Director of External Affairs AMRC

Job description:

Are you an experienced Public Affairs and Government Relations senior leader with a passion for industrial strategy and policy influence?

We have an exciting opportunity in the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) for someone looking to use their executive leadership skills in Whitehall engagement and external affairs to make a national impact on UK manufacturing and innovation policy.

We are looking for a strategic, politically astute, and collaborative Director of External Affairs to join our Board at a pivotal moment in our development. You will be a proven executive leader with a track record of driving high-level public affairs and political engagement within complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

To succeed in this role, you will bring a deep working knowledge of UK Government structures, parliamentary mechanisms, and proven success engaging ministers, senior civil servants, and policy advisers across departments such as BIST, MOD, and DESNZ. You will possess the capability to formulate and land compelling institutional messaging, navigate matrix structures across the University and the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult network, and line-manage multidisciplinary communications and marketing teams. A strong understanding of HMG’s Industrial Strategy and place-based skills agendas is highly desirable.

What We Offer

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Find out more at sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits and join us to become part of something special.

The AMRC is a world-leading innovation powerhouse operating at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing and industrial transformation. As a core component of the University of Sheffield and a flagship centre of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, we bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application. Our teams work alongside global industry partners and central government to solve major manufacturing challenges, drive regional economic growth, and secure the UK’s competitive edge. Joining us means stepping into a vibrant, high-profile environment where your strategy directly shapes the future of UK industrial capability.

As Director of External Affairs, your main aim will be to position the AMRC and the broader University at the heart of His Majesty’s Government’s Industrial Strategy. Operating at the strategic intersection of academia, industry, regional leadership, and central government, you will lead our national engagement strategy, ensuring our research excellence shapes government policy and funding frameworks.

This role offers an exceptional career move for a senior leader seeking high-level political visibility, national ambassadorship, and the opportunity to direct government-facing campaigns while serving on the AMRC Board.

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

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