Executive Director of Science

Salary: £94,931 to £117,800 per annum (dependent on skills and experience)

Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)

Contract Type: Open Ended, secondees and transfers welcome from universities and institutes where relevant, minimum duration 3 years.

Location: Primarily based at Polaris House, Swindon, with hybrid working as well as frequent travel for key meetings.

Closing Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026 at 23:55

Interviews are expected to be held in person on week commencing 03 August 2026 in London

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funds environmental science that is ambitious, creative, and transformative. We have nurtured and curated the environmental science base in the UK for over 60 years since our foundation in 1965. We invest in the research, people, skills, infrastructure and data needed to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of environmental science and innovation on the global stage.

NERC’s science spans the entire earth system from the atmosphere to the biosphere, hydrosphere, sub‑surface, oceanic and the polar regions. We provide essential national capability through our research centres: the large research infrastructure, services, facilities, and data centres that enable cutting‑edge research and make its outputs widely accessible. This includes research stations around the globe, a fleet of ships and aircraft, and satellite technology to monitor environmental change on a global scale.

The long‑term data which these NERC investments deliver is a critical national resource underpinning evidence‑based policy decisions, enabling economic growth and securing the UK’s global leadership on environmental issues.

NERC maintains a unique portfolio of national science infrastructure, including polar research stations, Royal Research Ships, satellite technologies, data centres and monitoring stations around the world. As part of UKRI, NERC is responsible for the British Geological Survey, the UK’s premier, impartial provider of geoscientific data, mapping and research, and the British Antarctic Survey – the UK’s national polar research institute, delivering world‑leading interdisciplinary science in Antarctica and the Arctic to understand Earth’s climate, ecosystems and ocean circulation.

We are seeking a dynamic, creative, and respected science leader – someone motivated by delivering impact and inspired by the opportunity to shape the future of UK environmental research.

This is a pivotal leadership role at the heart of NERC and UKRI. With responsibility for a substantial research and innovation portfolio, you will manage a large team and are expected to set the project management and governance structures in place to ensure you invest purposefully to deliver world‑leading environmental science that supports growth, informs government priorities and delivers tangible benefits for society.

You will shape research programmes, influence system‑wide priorities, translate scientific ambition into meaningful outcomes, and most importantly work collaboratively across UKRI to make an impact.

As Executive Director of Science, you will combine intellectual leadership with strong strategic and delivery capability, working across disciplines, organisations, and national boundaries to turn complex challenges into opportunity.

You will have responsibility for developing and delivering NERC’s curiosity‑driven science portfolio, securing our talent and skills pipeline, reimagining our approach to knowledge exchange and commercialisation, and curating the digital and data outcomes from all these investments including our research centres. You will be expected to align your portfolio with the government’s industrial strategy and wider priorities.

• Science leadership and authority across environmental science, with a strong track record of bridging disciplinary boundaries to unlock transformative research outcomes, underpinned by senior‑level governance, programmatic leadership and decision making at an executive level.
• Proven senior research innovation and delivery experience gained in universities, national research organisations, or government science…