Director of Delivery Infrastructure

Named in honour of Alan Turing, the Institute is a place for inspiring, exciting work and we need passionate, sharp, and innovative people who want to use their skills to contribute to our mission to make great leaps in data science and AI research to change the world for the better.

Please find more information about us here.

The Institute is seeking to recruit an experienced individual to a senior leadership role who will have ultimate responsibility for the Science and Innovation delivery infrastructure for the Institute and be a key member of the Executive Leadership Team.

The postholder, with support from the CEO, Chief Scientist and other members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) will work closely with the Infrastructure Directors and other management teams to align potential transformations in these areas with the Turing’s strategy. The postholder will contribute to ensuring the Institute meets its key strategic missions and will sit on the Executive Leadership Team, reporting to the CEO.

ROLE PURPOSE

As well as the ongoing leadership of the delivery infrastructure areas, the postholder will lead on bringing these functions together and create an effective operating model to deliver the organisation’s goals. These areas have grown organically and independently to support the research delivery of Turing 1.0. At this time of transformation, it is a priority to bring these key areas of the Institute together to maximise the essential capabilities these functions have to drive the Turing’s science and innovation agenda.

This is a scale leadership role, the Turing’s infrastructure functions currently comprise of circa 100 people and are responsible for the following remits:

Data Wrangling: Responsible for building data for research strategy and implementation that supports the Turing 2.0 grand challenges and delivery of the Institute’s mission. This includes responsibility for data culture, establishing key collaborations for the Data team, delivery of the data co-ordination framework for the management of health data in the realm of early detection, and embedding EDI priorities in data research team.

The Programme Management Unit: Responsible for the management, development and delivery of Turing’s scientific research and innovation areas, delivering high-quality research projects, research programmes, training, and knowledge exchange in data science and AI, totalling tens of millions of pounds.

The Research Engineering Group: Responsible for contributing skills in research software engineering and research data science and research computing in support of the delivery of our Grand Challenges as well as cross-cutting work on research infrastructure and tooling to support both the Institute's own needs and those of the wider data science and AI community

Tools, Practices and Systems (TPS): Responsible for managing a cross-cutting set of initiatives which seek to build open source infrastructure that is accessible to all and to empower a global, decentralised network of people who connect data with domain experts. Provides research infrastructure specialists to support the delivery of the Grand Challenges as part of its mission to transform open, ethical, reproducible and collaborative ‘best practices’ on data science and AI.

The Director of Delivery Infrastructure will build strong, credible relationships internally with science leadership and the Executive Team, and externally with UK and overseas organisations, UK government and other strategically important partners. The role holder will be a constructive, culturally attuned positive contributor and role model at a time of great change, challenge and opportunity for the organisation.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Contribute to the development and delivery of the organisation’s strategy and missions, in particular its research and knowledge exchange strategy, working closely with the CEO and CS and other colleagues.
• Provide and oversee the operational support that ensures the delivery of all research initiatives that fulfil the Institute’s mission.
• Anticipate, influence and interpret regional, national and international research developments in the areas of data science, AI and associated technology and delivery models, and advise on trends and developments appropriate to the Institute.
• Contribute to the development of the organisation’s plans and approaches to strategic research funding opportunities, to deliver against the core strategies, gaining buy-in and engagement from relevant academic and professional communities.
• Work with the CEO and ELT to review and implement where needed transformation of operations within the Turing’s Science and Innovation Infrastructure areas.
• Work with the Infrastructure Directors to ensure a sustainable operating model is in place across the infrastructure areas to attract, retain and develop research infrastructure professionals with the range of skills and at the scale required to support the Institute's research initiatives.
• Line manage the Infrastructure Directors and ensure the professional development of these individuals, including career development and succession planning.
• With the Infrastructure Directors, oversee strategic planning and financial analysis of these areas.
• Identify risks and work across teams as required to implement mitigations to reduce those risks.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of all legal, regulatory, ethical, political and commercial issues relevant to the role.
• Contribute positively to our values led, high-performance culture and play a proactive role to our equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.

Please see the job description for a full breakdown of the role.

• A degree in a technology science or engineering discipline with evidence of ongoing professional development
• Experience of running complex operational support teams
• Previous working experience or the ability to understand research problems and approaches in sufficient depth to identify and resolve challenges in delivering research impact.
• Experience of developing and implementing funding strategies across a broad diverse organisation
• Experience of working as a member of a senior team in a large complex organisation
• Experience of implementing strategic organisational change
• Experience and expertise in at least one of the infrastructure areas of computational infrastructure, data infrastructure, data standards, research engineering/software engineering, programme and project management
• Experience of implementing processes for compliance with due diligence and trusted research requirements
• Significant experience in managing diverse teams and staff performance
• Interest in and experience of commercialisation of science and innovation

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button above. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV and covering letter. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact us on 020 3970 2148 or 0203 862 3340, or email recruitment@turing.ac.uk.

If you are applying for more than one role at the Turing, please note that only one Cover Letter can be visible on your profile at one time. If you wish to apply for multiple roles and do not want to overwrite your existing Cover Letter, please apply for the role using the button below and forward your additional cover letter directly to recruitment@turing.ac.uk quoting the job title.

If you are an internal applicant and wish to apply, please send your CV and Cover Letter directly to recruitment@turing.ac.uk and your application will be considered.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Sunday 30 June 2024 as 23:59 (London, UK BST)

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early or to interview suitable candidates before the closing date if enough applications are received.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This full-time post is offered on a permanent basis with an annual salary starting from £120,000 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits.

The Alan Turing Institute is based at the British Library, in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter. We expect staff to come to our office at least 4 days per month. Some roles may require more days in the office; the hiring manager will be able to confirm this during the interview.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to building a diverse community and would like our leadership team to reflect this. We therefore welcome applications from the broadest spectrum of backgrounds.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process will be made for any candidates with a disability.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to obtaining and retaining the right to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from HR@turing.ac.uk.