Head of Global Science Policy

Salary: £84,640 - £105,800 Closing date:
Sunday, 1 November 2026 Contract type:
Permanent Interview dates: 1st stage (Fri, 20/11 + W/c 23/11) online/Remote; 2nd stage (w/c 30/11) Online; 3rd stage (Online)

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships. We committed to spend £16bn in the ten years to 2032, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

You will join Science Policy Labs, a new team in Wellcome’s Policy and Partnerships department charged with exploring, shaping and accelerating new and better ways of supporting science in service of Wellcome’s mission. You’ll be joining Science Policy Labs at a critical inflection point. You’ll have the opportunity to grow a new multi-disciplinary team of policy advisors, researchers and designers that is passionate about shaping the environment for, and the public impact of, science.

You’ll report to the Associate Director of Science Policy Labs and will work closely with the Head of UK and EU Science Policy as part of a three-strong leadership team charged with translating this vision into operational reality. You’ll also be a key contributor to the leadership team across the Policy and Partnerships department where we have deep policy, government relations and strategic partnerships expertise.

You will also benefit from working closely with teams across the Discovery department who invest in advancing the scientific frontier in the UK and our other priority geographies in Africa and Asia.

You’ll lead the strategic development and delivery of our work shaping global science policy to responsibly accelerate the next era of transformative scientific discoveries towards a healthier future for everyone. Your first task will be to work with the Associate Director to identify and recruit a world‑class team and a network of Science Policy Associates. With that team, you’ll build a portfolio of policy research, evidence and ideas, and clear routes to influencing change.

You’ll develop strategic collaborations, and design and support new methods and initiatives for accelerating solutions to science policy challenges. You’ll work collaboratively across Science Policy Labs and beyond to optimise use of people, budget and methods for maximum impact. Our privileged position as a major funder of discovery science creates valuable opportunities to improve the environment for science and the ways in which it will benefit everyone’s health.

You’ll help us raise our ambition and realise it. You’ll use your superb communication skills for thought leadership, and will lead, develop and motivate the team, sharing your deep expertise generously – to set high standards for our policy research and other outputs, and to deliver consistently high calibre work that makes an impact. As Head of Global Science Policy in Science Policy Labs, your initial agenda will include tackling questions such as:

• How can we advance effective and equitable global stewardship of scientific data in an era of AI and science sovereignty?
• How can policy keep pace with discovery through the anticipatory governance of frontier science, including AI in science?
• How can we shape the roles of philanthropy, governments and international institutions so that scientific discoveries benefit everyone’s health?

Expertise in science for health, including life sciences

Experience in both global fora and in our priority geographies (LMICs across Africa, South Asia and South‑East Asia…