Portfolio Manager to ensure live data services remain financially sustainable, technically robust, and responsive to researcher needs — all while meeting funder, legal, and ethical requirements.

**What you’ll be doing**
- Manage research data services from active use through to long-term preservation and archiving
- Oversee governance, security, and compliance, including for Information Governance and regulatory compliance sensitive and accredited data services
- Co-design data services and workflows with researchers and professional services
- Develop policies, roadmaps, and sustainable funding models for research data services
- Represent Exeter in national data infrastructure, policy, and best-practice networks

**About you**

We are looking for a forward thinking and collaborative leader who can combine deep technical understanding with a commitment to research enablement. You will bring:

- Experience leading research data services or similar technical functions
- Knowledge of data governance, FAIR principles, and open research
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills and experience in co-design
- Proven ability to manage budgets and deliver sustainable services

**Help Shape the Future of Research at Exeter**

By joining us, you will be part of the University’s Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) programme — a major strategic investment in advanced computing, data platforms, and digital skills. This is your opportunity to help shape and deliver services that enable exceptional, world-class research across disciplines.

**Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.**

**Why Join Exeter?**

We are a values-led, ambitious institution with a bold vision for the future. Through our Strategy 2030, we are committed to shaping a fair, sustainable, and digitally enabled world. The Digital Research Programme Manager will play a pivotal role in turning this vision into reality—helping to deliver the infrastructure that powers research with real-world impact.

**The University of Exeter**
We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world’s most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99 percent of our research is of international quality and 47 percent is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework).

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research - Green Futuresand how we are transforming educationfor a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

**Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment**
We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustmentsare a