Contracts Advisor

Salary - £40,754 - £41,384
Permanent
Remote working, with the option to work from one of our sites in Wallingford, Lancaster, Bangor or Edinburgh. The majority of the team work remotely, and other flexible working arrangements can be considered.
We reserve the right to close this advert early if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early.

UKCEH is a leading independent research institute with over 600 scientists studying how the natural world works. We take a connected approach across land, water and air to understand environmental systems and build resilience for people and the planet.

At UKCEH, our research helps decode the complexities of environmental systems and strengthens resilience for people and the planet. As our Contracts Advisor, you will help make this work possible by supporting the contractual arrangements behind our research collaborations. You will help colleagues navigate agreements, manage risk and progress projects effectively, enabling valuable environmental research while protecting UKCEH's interests.

You will join our supportive Contracts and Compliance team within the wider Finance function, working closely with scientists, project managers and colleagues across professional services. Collaboration is central to how we work. While you will take ownership of your own portfolio, you will have the support of experienced colleagues to work through challenges, share knowledge and continuously improve how we work.

Managing a varied caseload of around 50 research contracts, you'll support agreements from initial review and negotiation through to approval, signature and close-down. You will bring together information from different sources, identify and escalate risks, coordinate input from stakeholders and support research tenders, bids and grant submissions. Your work will also include due diligence and consideration of intellectual property, research outputs and Trusted Research and Innovation requirements.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Manage and prioritise a caseload of around 50 contracts, identifying and escalating contractual or project risks appropriately.

• Complete third-party due diligence, including relevant credit, insurance, policy and risk assessment checks.

• Review, draft and negotiate research agreements, including but not limited to collaboration agreements (e.g. Brunswick and Lambert templates), subcontracts, NDAs, MTAs, amendments and studentship agreements.

• Coordinate framework agreement work orders, ensuring submissions and internal approvals progress efficiently.

• Assess project activities, research outputs and intellectual property against relevant Trusted Research and Innovation requirements.

• Collaborate with our scientists and professional services colleagues (project accountants, VAT officers, tender support, science project managers, procurement) to resolve contractual issues and secure required approvals.

• Advise Tender Support colleagues on contractual aspects of research tenders, bids and grant applications, taking account of submission deadlines.

• Maintain accurate contract records and support agreements through signature, project handover and eventual close-down and archiving.

• The role also includes authority to sign contracts valued up to £250,000, in accordance with UKCEH policy and delegated authority permissions.

This varied role offers plenty of opportunity to build your knowledge of research contracting and develop your commercial and contractual judgement. You do not need to know every answer from day one. We are looking for someone with a practical approach, good judgement and attention to detail who is comfortable seeking support when needed and keen to learn from experienced colleagues.

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